Monday in the First Week of Lent: Letter 3 Notes

 

LETTER #3

The Propers are found HERE.

Each letter from Screwtape to Wormwood emphasizes a particular SIN

SIN is anything that separates us from God.

Our reading from Leviticus for today is a good for understanding sin and forgiveness in the Christan life.  Right at the beginning we are commanded to be holy because God is holy.  That may seem rather impossible.  But remember, God works through us when we believe.  God is holy and makes us holy when we believe that God will do what God says He will do.

We have in this reading sort of an abridged list of the 10 commandments.  Notice that it tells to do a whole host of things that will separate us from the love of God and then at the end of each part of the list, God says “I am the Lord.”  In other words, Thou Shalt Not and I will be with you even when you are tempted. 

At the end  we hear that familiar commandment, “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  If we love God and love our neighbor, that will take care of the rest of the commandments. 

But I have to say that Sin gets way too much press.

MORTAL SINS
VENIAL SINS
UNFORGIVEABLE SINS
DEADLY SINS

Sin tends to point us in the direction of someone else

Their sins are GRAVE
Ours are little, white and not really all that bad!

Remember, the job of a DEMON is to keep us focused on ourselves and our own NEEDS – SIN does the same thing.  Also remember that one of the chief tools of a demon is distraction and other people’s sins are a good way to do that!

 

Meet his mother.

She has her own demon – Glubose.

And notice in that first paragraph of the letter that God works from the inside out, so it makes sense that demons are going to do just the opposite.  

Just as we talked about in the previous letters, Screwtape and Wormwood want the Patient to focus on everything going on around him – Real Life and the Real World – Our own needs and all those annoying things about other people.  What they do not want us to do is love our neighbors as ourselves.

So Screwtape advises Wormwood to tag team with Glubose, the demon assigned to the mother – play the Patient and his mother against one another.

The FIRST TASK is to focus on HIS own SENSE of How HOLY he thinks he is.

Wormwood is to assure the PATIENT – he is OK.  IT his Mother who is NOT. 

By the way, Screwtape uses the word “expurgated” which means that any unsuitable or objectionable thoughts in the Patient’s mind are removed.  In other words, Wormwood is to keep the Patient focused solely on how holy he is, rather than how he might love his mother. 

Glubose in turn should do the opposite with the mother.

 

Screwtape also suggests that when the Patient prays for his mother as he will likely do out of a feeling of necessity as a new Christian, that Wormwood should do his best to “render the prayers innocuous.

Too often we worry more about sounding holy in our prayers instead of being holy as Leviticus describes. 

Look at our Psalm for today.  In verse 14 of Psalm 19 we find a prayer that will sound very familiar to many of you.  We often hear preachers offer this prayer before a sermon.  Well now you know where it comes from.

Notice that prayer is a matter both of words and of the heart.  I love the thought from Romans 8 that when we pray, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.

Prayer should always be a matter of the heart, much more than if we are saying the right and holy sounding words.

But Screwtape tells Wormwood to keep his Patient focused on praying for her SOUL.

The whole concept of a soul that could somehow be saved comes from GREEK Philosophy – Not really very Biblical.

Body is temporary – Soul is eternal

Salvation of the soul alone – the Philosophy made its way into Christian faith through a misreading of 1 Peter 1:9    for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Souls is used in the New Testament to refer to the whole person, not one part.  Much the same as when we say someone is a “Gentle Soul”. 

More importantly, in our Christian Faith –Resurrection of the BODY – Apostles Creed.

Baptismal Covenant – resurrection of the Body.

Outline of the Faith – We are raised in the Fullness of our being.

 

Back to Screwtape and Wormwood

1.      Work on those Tones and Expressions.

2.      Inner Family

3.      We focus on the smallest differences and faults.

4.      Instant Replay.  Play it over and over again so that it becomes bigger and bigger.

5.      Practice a Technical religion like the Pharisees and Sadducees.

6.      Superiority – Prodigal Son in Luke 15

7.      Forgiving Father – Screwtape recalls the Sanctimonious Brother

8.      Much better to be right at all costs.

 

Prayer for today – notice the how holy discipline is a gift and comes with gifts.  As we pray our lives are directed to doing God’s will.  God works in us to make us holy.

Almighty and everlasting God, mercifully increase in us your gifts of holy discipline, in almsgiving, prayer, and fasting; that our lives may be directed to the fulfilling of your most gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.