Living Amid Serpents and Scorpions

(19th Sunday after Pentecost) (Luke 10:16-21)

We live in troubled times. I don’t suppose it has ever been easy to be an Orthodox Christian; but there is no denying that our Church and faith are under attack today. Many of you have heard of the Orthodox priest who was beheaded in Iraq by Moslems who objected to a statement by the Pope. You may also know that there have been monastics and lay people who have been killed for the same reason, and others have been beaten, and churches have been burned.

Sometimes, the attacks come from those who say they are Orthodox. For example, there are some who are opposed to the efforts to end the division in the Russian Orthodox Church, and who attack the process, and vilify our hierarchs, and threaten to leave for another jurisdiction. They claim to be pursuing the Truth – but at times the truth appears to be a weapon used to bludgeon those who do not agree.

Here in the desert, we know something about snakes and scorpions. Our Lord’s words to His disciples from one of today’s readings from the Gospel according to St. Luke, in which He says that He has given His disciples power over “serpents and scorpions and all the power of the enemy,” speaks of familiar images. We tend to picture these things literally; and, while there is no doubt that God’s power is sufficient to deliver His servants from snakebite and scorpion sting, that doesn’t mean we should not exercise great care when we encounter such creatures! Rather, we are to understand that “serpents” and “scorpions” refer to the demons that crawl about in our midst. “Serpents” are the demons that strike openly, leading to sins such as murder and fornication; while “scorpions” are those who sting secretly, who lead us into sin under the guise of doing what is good. The attacks of outsiders on our Church and faith are works of the “serpents”; while the “scorpions” cause the attacks that arise from among the brethren.

Those who are called by Christ’s name – the Christians – and who strive to walk in His way are His disciples – and we who are called to be His disciples have, or will be given when we turn aside from the ways of the world, the flesh, and the devil, and follow Him, the same power to trample on the serpents and scorpions – the demons – and over all the power of the enemy, Satan. What is this power? We can learn something of it by considering the attacks made against the Church and faith.

Those who attack from without – the serpents – are attacking the Truth. That is, they do not accept the proclamation we make when we recite the Symbol of Faith, or when we say that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and our Lord and Savior. They have another vision, another understanding, and cannot tolerate the existence of any teaching that differs from their own. They seek to destroy the Truth, and those who proclaim Him – even if death and destruction are the means to achieve this end.

Those who attack from within – the scorpions – are more subtle, for they are not attacking the Truth; and at times even use the Truth in order to make their attacks. They set themselves out to be champions of the Truth; but more often than not, they have forgotten that the Truth, by itself, is not what we are to proclaim. There is a difference between speaking the truth, and speaking the truth in love – and we are called to the latter, not the former. Perhaps they have forgotten that we are to speak the truth in love. Perhaps they have forgotten that our Lord instructed us to love our enemies, to bless those who curse us, and to do good to those who hate us, and to pray for those who persecute us. Perhaps they have forgotten that our Lord said, as He was dying for us on the Cross, “Father, forgive them.” This is the power we have been given: the knowledge of the love of God in Jesus Christ, and that we are called to receive the same, and become like Him, Who left His place of glory in heaven to take on our nature, that we might be set free from the power of death, and the corruption of sin. We are called to receive the love of God in Jesus Christ, and become like Him, Who so loves us that He gave Himself for us as an offering and sacrifice to God. When we understand love in this way, then we are equipped to speak the truth, and live rightly – and then we will tread upon the serpent and the scorpion, and the lion and the dragon, and crush underfoot all the powers and works of the enemy.

Brothers and sisters, we live in troubled times. But let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid, for the Lord is with us – and we will know we are with Him when we, for love responding to the love of God in Jesus Christ, set aside all earthly cares, all attachments to the pleasures and pains and passion of this life, and follow Him. In that power, we will endure until the end – and no serpents or scorpions will separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ. Therefore, let us love one another, as Christ loves us, and gave Himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God – for the glory of God, and the salvation of our souls.