Lions
/Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. - 1Peter 4:7
Every night since the pandemic started, Derek has offered Compline prayer on Facebook Live. Through it,, he’s invited many of us into a more regular night time prayer practice. Compline is the calming bedtime service in our Book of Common Prayer. It is simple, it is lovely. Saying it together at 9:30 pm has been a great way to wind down from the day, put one’s fears to rest, put loved ones into God’s care, and get ready for better sleep. It has been a very helpful practice in helping us to “Cast our anxieties on God, remembering God’s care for us,” to use Peter’s words.
The Compline service in our prayer book always includes a very short reading of Scripture each night. One of the passages suggested in the Prayer Book is from this same section of Peter’s letter:
Be sober, be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
Resist him, firm in your faith.
I don’t know - the devil prowling around like a lion looking at us like prey is not a particularly comforting image. That’s probably why neither Derek nor I often choose to read that particular Scripture passage when we read Compline lately. But after sitting with this Sunday’s readings for a while, I’m wondering about that.
Our lives are always fraught with many dangers. Life is inherently risky (and always a terminal condition.) And lately, life’s dangers all seem so frighteningly near - kind of like lions prowling around outside our homes, just waiting to pounce. We don’t usually talk much about ‘the devil’ in our Anglican tradition. He’s not pleasant, you see. And the topic of evil is one that makes just about everyone uncomfortable. We’d much prefer to focus on ‘manageable risks’ than the out of control dangers that are always lurking in the shadows of our lives and over which we have no control. If we think too long about it, we begin to recognize just how much of our lives are in God’s hands rather than ours.
During this time of pandemic, I’ve heard many people say that they’ll just stay indoors until there’s a vaccine. What I think they’re saying is that they’re going to stay inside until it is safe to come out. But we’re hearing from the medical authorities that there is no vaccine or treatment that will one day make this particular prowling lion just disappear. And we know that 100% safety has never been a feature of this human life, and we’ll never be completely ‘safe’ from dangerous viruses or any other peril. The C19 virus poses new and specific risks that we can become aware of and can respond to responsibly. But even though the risks may decrease over time, we know we’re going to need to learn to navigate the virus’ continuing presence among us for a long time as we move forward. The world is going to have to find a way to live among these new lions.
So, since the lions are always at the door, Peter says: remain firm in faith. Remain firm in trust. Remain firm in Christ. I don’t think he’s saying that faith is like a magic incantation that will make the lions disappear. Faith will, however, make abundant life possible even in a lion’s den.
So, I think the next time I lead compline this Saturday, I’m going to use Peter’s words when it comes time to read the Scripture passage. Because it’s good news that our God is not just a sunny day God. God is our firm, true and reliable foundation even as we discern our way through the valley of the shadow of death.
