I have reflected at times on the suffering, fiscal and physical, of the citizens of the United States, Iraq, and Afghanistan over the past decade. If tempters such as Wormwood and Screwtape are fed with the suffering of their patients especial to periods of war and conflict, surely Lewis as a contemporary writer in the early 2000s may have drawn richly from the "War on Terror". The fear which has been instilled in the populations of many countries the world over as a result of this nebulous concept of waging war against an idea has been perpetual and, in my humble opinion these days, quite ridiculous. Looking at this ridiculous and perpetual fear through the eyes of the two tempters, however, I think Screwtape would have rejoiced at the events which have transpired since September 11, 2001 and what the mindset of political authorities has done to ordinary citizens.
Screwtape begins his fifth letter to Wormwood with a rather grandfatherly tone in recognition of Wormwood's "deliriously joyful drunkenness" over the anguish of his patient's soul at the onset of another European war (I surmise that Lewis is using the Second World War, though it is possible that the First is being referenced instead), and we get a glimpse of the "food" which sustains all of the subjects of "Our Father Below", a title which Lewis substitutes for the Devil. Yet, the cautionary words for Wormwood are not to rejoice in the first few sips of this heady draught, but to remain sober and decide how best to use the war to procure the damnation of the patient's soul so that Wormwood might drink the "brim-full living chalice of despair and horror and astonishment" for as long as he wishes.
Screwtape suggests that the Enemy makes use of a war in such very unfair circumstances and conditions (I have never known that a war was supposed to be fair, but this is beside the point). Men and women not in the Enemy's service look beyond themselves and strive for causes that earn them redemption in His eyes because those individuals were doing the best with what they knew. Men and women far advanced in the Enemy's service willingly go to die in such situations where they knew they WOULD die, prepared mentally and spiritually for that death. And many thousands, much to Screwtape's dismay, face the possibility of physical expiration not in the contented wordliness of a nursing home surrounded by a numbing lie in regards to the sorry state of their soul, but in constant awareness of the everpresent possibility that death is only a step away. Screwtape reflects that "in wartime not even a human can believe that he will live forever" and so "our best weapon, contented worldliness, is rendered useless".
Somehow, this chapter dove-tails quite nicely into the overall theme of Luke's Gospel, which he addresses to one Theophilus, a Christian in the first century CE who perhaps requested more information about Jesus from Luke or was given the very detailed account of Jesus' ministry simply because Luke decided that another account based on eyewitness testimony was necessary for the Good News to be given legitimacy in the minds of the very educated audiences. Whatever the case, Luke's attorney-like style does not conceal Jesus' testament that the systems and structures of governance and faith-based religion were being exploited for the temporal gain of those persons in charge, and that those seeking the Kingdom of Heaven must seek to give themselves and their own personal gain up for something greater than themselves.
What then, about the time of year in which I write this post? Merry Christmas indeed to all people, yet the reality of this time of year is far different than what many North American Christians experience in the comfort of their homes. Perhaps this is why I waited until now: hundreds of thousands of American citizens are homeless, and millions of people the world over are starving and dying of thirst. Billions are waiting for the Gospel, for true Good News.
I might call that far greater anguish and terror than the prospect of war.
As always, please respond to this post by leaving a comment if you have questions or oppose something written here. I by no means have all the answers and I am not trying to be the Ultimate Authority (that is reserved for God), and I welcome any feedback.
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