One of my favorite episodes of The Simpsons is entitled, “Homer’s Enemy”. In this episode Homer gets a new coworker at the power plant – a young man named Frank Grimes. Frank gets his job because he’s been featured in a local news story detailing the great adversity he has overcome over the course of his life. Inspired by the story, Mr. Burns, the owner of the power plant, insists that they hire him immediately. When Frank arrives at the plant he’s appalled by Homer’s lackadaisical approach to his job (nuclear safety inspector). The more time he spends with Homer, the more Frank is incensed that someone so incompetent could get everything he wants out of life. Frank gets madder and madder; and in spite of Homer’s attempts to make friends with him, Frank at a certain point declares, “I’m not your friend. I’m your enemy!” (“What, me, the most beloved man in all of Springfield?”)
It’s easier to make enemies than it is to make friends. All someone has to do is laugh at the wrong point in a conversation. Respond a little too tersely to an email. Look at us wrong in the grocery line. Cut us off on the expressway. Instant enemy. Sometimes we discover that we, like Homer, have unwittingly become someone else’s enemy. Just by being ourselves. We’re quick to find people to blame; quick to find people to hate. And quick to find ourselves at the receiving end of the same.
The authors of the New Testament point out that when we do this we’re making a huge mistake. No person should be the focus of our hatred. And no person should be held responsible for our unhappiness. We only have one enemy. It’s not Al Qaida, or the axis of evil, or the Democrats. Or Republicans. It’s Satan and his forces. In Ephesians 6 the Apostle Paul says,
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God…
If we aren’t careful, we become pawns of the forces of evil. How? By targeting each other. By shunning and attacking other people – people who are equally enticed and enslaved by the forces pulling at us. God’s intent is to set all of us free from the power of sin and death. To free us from fear – which causes us to see enemies where none exist – and temptation – which causes us to take without regard for the damage done to others.
In its final Lord’s Day, the Catechism identifies the fact that on our own we can’t resist the weapons of our true enemy. The fear he breeds and the temptation he wields strike us where we are weakest. So we appeal to God. He fortifies us against temptation by promising to give us what we really need. And he braces us against fear by promising to preserve our life forever. Protected by God’s armor, we remain vigilant and prepared for the enemy’s attacks. And we remain open and vulnerable to each other, recognizing in everyone a potential ally, friend, and family member in Christ.
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