SETTING THE CONTEXT

Our first reading is a song of praise of God’s mighty works. It is a reminder of God’s power and desire to bring good. This isn’t clear to us because we are reading an English translation and not the original Hebrew, but the first word of each measure begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. There are 22 measures and 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet. In the body of the song, there are catch phrases to remind the singers of their Jewish salvation story, the story of the Exodus, when God led the Hebrew people out of slavery into the Promised Land.

Read Psalm 111 Responsively

Scholars estimate that the Letter to the Ephesians was written in the 1^st or 2^nd centuries after Christ. The Jewish people, including Jewish Christians, were a religious minority in the Roman Empire. The Jews living in Asia Minor where Ephesus is located were far from the center of their faith, Israel. Consider that the original hearers of this letter were surrounded by statues and temples to other gods. They were subjected in those early days to harassment and discrimination from their neighbors and hostility from the authorities. According to the letter, Paul was in prison at the time of the writing. Imagine him sitting in his cell, glancing over at this Roman guard in full armor as he wrote these words.

Read Ephesians 6:10-20

THE SERMON

Evil exists in this world. I don’t think I need to convince you of that, do I? I have a friend who was a pediatric social worker at a major hospital. She made the comment once, I dealt with children who had been abused and I would have to go and talk to their parents or caregivers. She said, in that job, I have looked into faces and seen evil, real evil. She said, “I know that evil exists.” Evil seems like a heavy topic for a movie titled “Sleeping Beauty”, but there it is. Disney’s version of Sleeping Beauty is the last sermon in our series, “The Gospel in Disney”. But don’t worry; in true Disney fashion, we are planning a sequel next summer.

Sleeping Beauty begins when King Stefan and his Queen have a baby girl. They throw a party in her honor and invite another king & his young son, Philip. The kings make an agreement and announce that the two children will be married some day. Three good fairies also are at the party to present the girl with gifts. The gifts they offer are beauty and song, but as happens so often in life, the joy was interrupted.

SHOW FIRST MOVIE CLIP 1 (Start after 2^nd fairy gives her gift and sparkles are flowing down. Stop after Merryweather says, “From slumber you shall wake when true love’s kiss the spell shall break.”)

Evil has extinguished the celebration; the evil fairy is able to destroy the joy of new birth with her death sentence. We know from experience that “unlove”, that which is opposite of God, destroys joy, destroys life. Throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, it is clear that evil is a reality of the world. In the Book of Revelation, the ancient dragon symbolizes the evil of the Roman Empire who is persecuting the Christians. Have you ever noticed that evil is the word live spelled backwards? Evil destroys life; it fractures the wholeness of living. Evil is a reality that we have to contend with in our world, in our communities, and in our lives.

As we face this reality, we remember the psalm we read this morning. A song that reminds us of God’s wonderful works God’s power to bring beauty, honor, provision and justice to God’s people. The psalm reminds us of God’s deliverance of the Hebrew people from their slavery in Egypt, a great evil. It speaks of God’s grace and mercy, the manna God provided in the wilderness, the Promised Land, the everlasting covenant. “His praise endures forever.” Like the hymn we sang to open our service, “A Mighty Fortress”ⁱ; it is a song to give courage and hope. The good fairy, Merryweather, cannot turn back time and take the evil completely away, but she can change its final consequences. Evil may stop Aurora or Sleeping Beauty, for a time, but it will not ultimately defeat her.

Evil happens; it runs the scale from the horrific brutality of a terrorist organization to the subtle rationalizations to lie or be unloving. There is no magic wand to wave and make it all go away, but there is something more powerful. How does God deal with evil? We catch a glimpse of this in how the good fairies dealt with the evil intentions of Maleficent.

SHOW 2^nd MOVIE CLIP (Start when the fairies are talking just before “What won’t she expect?” Stop at “Who’ll wash and cook? We’ll all pitch in.”)

That is a telling statement, isn’t it, that Maleficent doesn't know anything about love. People who do evil things are disconnected from the Giver of Love. They may try to put on a mask of civility, but their deeds will give them away. The fairies were able to outwit the evil queen by responding not with evil, but with good. Gee, that sounds familiar! Out of love, the fairies made a significant sacrifice to protect the child. The clip tries to help us capture the enormity of their sacrifice - they will use no magic for 16 years. They took her off into the forest and although Maleficent tried, she was never able to find the child until … the day before Aurora's 16^th birthday. The fairies got out their wands a bit too early and Maleficent’s evil raven discovered their hiding place. Meanwhile Philip stumbled across Aurora in the forest and they fell in love not knowing each other's identity. Just before sunset, Aurora was taken back to the castle in preparation for her party. Maleficent entranced her and had her prick her finger on a spinning wheel that Maleficent conjured. The lovely Aurora became Sleeping Beauty.

Maleficent also captured Philip and imprisoned him in her dungeon. She taunts him by telling him the whole story of Aurora and that his new love is the child he was betrothed to so long ago. She spins a lie showing him growing old in her prison as his beloved remains enchanted. Let's watch what happens.

SHOW 3^rd MOVIE CLIP (Start with fairies releasing Prince Philip Stop when fairies & Philip walk out of cell)

Our valiant prince is now armed with the shield of virtue and the sword of truth. He is ready to take on the power that is seeking to ruin his life and the life of so many others. Although Christians are told not to seek revenge, we are not defenseless against evil. We are given tools, weapons, if you will, to help us. As I said earlier, picture Paul in a prison cell in chains glancing at his Roman guards as he uses the image of a soldier’s armor to tell us about those tools. The truth is like a belt and God's righteousness, God’s character, is like armor. Whatever prepares you to share the good news of peace is like shoes. Your faith is like a shield, God's saving power is like a helmet, and for a sword use God's message that comes from the Spirit. Truth, God’s goodness, faith or trust, God’s power and the Word of God are weapons, not to maim or kill an opponent, but to transform or overcome them. Prince Philip’s weapons, the sword of truth and the shield of virtue are not so abstract and with the fairies help, he kills the terrible dragon that Maleficent becomes. Let's see what happens.

SHOW 4^th MOVIE CLIP (Start After Maleficent goes to roof and fairies & Philip on horse are riding away. Stop when dragon falls.)

Sometimes it feels like the consequences of evil in our lives are like those brambles seemingly impossible to overcome. But with the armor of God, truth, righteousness, a willing heart toward Christ, and faith, you can cut through the pain, the hardship and all the obstacles. Did you notice that at the end, the fairies’ power sent the sword of truth into the heart of the dragon? So, too, we rely on the power of God to help us overcome our obstacles and hardships, overcome evil that comes into our lives. Christ, through his death and resurrection, shows us that this is not a vain promise, but "true and worthy to believe". Witnesses throughout the generations including those who have been telling their stories on Wednesday evenings testify that this power to overcome continues to work in people’s lives. A historian Will Durant talked about God's power and the early Christians. He said, "There is no greater drama in human record than the sight of a few Christians -- scorned and oppressed by a succession of emperors, bearing all trials with a fierce tenacity, multiplying quietly, building order while their enemies generated chaos, fighting the sword with the word, brutality with hope, and at last defeating the strongest state that history has known. Caesar and Christ met in the arena, and Christ had won!ⁱⁱ “Whether the evil is great and has left great damage or is small and left seeds of doubt and discouragement, the power of God through Jesus Christ will overcome it.

In our story, evil is overcome and Philip hurries to see his beloved. Does anyone want to see the kiss? Let's watch:

SHOW 5^th MOVIE CLIP (Start when Philip runs up the steps of Aurora’s tower. Stop when fairies are cheering after kiss.)

This triumph over evil is not only in Disney happy endings, but it is available to each one of us through Jesus Christ our Savior. So it is with confidence that we can stand firm, praying in the Spirit to keep alert and persevere. Amen.

Sermon delived by Rev. Nancy Cushman on August 16, 2009.