Another View 4

Every now and then, someone will ask me to preach a sermon on the “devil.” And two weeks ago, I was sorely tempted to do just that. I didn’t, so I’ve decided to write about Lucifer, and am indebted to Alan Watts for his reminders regarding this angelic being, and the important role that continues to be played by this one.

First of all, Lucifer bears little resemblance to the Christian devil, a product of Dante and Catholic Moral Theology, and even the earlier Hebrew myth of the Dark Angel, who in essence personified the wrathful aspect of God. So, what we have today is a much-confused anthropomorphic being to whom we’ve given horns, a long tail, and so on. Who is this Lucifer?

Lucifer means “the Bearer of Light, and the tradition says that among the angels, there was none surpassing the beauty of this one, and hence, was named to reflect that countenance. Generally thought to be an Archangel -- perhaps one of the Cherubim or Seraphim, this angel reflected the intense glory of the divine radiance. And, since an angel is, like God, aware of him/herself, one of the first things Lucifer noticed was the unbelievable grandeur given to him/her by God. Believing there would never be anything considered more excellent, Lucifer held himself to be the crowning triumph of God’s handiwork. Already, you can see the “Fall” for Lucifer beginning to step near the precipice of self-destruction. Here already is a limitation put upon God, and it takes the shape of how Lucifer begins to perceive himself.

With Adam and Eve, this Beauty begins to see that God had other things in mind. That in fact, God was preparing a far higher place in heaven, an honor more glorious than his own, for -- creatures -- who, at least in his comparative mind, were coarse and crude to the extreme. So, in Lucifer’s mind (I suppose) it was God who “Fell” first, not he.

Imagine being outclassed by those who were not angels, but fleshly bodies, and hairy at that. Why, they were almost animals. And furthermore, peering into the union of the Trinity, Lucifer was privy to see that God would come to the earth, not as an angel -- but in this same flesh. The audacity and the limited mind of God had overstepped the celestial boundaries of good sense.

Well -- inflamed, and a bit humiliated (close to humility), malice birthed itself from the injustice. And preferring his own angelic glory to that of the Divine Purpose, Lucifer was stretched as far as his angelic limits could follow. Corrupted beings higher than angels simply was more than his Beauty could bear. These beings would corrupt everything!

The more noble choice, therefore would be to rebel against this short-sighted Creator. How could he be expected to pay homage to a Body less luminous than his own? God’s wisdom had reached its terminus. The Creator was beginning to live in forgetfulness, and therefore, something must be done. And of course, out of Goodness, this Creator had given to Lucifer and the other angels a trusted virtue -- will -- and had given this for all eternity. To this aberration of God, Lucifer would not surrender his will. Not ever! So, Lucifer (and other angelic beings, as well) turned their backs upon this Beatific Vision, and began the long-plunge, falling from God’s vision for them into their own, which led to the “twilight where Being borders upon Nothing” -- into the Outer Darkness.

“It was herethat they put themselves in the service of Nothing rather than the service of Being,” as Watts asserts. And from this day forward, they would do their utmost to frustrate the creative handiwork of God, especially among these fleshly humans which God intended to honor. Hence, this one became known by a variety of names: the devil, the Adversary, Beelzebub, the Prince of Lies, the Deceiver.

Unimagined, however, was that because God is infinite, the True Light of Glory (Shekinah) reached out forever and ever, and that there was simply no place this One could not be, so they would find no escapefrom this never-ending and ever-expansive Light. No matter how far they rushed toward this Darkness, this Outer Realm, there was this True Light. It was inescapable. Turning from this Light, they found themselves facing this Light no matter where?

The only escape that remained was inwards. This place of isolation and confinement, “where the Light of God torments and gives no gladness, became the place of Satan’s dominion,” which we rightly name “hell” -- a condition rather than a place.

Well, there is much more to this story, and much we’ve added that simply -- like Dante’s Divine Comedy, “is not there. A whole theology has developed around this devilology, and most of it gives as much power to Lucifer as to God, unfortunately. So, while I am not suggesting this one is powerless, I am suggesting there is Another View.