Melody Against Chaos

Greetings Warriors and Scholars!

http://www.tvfanatic.com/2016/11/the-librarians-season-3-episode-1-review-and-the-rise-of-chaos/

So, last night I excitedly turned in to watch "The Librarians" on TNT. Flynn Carson, his Guardian and his team of Librarians are at it again...and they did not disappoint. They are trying to get back to the feel of the movies which did come across a little bit in this episode and you could also see a strong taste of Doctor Who in a few scenes. Spoilers ahead my friends.

This week they went against the Egyptian deity of chaos, Apep. He was trying release "pure evil" and had this little trick. He would often get people fighting each other. A wave of blackness would spread out and everyone would turn on each other. He used this several times over the episode but it had a short range to it.

After the second time of experiencing this, Eve noticed that she was free of the screaming at others after getting a certain distance. She pulled the others out and they all realized what he was doing to them. He was creating chaos so they could not work together. They had a simple way of dealing with it: they got unified. They came out singing the Battle Hymn of the Republic and when he tried his power on them again it failed. Their signing built a harmony (pun intended) that could not be undone. Then they told him who they were. In a scene which felt like the end of Matt Smith's first episode as the 11th Doctor (even with similar music) they stood and told him who they were and stood against him.

This scene reminded me of 3 of significant tools/principals of spiritual warfare.

First of all, unity is hugely important. The Bible warns us time and again to cooperate.

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:2

 "Do not stop him," Jesus said, "for whoever is not against you is for you." Luke 9:50

But how do we build unity?  We do it by serving each other, by serving with each other, by worshiping ,etc. I have made it a point to be involved in many "multi-denominational" events and groups in my life. From a Christian club at my high school to couple of community service days to the Journey to Bethlehem (imagine a giant huge living nativity where you down a trail meeting the wise men and the shepherds, etc. Alternatively, think of it as Bible reenactors).

Second, "do the opposite". The word from Greek that we translate as "repent" was a military term. It essentially means to stop, turn 180 degrees and walk the other way. Not all temptation has a demon or a fallen angel behind it, but sometimes they like to take our natural temptations and encourage such activities. When you choose not to act in a way you are being tempted and go do something else, it sends a message to any spirits around: "I am for Jesus and nothing else owns me".

Finally, worship is important. The scripture tells us that God inhabits the praises of his people (see Psalm 22). And connected with my mentioning of unity above, we are told in Ephesians 5 and Colossians 3 to "sing songs and hymns and spiritual songs". Ephesians tells us to sing them to each other. When we praise the God of creation and worship Him, it reminds us who we serve, why we serve, and where our hope can be found.

The Librarians won this battle. They stopped Apep with unity and doing the opposite of what he wanted them to do and with music. They got the key he needed to open the portal and this round is over. We should all learn from their example. Right now so many groups in our nation are being played against each other. That does not have to win. Our hope is in Christ, not any government. As we share that hope with others by action as well as words life will move on. 

Continutiy

So what do you think of the difference between Marvel's approach to cinema/tv and DC's approach?  I enjoy having all the connectivity that we have between Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., the One-Shots, the movies, and the approaching Netflix series. DC is decidedly different. Arrow seems to be a different universe than Man of Steel, although I have wondered if one of these was "Earth 1" and the other (probably Arrow) was "Earth 2" or another universe in a "multiverse".

In life we tend to separate groups and teams the way DC is.  I can think of two examples of this.  The first is denominational-ism.  Now, there are some good things about denominations.  They can share resources, cooperate to better send out missionaries, and grow together.  But there is the downside that comes with it.  We tend to see our group as fully separate entity from others. Yet we are one.  Ephesians 4:5 says there is "one faith, one lord, one baptism."  We are all on the same team.

The other area is that of the Angels vs. the Believers.  We humans don't exactly see ourselves as the same as the angels.  They have powers, admission to the Throne Room, and view points of history we do not have. In Revelation 22 when John was toward the end of his vision of heaven, he saw an angel and started to bow to it.  The angel said "Do not do it!  I am just a fellow servant with you and your fellow prophets."  Did you know that you and the angels are on one team together?

We are all in one universe. God loves us all equally and offers grace and hope equally.  So what can we do to cooperate together?  We can pray for each other. We can help each other. Sometimes we do this without even knowing it!  The Holy Spirit will coordinate all our efforts. We just have to be obedient and open to what He wants.