Easter 4(B), Good Shepherd Sunday, May 7, 2006

Text: Acts 4:23-33, John 10:11-18

The Conspiracy Behind the Da Vinci Code

Everyone loves a conspiracy! At least so it would seem as we see the Da Vinci Code, a second-rate conspiracy novel, filled with factual errors and outright historical lies and distortions, catapulted to international fame. It is poised to sell 40 million copies and soon to become a blockbuster movie.

Author Dan Brown’s message is that Jesus was not divine but merely a prophet. He got married to Mary Magdalene and together they produced a “royal” bloodline. Furthermore, Jesus was actually a pagan and a feminist. He intended that Mary Magdalene be worshipped as a goddess!

However, that was not to be. This “Jesus-paganism” got hijacked in the fourth century by Emperor Constantine and the church leaders. They wanted to consolidate their power and authority by promoting Jesus to the level of divinity and by inventing the idea that Jesus rose from the dead. In order to “put women into their place,” Mary Magdalene got demoted from her divine position. In order to accomplish this, they somehow managed to rewrite the Bible and destroy any “true” copies of the Biblical texts. Imagine! After these texts had already been widely distributed throughout the world for over two hundred years!

Basically, the picture we have of God, Who loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son to die on the cross for our sins, that whoever believes in Him should not be condemned, but have eternal life -- this picture is a major fraud, according to Dan Brown. The image we have of Christ, who says, “I am the Good Shepherd - I lay my life down for the sheep” is ripped apart.

Dan Brown makes incredible claims while providing no shred of credible evidence. He expects his readers to swallow his so-called “facts” as historical reality. But if this is really the case, how is it possible that his book is such a success?

First of all, there is a general ignorance of the Bible message and of church history. Dan Brown is able to make these claims, because people lack knowledge about these subjects.
Secondly, there is a general attitude that accepts such historical distortions. It is part of our post-modern culture that there is no such thing as truth; that truth is relative; that truth and reality are whatever you want them to be. Who is concerned that Dan Brown is ignoring certain important historical facts while inventing others?

Thirdly, there is a general need for people who do not believe in Jesus, to justify their unbelief and their living contrary to God’s will. The Da Vinci Code “proves” that the Bible is simply the creation of self-interested men with an agenda. Therefore it is alright for us to ignore the Bible and make up our own rules for what is right and wrong. These are three reasons I believe the Da Vinci Code has been so wildly successful. It tells us what our ears are itching to hear.

One good thing about this sensation is that people everywhere are talking about Jesus and the Bible. But I wonder how sincere that interest really is. For the Da Vinci Code does not invite discussion and debate. Its crazy assertions are made by respectable characters with an authoritarian tone of derision and ridicule for anyone who should dare to think otherwise. Anyone who still believes that the Bible might contain the Word of God is a moron. Period! Anyone who thinks that anything good might be found in the church is an idiot. No questions! Anyone who believes that Jesus is the Son of God is an ignorant woman-hater. End of discussion!

The sad reality of this novel is that it is bound to scandalize many who are weak in their faith, those who lack the knowledge and insight to discern the pernicious anti-Christian propaganda disguised in this novel as self-evident facts and truths. It will certainly scare many away who might otherwise be drawn to the truth of God’s love revealed in Christ and found in the fellowship of His holy Bride, the Church.

The Real Conspiracy

The real conspirators are not as Dan Brown portrays them, Emperor Constantine, the early church’s leaders, and the modern-day Opus Dei. The real conspiracy is much bigger than Dan Brown could have even imagined. It is described in our first reading from Acts 4, where the believers prayed, quoting one of the psalms of David: “Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His Anointed One.” Indeed, the leaders of Israel had conspired against God’s Anointed One (4:25-27). But who is behind this conspiracy against Jesus?

Jesus reveals the real conspirator as the “Prince of this world” (John 12:31). It is “Satan who leads the whole world astray” (Revelation 12:9). Satan leads a conspiracy against Jesus and His Church, because he knows that he already stands condemned. He knows that his time is short: Soon he will be driven out of the world, into the abyss and the fires of hell (John 12:31 and 16:11). In order to get back at God for defeating him, Satan wants to draw as many people as he can away from putting their trust in Jesus as their Saviour and Lord and instead, follow him into hell. The only power Satan still has is to keep mankind from ever knowing the truth. And what better way to disguise his own deception than blame the followers of Jesus of concocting a conspiracy!

The Da Vinci Code is part of this greater conspiracy of deception Satan uses to lead people to think that the Gospel of Jesus, instead of saving us from our sins, is really part of a conspiracy to hurt us. Satan hopes to convince us that we would be better off rejecting the Word of God and placing ourselves as judges over God and His will as revealed in the Bible.
Satan had employed the same strategy before in the Garden of Eden where he tempted Adam and Eve. There he suggested that if they chose to become their own masters, making their own judgments, their eyes would be opened and they would become like God. The appeal of the Da Vinci Code goes back a long way. It fits nicely within the grand satanic conspiracy that overshadows our world.

But why are you here today? Why is it that you too have not been caught up by Satan in His grand scheme to deceive the world? Is it because you have outsmarted him? Hardly! Just as we did not choose our parents, we did not get to choose whether to believe in God. Just as sheep do not get to choose their shepherd, we didn’t get to choose our Lord Jesus. Honestly, if I had had a choice in this matter, I probably would have chosen to listen to Satan and choose to be my own shepherd. Wouldn’t you? Who wants to admit that he is just a helpless and dumb sheep? Wouldn’t you rather be your own shepherd if you had the choice?

However, we are here because Jesus chose us to be His sheep, His people. He called us by the Gospel and enlightened our darkened minds with His Holy Spirit. In the waters of Baptism He washed away our sins and made us members of His holy Body. (Acts 2:38, Romans 8:15-17). We had no active part to play in that Divine act of salvation, in the new birth into God’s family.

And so we are the beloved children of God! But that does not mean that we will have an easy life. Far from it! The early believers, we heard, were being threatened by the rulers who had put Jesus to death. They were being arrested and persecuted. And so the believers pray. But what do the believers pray for? Do they ask God to end the persecution? They don’t. Instead, they acknowledge that what was done to Jesus is what God in His “power and will had decided beforehand should happen” (Acts 4:28).

The same applies to the persecution directed towards the followers of Jesus. God allows it for a reason. So what do the disciples pray about? They ask God: “Enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (4:29, 30). They didn’t pray for an end to persecution, but that Jesus might be glorified through it.

This is what we need to pray. The world around us is hostile to the Word of God and to anyone who dares to speak God’s Word in public. You will be mocked and ridiculed for what you believe. You will be arrested and charged with promoting “hatred.” This is already happening to Christians in our country. Our world is no more tolerant of God’s word than it was during the time of the early church. The only reason we do not experience real persecution is because we have learned to keep our mouths shut when it matters.

Most Christians in Canada no longer speak God’s word “with great boldness.” We have learned to keep “our religion” to ourselves. And that is exactly what Satan wants us to do. Because when we do that, our nation will lose its moral conscience and eventually, even we will lose “our religion.”

As we are called to love the people of our world, as we speak God’s word, we will likely get a hostile reaction. We will be told that we are intolerant, narrow-minded, hateful bigots. It can be most hurtful what people unjustly say. But remember, they are only acting like children; children who do not know how to choose what is good for themselves. And like good parents who truly love their children, we must not give in or back off. For we are being tested to see if we really believe what we say we do. If we keep silent or give in, then it will be evident that we are liars and deserve to be called those awful things. Unfortunately we have all fallen short in this calling to love our world. We have been unwilling to sacrifice our comforts to spread the message of God’s love with great boldness among those who are perishing.

Thankfully the love of our Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for us, always perseveres. Today, He calls us once again to come to His Table and fellowship with Him. He calls us, not because we are perfect or because we have been exceptionally faithful. He calls us because He knows that we need help. He calls us to His Table so that we might receive His body and blood given and shed for our forgiveness. He invites us to His Table that we would receive the assurance of His never-ending love for us. He invites us to taste true love and experience a love that revives our souls and renews us in faith, in hope and in love, so that we may endure till the end and receive the crown of life. Amen.