I Have Seen The Enemy And He Is Us!

Hello To All:

My youth was spent, living on a small farm, in rural Minnesota. The winters were cold, with lots of snow. The summers were far too short. My father worked in a nearby city as a skilled tradesman. My mother, sometimes worked, but most often, stayed home to be a mother to her children. Our life was simple; and, by some standards, we were considered to be among the poor of the community; but, as a youngster, such things did not have much of an impact. We had food, shelter and clothing; and life, for the most part, was good.

My father, often, brought a newspaper home with him. I loved the comic strips! So, as soon as I had a chance, I would grab the paper and catch up on my favorites. One of those was called: "Pogo." The setting was the Okefenokee Swamp, of the southeastern United States. The characters consisted of the animals and critters common to such an area. Of course, these creatures were given human characteristics; and their interaction formed the basis for the comic strip.

Pogo was a possum. Unlike real life possums, he was pictured with a larger, rounder head and a not so pointy nose. He was the philosopher; a creature who had acquired a certain amount of wisdom; and one who served as an elder statesman, of the forest and swamp community. His wit, his straight forward logic, and his insightful humor, often made precise statements about our human condition.

The title, for this end of the year essay, is based on one of Pogo's most memorable and insightful statements: "We have met the enemy and he is us." While doing some research, to refresh my memories about Pogo, I came across a copy of the original comic strip that contained this quote, that has stuck with me, all of these years. The strip was published on Earth Day in 1971. It contained only two panels; but, the wisdom, contained in those two panels, is for all people and for all periods of history.

In the first panel, Pogo and his friend Porkypine, are carefully walking across an open area, toward a forest area. It seems that their goal is to get to the trees; but, they are having some difficulty in their journey. They are pictured as putting their feet down, one careful step at a time. Their arms are outstretched for balance. Their attention is divided between their goal of reaching the trees and the difficulty of the journey. In the midst of this, Porkypine says: "Ah, Pogo, the beauty of the forest primeval gets me in the heart." Pogo is leading the journey, and his response to Porkypine is: "It gets me in the feet, Porkypine." The first panel does not give us any insight into what is making their journey so difficult.

In the second panel, the two friends are taking a rest. They are sitting, on the ground, near the edge of the clearing. The forest is still on the other side of the clearing. Their goal, of reaching the trees, has not been achieved; and now, we can clearly see why. The clearing is littered with the castoffs and trash of the forest community. This is what they have had to walk through, to get to the trees. Porkypine is looking down at his feet, his hands resting on the ground; and then he says: "It is hard walking on this stuff." Pogo is looking at the clearing and across to the trees. His left elbow is resting on his knee; and his chin is resting in his hand, as he responds to the comment of Porkypine, by saying: "Yep son, we have met the enemy and he is us."

Some of you, as you have been reading this, may have been reminded of the recent essay titled: "Can we see the trees." That essay was written, before I had any awareness of the context of Pogo's memorable quote. Our Lord Jesus Christ is always full of surprises. Pogo and his friend were having trouble getting to the trees because of what they, over time, had done. It is in this context, of Pogo recognizing the consequences of his deeds and the deeds of the community, that he makes this statement, about the status of the community: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

Now, my beloved brethren, just as Pogo was compelled to take a hard look at reality and come to that epiphany moment of recognizing, and acknowledging the consequences of his actions and the actions of the community, that he was a part of: it is time for us to do the same.

In the case of Pogo and his friend Porkypine, they were litteraly trying to reach real trees. This was an Earth Day statement, meant to get our attention about the plight of the planet; and the impact of our deeds.

In the essay "Can we see the trees," the trees are a metaphor for the truth. The windowless rooms are meant as a metaphor for the things and deeds that both obscure the truth and make our journey to the truth, more and more difficult. This essay was written, in an effort to get us focused on our self-imposed bondage, that keeps us from the truth. Over the course, of the coming year, we shall take an in-depth look at this bondage.

In the Western Church, we are most often like Pogo's friend Porkypine: we know what our goal is, but we fail to recognize the difficult nature of our self-imposed obstacles.

We tend to, as Western Christians, to blame all of the things outside of the Church, as the reason for our difficulties and our decline. The fact of the matter is: The worst enemy that the Western Church has - is the Western Church.

To make certain that I have your attention in this; let it be known to all the world, that empowered by Jesus Christ, I would stand in the midst of any assembly; and looking out at all in that assembly; I would say, for all to hear: Hear the word of the Lord, that takes us to the heart of our condition: "I have seen the enemy and he is us."

After His forty days in the wilderness, our Lord Jesus Christ called us to repent and believe the gospel. Here, at the end of this essay number forty, let the call go forth: Let us repent and believe the good news of Jesus Christ.

Until next time, my beloved brethren, in Christ Jesus, I continue to be:

Your servant and your fellow pilgrim,
Elder Theophilus

P.S. After the first of the new year, I will be taking some time for personal reflection, regarding my own journey with Jesus Christ. Empowered by Jesus Christ, our next essay should be near the end of January. The journey is becoming more difficult. Please pray for me, that I will be faithful to the tasks, that Jesus Christ sets before me.