Screwtape Letter #21 – Discussion Guide

For one thing – 

The Interruptions Are the Ministry

A minister once observed that sometimes “interruptions are the ministry.” In the book, Before Burnout, the authors point out that Mark’s Gospel provides many examples of Jesus handling interruptions well. After he healed a man with an unclean spirit (Mark 1:21–26), Jesus was suddenly interrupted by an entire city who demanded his attention (1:33). He was then interrupted in the midst of his teaching by four men carrying a paralyzed man (2:1–5).… Later Jesus was pursued and interrupted by a large multitude (3:7–9). At one point, after being interrupted by Jairus, Christ was almost immediately interrupted again by a woman with a long-term illness. The Savior compassionately handled all of those interruptions well.

A study of the way Jesus handled these kinds of interruption can teach us several things:

1. Christ always responded graciously. He never conveyed the attitude that people did not have a right to interrupt Him.

2. He made people a priority. For the most part, those who interrupted Him were not prominent individuals, yet Christ treated them as important.

3. Although frequently interrupted, Christ did not allow those interruptions to deflect Him from His ultimate purpose. For example, after dealing with the woman with the issue of blood, Jesus immediately went on to raise Jairus’ daughter.

4. On occasion, the Savior actually initiated an interruption himself. He interrupted His teaching of the multitude to call Levi the tax collector to follow Him.

5. Fifth, when important priorities made it necessary, Christ isolated Himself from interruptions.  ²Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson’s complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.

“Learning to handle interruptions in a Christlike fashion,” say the authors, “will take us a significant distance down the road of handling life’s circumstances.”

But – from a different point of view, there are times when we need to avoid the interruptions –

Jesus Walks on the Water

Mt 14:22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

Mt 14:25 During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

Mt 14:27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

Mt 14:28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

Mt 14:29 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Mt 14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

Mt 14:32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Mt 14:34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched him were healed.

For us – the task is to determine which is which – time to be interrupted so God can use us – or time to be focused / uninterrupted to spend time with God.

As Screwtape says –

We produce this sense of ownership not only by pride but by confusion. We teach them not to notice the different senses of the possessive pronoun

We can look at how Jesus views “ownership”

For example, when the devil offered to give Him everything –

Mt 4:8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.

Mt 4:9 “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Mt 4:10 Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’’”

The Beatitudes

Mt 5:1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,

Mt 5:2 and he began to teach them, saying:

Mt 5:3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mt 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Mt 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Mt 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Mt 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Mt 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Mt 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

Mt 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Mt 5:11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Mt 5:12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

 God wants us to realize that everything is His – we are stewards of things here on earth – and ultimately we can share in everything, because He has offered us the opportunity. I expect that He’s actually sad when we don’t get it.

On the other hand – Satan has nothing to offer, so can afford to think it’s funny when we claim things that we don’t own – but neither does he.

There’s that little matter of who will find out what in the end –

They will find out in the end, never fear, to whom their time, their souls, and their bodies really belong—certainly not to them, whatever happens.

And the bigger surprise may be for Screwtape.

There’s the judgment of the dead in Revelation –

The Dead Are Judged

Rev 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

But – just preceding that, there’s Satan’s final end

Satan’s Doom

Rev 20:7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. 9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.