watching lucifer just for the hell of it

Usually, my tastes in television movies and sitcoms goes from following Jason Statham movies to that of Father Brown Mysteries. I came across a television series entitled Lucifer. I thought it would be about the usual fodder fed by sensationalists to sell movies.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yK5lZTPHozs

I did watch one episode of Lucifer. It turns out those who wrote the script thought of Lucifer as a bad boy punished by God, his father to punish people who go to Hell. Lucifer wants a change of venue and comes to earth to lead a life worthy of the Devil. It is so far apart from who the Devil is and does, that I found it rather amusing, as least for one session. Lucifer, his Dad (God) and Mum (Mum) plus Michael and few other demons make up this tale of romance, love, with a twist of Mount Olympus and Ozzie and Harriet thrown in the mix (somewhere). If you were in a group to design what Lucifer actually is you would end up with an agnostic’s view of the whole God thing. Significantly enough, there is no Christ mentioned anywhere (at least I could not find Him).

If this is what the Kingdom of Heaven is, then the hell with it. These thoughts influenced my Lectio Divina a few days ago. Here are some random ideas about the Devil, Hell, and Lucifer the television series.

In my reality, Lucifer is not the son of God, but a spirit created to be of service to God.

The Devil is a fallen angel. He chose to be jealous of God rather than to submit to His will. It is archetype that all humans must face on a daily basis.

Hell is not the opposite of Heaven, but the absence of it.

Hell is the frustration of knowing you missed the boat and freely chose something you thought was good (Adam and Eve) but it turned out to be a complete shell game.

There are various types of punishments in Hell. What terrifies me most is that it is permanent, that Lucifer will be in my face forever shouting at me, taunting me with the thought that I could have had it all but chose Him instead. He will laugh at me mocking my decision and how he tricked me from my rightful heritage as a son (daughter) of the Father to chose hatred, envy, lust, factions, lying, jealousy, false gods, and other humilitations I have yet to conceive.

The Devil does not have the power to make us do anything. He can only suggest.

The more I keep hatred and those tendencies of my false self as central to my Faith, the Devil has me. It is only when I die to false self and redeem myself with Christ Jesus that I move from hatred in my heart to that of love. Each day, I must begin from zero. This is conversio morae (conversion of life) at the heart of my Lay Cistercian approach to loving others as Christ loves me.

I am not fixated on Hell but on the prize for which Christ paid the price with his passion, death and resurrection (ascension). The price I must pay is to seek God each day with all my heart, with all my mind, and with all my strength. Some days are better than others.

Christ left us several ways to make all things new in our hearts each day. Lectio Divina, Eucharist, Meditation on Scripture, Spiritual Reading from the Saints, all help to keep us focused in having in me the mind of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5-12)/