Yesterday was Groundhog Day, which got me thinking about the part that superstitions play in our “modern” and “enlightened” times. Even though we use the term “superstitious” in a derogatory sense, we still have many superstitions today.
In Part One of my musings on that topic, I wrote that there are, generally speaking, two kinds of superstitions. The first, which I called “omens,” are those things we believe will give us special knowledge that is otherwise unknowable; such methods seem to inform us through some occult or supernatural activity. I suggested that believing a groundhog (especially one in Punxatawney, Pennsylvania) can forecast the next six weeks of weather for us is a mild example of an “omen.” I also wrote that seeking hidden knowledge through Ouija boards and seances is a much more dangerous – and biblically forbidden – activity. (The Ouija board was popular during World War I, as families sought to learn how their soldier sons and husbands were doing in far-away France. The name was invented by combining the French and German words for “yes” – oui and ja. It was believed that spirits would relay the information – definitely forbidden by God!)
But besides the superstitions that people have which purport to give them information which they can then use in some normal manner, there are also those superstitions which claim to control or exert some influence upon reality. It is this second category of superstition to which we will now turn our attention.
2. The second type of superstition is what I would call, the “magic” type. Of course, by “magic” I don’t mean the amazing illusions or tricks you see “magicians” perform. I mean more like the, “If you step on a crack, you’ll break your mother’s back” kind of superstition my grade-school friends and I repeated aloud while we stepped from one sidewalk section to the next. Somehow, we were afraid that our action would actually cause our moms some harm; or at least, we weren’t taking any chances!
Magic superstitions can be intended to protect someone, such as by avoiding stepping on cracks, or intended to cause harm, such as by sticking pins in voodoo dolls. But mostly, people follow them in order to gain some benefit or advantage for themselves. Gamblers blow on their dice and recite a certain “good luck” phrase before casting them, believing it will cause the right number to come up; a high school friend of mine swore you could get rid of warts by cutting a potato in half and burying it during a full moon; and even I sometimes think I can keep it from raining by carrying my umbrella with me (though there may be some truth to this last example . . .)
But the “Super Bowl” of people following magic superstitions can be found surrounding, well, the Super Bowl. By next Sunday, I predict great numbers of Americans will have pulled out all the stops when it comes to acting superstitiously. They will: wear special victory clothing such as team shirts and caps; they will sit in their favorite chair for reasons other than comfort or handy cup-holders; they will invite over certain good luck friends and avoid the others; they will eat certain foods and drinks in a certain order; they will try to avoid jinxing their team by saying things like, “We’ve got this won!”; and they will either clutch their Brock Purdy bobble-head to their bosom, or rip its head off. All done to somehow actually influence the course of the game. As I asked yesterday, do opposing superstitions cancel each other out? If the fans of both teams do or avoid the same things, then who wins?
Logical paradoxes are not the worst thing about magic superstitions. The worst thing is that they are attempts to play God, or to force God to do what we want him to do. This was the religion of the Baal worshipers in ancient Israel (and actually of all pagans). They sought to influence the “gods” of nature by their actions, doing things like what they wanted to make happen, as if by doing them their gods would have to use their powers to effect a good outcome. Fertility cults existed to increase crops, livestock, and children; war gods like Mars were worshiped by purifying soldiers’ weapons and trumpets; and children were offered in sacrifices as “seeds” for Molech to give more children in return. In magic, people sought – and still seek – to be God, giving in again to the first temptation made by the devil to our first ancestors in the Garden.
The biblical faith, the faith which the true God desires from us, is a submission to him and to his will. It is about trusting God alone for all our provision and for all good things. While he does invite us to pray to him and bring our needs to him, we recognize that he is not some genie in a lamp that we can command to obey us, but rather the all- powerful and sovereign God of the universe who has all authority. He is not bound by our superstitious actions, nor by the eloquence of our prayers. He does not have to grant our wishes because we make the sign of the cross when we ask him. He gives us good things because he loves us and desires good for us. Jesus himself taught us about our heavenly Father, saying,
“Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11)
Martin Luther addressed this in his Large Catechism when he explained the First Commandment, “You shall have no other gods before me.” Luther wrote that we must recognize that all good things come from God, and that to attribute them to anyone or anything else is to break that commandment. This accords with James 1:7, which says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” Ultimately, the greatest gift which God has given us is his own Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we receive forgiveness of our sins and eternal life.
What does this all mean for a Christian? It means we look to God alone for what we need to know. He has given us the mental abilities to understand and appreciate much of the world he created, and in his Word he has revealed to us many precious things about himself and his plan for our salvation. But some things are hidden, mostly for our own good. In those areas, such as the future, we must just trust God and not seek to supplement what he has revealed by seeking other forbidden sources for answers. It also means that we recognize that he is God and we are not. We are not to play God by trying to manipulate reality by magical means. Instead, we pray to God repeatedly in every circumstance, but then we have to trust him and say, as our Lord said in Gethsemane,
“Not my will, but yours be done.” (Matthew 26:39)
So when it comes to the Super Bowl, will I go through some magical ritual to help one team win? No. Will I pray about the game? Yes – but only that no one is injured. (After all, my team didn’t make it!)
May the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord look upon you with favor, and give you peace. Amen.
Read: Matthew 7:1-11