Scripture Reading Ephesians
6:10-20
Finally, be
strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Put on the
full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s
schemes.
For our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Therefore put
on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be
able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm
then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place,
and with your
feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to
all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all
the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Take the
helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of
God.
And pray in
the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and
requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for
all the Lord’s people.
Pray also for
me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will
fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
for which I am
an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I
should.
Here ends this reading of the Word of God for the People of God. Thanks
be to God. Amen.
Prayer for Understanding
Gracious God, guide us by your Word and Spirit this day, so that in hearing the Scriptures read and interpreted, our hearts may be converted to your ways, and our lives become a greater reflection of Jesus Christ, your Living Word. Amen.
Lucia and I have participated in Revolutionary War reenacting
since 2014. Every chance we get, we
dress up in our “outfits,” set up our tent, pull out our old-fashioned cooking
tools and traditional dishes, and work to temporarily embody life as 18th
century camp followers. We don’t do this in our backyard, but gather with other
reenactors at State Parks and preserved battlefields. We are part of a unit of
Hessian Jaegers – during the revolution, each unit in the British Army had 500
to 600 soldiers and 6 or 8 female camp followers t0 nurse the wounded, bake the
bread, and launder the clothing. Throughout
history, people haven’t gone into battle alone – they are part of brigades or
units – each person has a job to do and a role to play as they serve their
country or their king.
This morning, we read part of St.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. He describes Christians as symbolically being
soldiers in an army and then explains how we must arm ourselves to do battle. In the 1st century, people rarely
thought of themselves as lone individuals. Instead, people who were part of the
early church saw themselves as a part of a group – whole families and
households converted to Christianity at the same time. When St. Paul describes the armor we must put
on to do “battle,” he is describing how the people of the church needed to join
together to do spiritual battle.
When Paul wrote his letter to the
church at Ephesus, the church was made up of a small group of people living surrounded
by non-Christian neighbors. The members felt like they were under-siege – they
had to work together to bolster each other up, to support one another, and to
remain true to the faith. It would have been easier for individuals to break
away and return to their former lives and their former faith. Plus, the church
members were at risk for arrest and persecution by the Roman government and
their enforcers. So, the safety of
everyone was dependent on the individuals who made up the church working
together to persevere against their common enemies.
Although the church has changed in
many ways over the past 2000 years, we are once again living in a time when
being an active member of a church is more the exception than the rule. What percentage of your friends and family
members regularly participate in worshipping God within a Christian community?
What percentage of your friends and family members regularly study the word of
God and read the Bible? What percentage of your friends and family members
spend time praying to God each day?
In 2021, only around 26% of
Americans attended worship services on a weekly basis. More and more, we Christians
are becoming a small group surrounded by a larger majority of people who are
not actively engaged in a faith community. We have to make difficult choices –
do I go to church on Sunday or go to brunch with my family? Do I spend
Christmas Eve at church or meeting up with my friends from high school who are
back in town? Do I let my kid play soccer on that team even though every
practice will conflict with church activities? Do I go to Bible Study on
Tuesday night, or will I have more fun at Trivia night at Brothers’ Kershner?
As we navigate our day to day lives,
we make choices about the priority of our Christian faith as contrasted to the
other events and responsibilities that vie for our attention.
As we cope with the various things
that are pressuring us, we must remember that we are part of the Church. The
church isn’t this building – we are the group of people who gather here. We are
the group of people who are worshipping with us on Facebook right now. The
church is the people who have become our spiritual family, our spiritual
kindred. And, together, we symbolically join together to go into “battle.”
St. Paul’s armor imagery reminds us
we have the tools at hand to help each other through the battles life inflicts
upon us. We know we have access to the
truth: God loves us. God forgives our sins. God wants us to live our best lives
by keeping God’s commandments. Jesus is the son of God – the human
manifestation of the holy. Jesus’ time on earth we to remind us of God
priorities and love for all people, even the people who the rest of the world
rejects. Jesus died so that we will know nothing we do is so awful God won’t
forgive our sins. Our salvation rests on our faith in God and on the gift of
new life freely given to us by Jesus. And, God’s Holy Spirit is with us every
moment of our lives as a resource and a comfort for us. So, we have access to the “Truth” of our
faith.
Our faith helps us to persevere
against the temptations and threats we face each day. We have to be careful to
not be our own worst enemy. We have to
make sure to make healthy choices about who we spend time with, what we do with
our extra time, what kinds of substances we ingest, how much physical exercise
we get. Even adults can succumb to peer
pressure. Even adults can be reckless with our bodies and our health.
Our children and young people are
getting ready to return to school. Some of them will be going to school for the
first time. This year, in addition to
buying new backpacks and pencils and paper, the kids will be packing their bags
with extra masks and hand sanitizer. They
are not going into battle, but there is always a bit of anxiety that goes along
with preparing for a new school year….”Will I make new friends? Will I like my
teachers? Will I be able to find my classroom? Will I have a lot of homework?
Will I be able to remember my locker combination?”
We are united with our young people
as the body of Christ, as the church. Those of us who are not going to school
this year are called to pray for the people who are going to school. We are
called to ask God to watch over and protect our students. We are called to be
encourages and supporters of our students. We are called to talk to our
students and listen to their joys and woes. We are called to remind our students
they are not alone – the Holy Spirit will be with them every moment of the day
and we are rooting for them from afar.
It comforts me to know that we are
not in this alone, we are all part of God’s battalion. We are united as the
people who make up the church, the people who are persevering together under
the stresses of the world. We are united
together to support each other in times of joy or struggle. We are called to
pray for each other, to share the love of God with each other, to treat each other
with love and kindness, and to remind each other we are not alone, we belong to
God. Thanks be to God who gives unites together.
Amen.
