Sermon 8-24-03
Dressed for Success - John 6:56-69, Ephesians 6:10-20
(view lectionary notes for this text)
Today we turn our focus from the gospel lessons and Jesus' teaching about his identity to the epistle to the church at Ephesus, where we find a sort-of "dress code" for the Christian believer. The imagery is wonderful, painting bold pictures as we hear and read about putting on the whole armor of God. We read, "Put on the whole armor of God . . . our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rules, against the authorities, against the cosmic power of the present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." The author continues by describing six pieces of this armor of God: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes to proclaim peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit. These pieces of armor, donned by the Christian believer, are to guard against evil, and provide strength.
Such an image of a Christian warrior finds an ambiguous place in our hearts. On the one hand, we as Christians in the United States don't feel the same kind of threats that the early Church felt. We don't have the same struggles and threats to our faith. Here, in America, our government honors a diversity of religious faith instead of persecuting it. Do we need these warrior images? On the other hand, in the midst of all that is happening in the world today, with civil war in Liberia, where the United Methodist Church is strong and growing, with men and women from this country serving in the military, stationed in places like Iraq where danger is still a major concern, where the people of Iraq are caught up in a time of chaos and disarray, what are we to make of an image of a Christian warrior, dressed in God's armor?
If anything, it seems we as the church have been trying to move away from such image, trying to disassociate ourselves from images like this one that unfortunately have described us all too aptly in the past. True, the earliest Christians had to worry about persecution by the Romans and other groups, but once Christianity started to spread, Christians were too often the perpetrators of violence and war against non-Christians. Is this what is meant in this letter to the Ephesians? What kind of warriors are we meant to be? Today lessons from the Old Testament, where stories are filled with talk of war and death, where God seems to be one group's side, only to cause death and destruction for the other group, seem foreign to us. We prefer the New Testament images where Christ speaks of a God of love and peace. How do we reconcile both parts? Perhaps you are familiar with the hymn, "Onward Christian Soldiers." This hymn is a perfect example of the kind of confusion we come to with such militaristic imagery. When our current hymnal was produced in the early 80s, some did not want this hymn to be included. It did too much to encourage a sort-of Christian army, they argued. Others, however, pointed to verses like those we read in Ephesians today, insisting that we do indeed need to be soldiers for Christ. What do you think? Listen to these words from the first verse: "Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus going on before. Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe; forward into battle see his banners go. Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus, going on before."
Is this the message we read in Ephesians? Are we called to be Christian soldiers? Let's return to the text and listen closely to the words. We read, "Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrives of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
Actually, after reading these words more closely, it sounds like our author here is actually offering a counter-image of a warrior to us, the readers. This is no regular warrior described. This warrior carries no harmful weapons, has no deadly equipment. This suit of armor is one that is equipped for proclaiming the gospel of peace. This is a different kind of soldier - not one who seeks to conquer or who seeks victory, but one who seeks to spread God's word, the word of peace, love and grace. What the author does here completely subverts our normal concept of armor, soldier, warrior, and creates for us a whole new understanding of what it means to be dedicated to serving Christ, providing a sort-of instruction manual for us.
First, he writes, we need the belt of truth. What truth? He doesn't expand, but we can read into the text here. We need to know the truth about who God is, what God does for us, and what we do for God. Our human notions about God's identity too often fall short. We make God into some old man with a long beard sitting in the clouds above who acts like a magician, doling out blessings and curses at a whim. But the God in the Scriptures cannot be boxed in like that. This is the God who extends mercy beyond our imagining or understanding. God who makes the first last and the last first. God who chooses the least likely and the one who feels the least worthy and prepared. What is your belt of truth? Who is God, truly? At your core, who are you, really?
Second, we need the breastplate of righteousness. It seems 'righteous' can have a negative connotation for us. Perhaps you've referred to a person or been referred to yourself as "self-righteous." Such a label is not usually meant as a compliment. But the Bible always calls us to righteousness, and here it is to be the very breastplate of our spiritual armor. "The visual image," writes one theologian, "is the piece of armor that protects the chest and heart. In order to protect this large area of the body a large sheet of metal was fashioned to guard it. The protection for our spiritual lives is personal holiness." Righteousness simply means right living. We are called to live righteously, to do what we know to be right. True, sometimes we struggle with ethical dilemmas about what to do, but in many areas we already know the answer about what is right and what is wrong. It is wrong to exclude people from the church, wrong to let racism and sexism into our lives, wrong oppress those who have no resources. It is right to share and love others, to do to them as you'd have done to you. We need to live rightly, to live righteously.
The third piece is my favorite: Shoes, whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. There is just something so compelling about this image. It asks us the question: what is it that will make us ready to proclaim the gospel of peace? As you examine your own life, is there something that stands in the way of your ability to really commit yourself to serving Christ? Is there something keeping you from making your faith your first priority? What shoes will you wear to enable you, to ready you for proclaiming the gospel of peace? Paul writes, in another epistle, "Beautiful are the feet that bring the good new/gospel." We have a message of Christ's peace to share.
Fourth, we need the shield of faith. The shield of faith is something that serves in multiple functions. Of course, we need to have faith; we need to put our trust in God. When a crisis time comes, and when joys and blessings come, we need to remember, faithfully, that God is our source and our strength. But faith here also takes a more active meaning. Having faith means being a disciple. Having faith means being faithful to Christ and Christ's teachings. It means living a life that is pleasing to God - whatever we do, we can ask ourselves if we are being faithful to what God wants for us. A shield acts to deflect that which others aim at us to bring harm to us, but with a shield of faith, we find protection, surrounded by the love of God who created us, and strengthened by our own trust in God's care for us.
Next is the helmet of salvation. The head, one of the most important parts of our body, is also one of the areas most susceptible to mortal injury. From earliest times, people used helmets to protect their heads from injury. But here we read of the helmet of salvation. What does this mean? John Wesley, in his teachings to early Methodists, always insisted that we miss that mark if we think of salvation as the promise of going to heaven when we die. This is not the point, he insisted. The point of salvation is that even while we sin and do harm and wrong, we are loved. Even while we deserve punishment, God extends grace. Even in his innocence, Christ gave himself to death, so that others might receive life. Salvation is the gift of God's grace, and with God's grace, we can cover our head, our most vulnerable part. We could choose nothing better.
Finally, we hold the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God. Instead of a deadly weapon here, the disciple hold's God's Word. This doesn't mean we are supposed to be bible-thumpers, beating others with God's word. As pastor Douglas Walker writes, "Holy writ is not to be a weapon for us to use in order to beat others over the head; it should serve to help us move forward in the Christian life." In the scriptures, we have a guide to help deepen our discipleship. The Bible is not a book of quick and easy answers and instructions, but a place for us to dig deeper, grow in faith, as we live into discipleship of Jesus Christ.
When we look at this Christian warrior more closely, we find a very different image than we first expect. This is no image of violence and war - here we have a soldier re-vamped, one transformed by life in God's love. Here is a way we can live into discipleship, clothing ourselves with the garments that make for faithfulness, equipping ourselves with the tools that make us servants. Our author concludes with words that bring it together for us: "Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Prayer that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak." We, too, are called to speak with boldness the mystery of the gospel. We, too, are ambassadors who must speak. And we, too, clothed with God's armor, can be ready to answer the call. Amen.