13th Sunday after
Pentecost – 16B August 22, 2021
Ephesians 6:10-20
Gear Up
I’m absolutely positive that many of us
have heard this phrase more times than we can count… “Gear up” - we’re heading
out – make sure you have everything you need.
“Gear up” – get ready to face a challenge. Seven weeks ago when I
started this series, I envisioned the title, “Gear Up” for this sermon – but
now I realize it’s in a different way than I had imagined.
It’s surprising the number of times this
passage from Ephesians is quoted to justify the use of force against people who
have different religious beliefs than ours… the Crusades would be one historic
example, but look at the world - it’s still a problem today.
In my experience, there are multiple ways
to study the bible. One way is to open the bible, read the words, and figure
out how they relate to our lives. This is why Martin Luther and other
Reformation leaders believed that the scripture should be made available to
people in the languages they spoke and read – no pastoral intermediary
required. And this works well a lot of the time, but there are often
contradictory passages, and some things are hard to make sense of if we don’t
know the context in which they were written.
That’s why another necessary dimension of
bible study asks us to study ABOUT the bible. Who wrote it? When? Where?
What was going on at the time? How does translating from its original languages
change the meaning from a plan reading in our own contexts? How has the meaning
of this passage changed throughout time? These questions are just as important
as the words themselves.
That’s a place where many preachers start.
We look at the words, pay attention to their historical context, and try to be
faithful to everything we know about them. This is really important where there
are competing directives or narratives. For instance, in 1 Corinthians, Paul
tells women to sit down and be quiet, but in Romans 16, he lists a host of
women leaders and deacons who have faithfully led the community in worship and
ministry. With good historical biblical criticism, we can see that both of
those things can be true at the same time. Situational awareness is as appropriate
when reading the bible as it is when driving a car or crossing the street.
So, as we finish out our series on
Ephesians, let’s do a recap of who the writer was addressing and why it was so
important that we’re still reading this letter 2000 years later.
Ephesus was a community in Asia Minor (now
part of Turkey) and part of the Roman Empire, where Christianity was illegal
until 313 CE. It was a seaport and a crossroads between Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. That meant that it was a diverse community, so while there
may not have been direct persecution by Roman officials, there is evidence that
Christianity was not the only or most important game in town. There was a
temple built to honor and worship Emperor Domitian and Ephesus was the
cultic center of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and the moon, of chastity and
childbirth. Paul’s words and our understanding of history tell us it was very
challenging to live as a Christian in this time and place.[i]
Written or approved by Paul, it is done from
prison in Rome, dictated to a disciple or maybe a Roman prison guard – it’s pretty
edgy stuff… “put on the whole armor of God…” - those are fighting words. But
they are not written to incite a riot. They are written to encourage the
faithful in a time of deep despair, reminding them they have not been abandoned
by God. When the writer talks about “the cosmic powers of the present darkness,”
it’s not just about the people being physically in danger, although the risks
were real. No, this fledgling church is attacked by the minutia of governmental
interference – diminishing their position in society as a way of taking away
their hope and robbing them of their peace, in hopes that they will abandon
their little cult so everyone can return to the supposed peace of fear and anarchy.[ii]
Using these gifts, this armor of God, they
were not just called to be strong, but to be strong in the Lord – which
redefines what strength really looks like. This message holds true today. Like
faith, hope, and love, the strength we need to survive and flourish comes from
outside ourselves – gifts that we receive from God. Through our relationship
with him, we share in his strength. Instead of thinking that we can bear
the burdens of the world on our own shoulders, we are called to move forward
with the Lord, who like the song says, has the whole world in his hands.[iii]
Too often, we are led to believe that the
Christian life will keep us safe… that it will protect us from being hurt, or
give us a moral superiority to clear conflicting ideas from our space. That is
not what Paul is talking about here. The armor of God is something much
different. It isn’t about keeping us safe or making us happy. It is given to us
so that we can stand fast in our faith, despite the battles that rage around
us.
The truth that we are called to
proclaim is not what we believe about the world, but the truth about who God is
and how God is calling us to live. Righteousness – being upright –
sticking to the principles of love and unity, this is our breastplate,
protecting our hearts from the attacks that will inevitably come our way. We
are called to live out our faith, proclaiming the gospel of peace. Paul
promises that we will be protected by the steadfastness of our witness. And
then we are to pray… at all times and for everything. Pray for our
situations, for those who need to hear about God’s love, and for those who
share in our faith and our struggles.
This kind of living requires practice. It
requires equipment and discipline. That means using this armor regularly – an
hour of worship a week isn’t enough. A good first step: read the bible. Now
many of us would start with Genesis 1, but when we get to the monotony of Leviticus,
many people give up. So do something different than that. Follow the daily
lectionary, or make a habit of reading a devotional, like Our Daily Bread or
Guideposts that the Chapel gives out each month. Bible apps for your phone or
tablet often offer monthly reading plans and prayer journal resources – use
those. Set a reminder. Write it on your task list. It doesn’t really matter how
small you start – it just matters that you do something.
Second, make a practice of letting love be
your guide. That feels like a daunting task. Here’s a simple way to begin –
remember the golden rule – do to others as you would have them do to you. This is a
good guide: before we act ask the question, “Is this how I would want to be
treated?” Love will steer us in the right direction, even if it’s not the
easiest.
Third, faith is best lived out in community
– that’s why we worship together each week, hearing God’s story in scripture
and song, in prayer, and around a common table. It is why we want to offer
discipleship opportunities for all ages. It helps us to grow in knowledge and
in friendship. As we broaden our experiences, we embrace new understandings of
truth and discard old ideas that no longer fit our experience of who God is.
We are not just on the same journey with
other Christians – we are in the same battle. In this passage, Paul is telling
us that faith is not gained by our belief alone. Faith is not just a noun. It
is also a verb. It is active. It is lived out. It is alive.
Every year we plant a garden - herbs,
vegetables, flowers – we love it all. We spend the months of January and
February making plans, and March and April preparing the soil, planting seeds,
buying young plants, making our garden dreams come to life. By May, the
planting is done. But that is not the end of the story. Every day, we check to see
if our plants need water if there are slugs or bugs or birds munching in our
garden buffet. We look for disease, and treat it or remove the plants before the
infection spreads. Most years the plan works - but even in our failures, we
learn something useful for the future.
In 1998, Tom Junod wrote an article for Esquire
magazine that became the basis for the book and movie, It’s a Beautiful Day
in the Neighborhood. In this article, Junod shares this: “Once upon a time,
a little boy with a big sword went into battle against Mister Rogers. Or maybe,
if the truth be told, Mister Rogers went into battle against a little boy with
a big sword.” Mister Rogers encountered a boy with a big plastic sword, knelt
down in front of him, and said “Oh my, that’s a big sword you have.” The boy
replied, “It's not a sword; it's a death ray.” Mister Rogers whispered in the
boy’s ear, who at first shook his head no, then nodded Yes.
Later, Junod asked him what he’d whispered.
“Oh, I just knew that whenever you see a little boy carrying something like
that, it means that he wants to show people that he’s strong on the outside. I
just wanted to let him know that he was strong on the inside, too. And so
that’s what I told him. I said, ‘Do you know that you're strong on the inside,
too?’ Maybe it was something he needed to hear.” [iv]
We need to hear that, too. Paul writes to encourage
the Ephesians during difficult times – that message is just as important today.
God has given us tools for the battle, different from the weapons of the world.
We are not called to lash out in anger. Instead, we are called to stand firm
and know that we have the perfect armament we need to hold our position, and
even gain ground, by demonstrating our love for God and God’s love for the world.
These are the tools of our defense: truth, steadfastness,
peace, prayer, faith. Without our reliance on these, we will surely fail at
living out the life to which Jesus calls us.[v]
In the name of the Father, Son,
and Holy
Spirit, Amen.
Peace, Deb
(c) Deb Luther Teagan, August 2021
[i]
Pulpit Fiction Podcast, Proper 16B https://www.pulpitfiction.com/notes/proper16b/#Ephesians6%3A10-20=
[ii]
Will Willimon, Pulpit Resource, Equipped for the Fight, Proper 16B, 8/2//21
[iii]
James Howell, Weekly Preaching, August, 22, 2021, www.ministrymatters.com/all/entry/10915/weekly-preaching-august-22-2021
[iv]
Tom Junod, http://www.neighborhoodarchive.com/publications/press/esquire/index.html
[v]
Willimon, Ibid.
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