Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 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 arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 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.
Ephesians 6:10-20
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. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.
My sermon from the 14th Sunday after Pentecost (September 1, 2024) on Ephesians 6:10-20.
*******
So one of things I didn’t really expect once I became a parent was how the back-to-school season wouldn’t involve a lot of back-to-school shopping. I know a lot of this is because my school district provides school supplies for every elementary school kid. And most of my current school-related anxieties are trying to figure out how to fit into my calendar all the schooling, sports, back to school nights, church, and life that September and October will bring. But it wasn’t that long ago when I spent most of August going to the mall. Even though I had no sense of style or taste, making sure I had some so-called “cool” stuff – especially clothes – really mattered. I spent a little bit of time paying attention to all the commercials on tv and ads in my local paper. I had figured out at a very young age that the right kind of new clothes could set the tone for what the new year might bring. These new threads could grant you a certain amount of social capital, attention, or even enable you to blend into the crowd. Any new clothes, even the ones my parents bought that I knew I’d never wear, could allow some of us – within certain social and cultural limits – let others know who we chose to be. And since I grew up in a place where a person’s value was often defined by their wealth and status, new clothes were one way others decided who belonged and who didn’t. Knowing what to wear – and having something new to wear – was a kind of armor that influenced not only how others saw us but also how we saw ourselves.
Today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians contains a metaphor we might have heard before. The ancient city of Ephesus, located on the coast of modern day Turkey, was once a major political, economic, and religious center within the Roman Empire. It was home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and had been made the capital city of the entire region by Emperor Augustus. It was a large and prosperous city filled with statues proclaiming the superiority and inevitability of Rome. As people wandered through its marketplaces and streets, the clanging and shuffling of armor from all the soldiers patrolling the city was always present. The small and vibrant Christian community in Ephesus were very familiar with what soldiers wore. And so it made sense for Paul to use this daily experience as a metaphor for the life of faith. We have, over the centuries, sometimes used Paul’s words as a kind of call-to-arms, inviting us to see ourselves as soldiers for Christ. This image can sometimes help us see ourselves as part of something bigger but it has also been used as an excuse to justify all kinds of pain and death. Taking a little time to unpack what Paul wrote can help us move past our tendency to idolize violence, victory, and the act of war itself. The Rev. Katie Hines-Shah recently pointed out how the items named in this passage were not just generalized things soldiers wore. They were very real with specific purposes. The shield, known in Greek as a thyeros, was “a two-by-four-foot hide shield capable of withstanding flaming arrows and protecting warriors from spear attack – but only if the holder [kept] his cool and [held] it up.” The belt wasn’t only a practical tool to hold pouches or a sword. It was also decorated with specific metal fittings that showed who was an officer and who wasn’t. The breastplate was either tightly woven chain-mail that covered most of the body or the layered metal strips that fit our mental picture of what Roman soldiers wore. And “[their] helmet…may [have been] as much for identification as [it was for] protection,” letting soldiers recognize who was around them. When taken as a whole, it’s rather surprising that Paul didn’t mention any of the major offensive weapons Rome used to conquer other nations such as siege engines, catapults, archers, and calvary. He, instead, focused on what they wore for protection with even the short sword being something that could “only be used in close proximity to an enemy.” What Paul chose to highlight were the tools offering a bit of defensive comfort while they were serving in their world. And a really important part for the entire metaphor appears in the middle of the whole thing. On one level, it seemed as if Paul ran out of steam while describing what we’re supposed to wear on our feet. But I think he knew, just like those who have served in our armed forces, how important shoes are. It wouldn’t matter how powerful the Roman weapons were if their shoes couldn’t handle the rough roads, rivers, rain, snow, and wilderness they traveled through. For the Roman army to move, they walked and the entire foundation for what they could literally depended on what was below them. Instead of describing a specific type of shoe or boot the Ephesians would metaphorically wear, Paul focused on what that shoe was meant to do: empowering those who followed Jesus to proclaim a gospel of peace for the entire world.
This peace, though, wouldn’t be like the peace practiced by the Romans. It wouldn’t use violence to force their will over and against everyone else. The peace they proclaimed wouldn’t be defined by those who wielded the Cross but by the One who lived despite it. This peace would bring healing rather than harm, wholeness rather than division, life rather than death. It was a proclamation recognizing God’s generosity rather than feeling entitled to hoard all of God’s gifts for ourselves. The peace Jesus brings challenges us to always be more since love is so much harder to live out than fear, violence, and death. It’s a peace we offer, we share, and we wear – because it is a kind of armor given to us by our God. Our own ideas about power, strength, and faith isn’t meant to be the limit of the interactions we have with our family, friends, and neighbors. Rather, what we share and what we wear is the knowledge, realization, and trust that Jesus has already conquered all that separates us from God. The armor of God isn’t something we earn; it is a gift – given, formed, shaped, and reissued through our baptism, at Jesus’ table, in prayer, and through the grace God gives us everyday. It’s an armor that’s made for more than simply protection but is a tool inviting us to live out God’s peace everyday. This experience can make it seem as if everyday is the start of a new school year, full of its own challenges, anxieties, worries, joys, and fears as we navigate all the unknown life can bring. Yet unlike the clothes we buy to impress or deal with those around us, the armor of God is something that never goes out of style. We put it on not because it’s going to eliminate everything that comes next. Rather, it is what reminds us that the worst things won’t be the sum of who we get to be. We proclaim and live out this good news of peace because love, mercy, forgiveness, and hope is not only the foundation of the kingdom of God – but at the core of the relationship we have with each other and the world.
Amen.