- Psalmody: Greek Esther 13:8b–11; Psalm 119:1; Psalm 90:1–2; Psalm 125:1; Job 1:1; Psalm 119:81, 84b, 86b
- Lection: Isaiah 25:6–9; Ephesians 6:10–17; John 4:46b–53
In the Name of the Father and of the ✠ Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We love our independence, our strength, our inherit ability to get done what needs to be done, even if speaking merely of personal daily tasks. As creatures prone toward pride, anything that lends toward us seeing how good we are is likely to be taken in favor. The longest season of the Church Year, Trinitytide, is nearly all passed by already, in much of a blur in many of our perspectives, yet recall the pride recounted just before this season began; recall Pentecost and the hearts of the people who settled upon the plain of Shinar who thought so much of themselves as to build a tower to their great name. All fallen hearts of man are prone to self-exaltation, and therefore, quite dangerously, to self-overestimation. Picture the largest window in your house in just two to three months’ time. On which side of the window shall you want to make sure that you’re standing? Northeast Ohio has brutal winters, conditions in which we, even in our own estimated great human strength and durability, would struggle to live long were we to be on the outside of that mid-Winter window. We’re not as mighty as we think, proven by the tenacity of featherlight, hollow-boned chickadee, cardinal, and junco who flit, hop, and sleep on the outside of that glass, along with squirrel, deer, groundhog, and possum, just to name a few of the locals. Unlike them, we need extra covering on our bodies, shelter, climate-controlled buildings in which to go and gather our pre-packaged food, lest we perish. Blessed be the Name of the Lord that He provides for all our little friends and for us! Yet, even more dangerous than the biting cold that can kill is the unseen fallen creature with whom we are at war; who is not satisfied with hypothermia or other trials of body, but seeks after the peril of your soul. Our insulated walls and windows shield us against the bodily threats of the cold and the Holy Spirit tells us by St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians by what means we mount a defense against the spiritual threat to our souls.
If you don’t think that the armor of God is needed as you go about life, then the devil already has his deceptive arrow deep into your flesh where it has set you aflame in deception. No easier a prey is there than one that gives itself up willingly. Stand therefore, be sober, be vigilant; realize that your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour and your soul is on the menu. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for he does not threaten you with sub-zero temps and feet of snow, unless the good Lord allows it in His divine providence. If Satan can pierce you with doubt, distrust, lack of interest in God, sorrow, disbelief, faithlessness, then he has you in the clutches of his prideful jaws.
Take note of how the strength and power that you need to do battle against the murderer of your soul lies not in your fragile limits. Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Again, what you need most comes from outside of you, and as with all good things, this armor, too, comes down from the Father of lights with Whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. The true, unseen struggles that take place for the bounty of your soul cause the great wars among men to be comparable playground skirmishes as to what is waged in the unseen around us.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. The battle for the eternal souls of men shall rage on for the duration of this evil day, this age. It shall rage on in the darkness, in the heavenly places that bear the weight of forever for all who step into them, and into them shall step we all. That is the true picture that we as Christians are to be honest about; to ourselves and to those around us. We are heavenly-minded, aware of the true nature of what is at stake, more than frost-bite or destruction of the body but for a time alone, but a gritty wrestling for what shall be forever and ever. Our desire is that of the Lord’s; that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, having finished the race, having rested in the grave until the Resurrection, to stand. This can only be done in the strength and power of God’s might, thus St. Paul circles right back around to tell more of the armor of God by which we are able to stand in this evil day.
The first pieces of armor are grouped in three: Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. To gird the waist with truth is to put on a belt that cinctures, secures, and holds in place that which we have to cover us in our vulnerable shame. The truth about God, that He is both holy and merciful, is that which holds upon us a covering over our dishonor, for by His law it is revealed in the nakedness of our sin, and by His mercy it is atoned for, it is covered. Truth binds up our loins so that we are prepared to stand firm in the might of Almighty God against the wiles and attacks of the devil, for it is God Who judges; and, it is God Who redeems. We put on the breastplate of righteousness which protects our vitality, the core of our person. It is a breastplate, not a backplate, meaning that the righteousness given to us by God is meant as a sure defense in the fight, not a tool given for flight, in a flee from the enemy. Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Do not be afraid! Shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace. What prepares you to walk, to fight, to stand in the way of righteousness is the truth that you have peace with God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ; in the forgiveness of your sins for His sake alone. No greater peace, no greater motivator, no greater enabler can be had than the gift of reconciliation and being at peace with heaven as we make war with the devil on earth.
The latter pieces of armor are also grouped in three: above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. All of God’s armor is given not to embolden us in our pride to seek a head-to-head with Satan, for on earth is not his equal. These are defensive pieces given by the grace of God so that we may stand, implying that without them we shall fall. The type of shield mentioned here is a long one, lent to a more defensive posture in giving plenty of guard against what is hurled our way. Faith is the very vehicle by which grace is delivered unto us. Faith in Jesus is the sure and certain guard against all attacks of fiery darts aimed at burning down the stronghold of your salvation from piercing fire within; a salvation that also covers the head and all within. Salvation is not just a matter of the heart, but also of the mind, for it, too, is redeemed unto God in our whole person. The Christian’s desires, his very will is made to stand in holiness as salvation then guards against the fruit of eternal life being snatched away through the twisted use of reason and lofty speech. The mind and the will are brought into subjection to God, where it is kept in truth and purity unto the Eternal Day for all who stand firm unto the end of the evil one.
The one piece of the armor of God that can both be used for defense and wielded in offense is the bright, gleaming sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Nothing makes the devil squeal louder than when we strike him with it. Yet, just as we want no police officer, infantryman, or ourselves to take up a gun in defense without knowing the weapon well and regularly practicing with it, so we, too, can effectively use the word of God only when we’re intimately familiar with it, trust, respect, and know its might, and are eager to unsheathe its power.
This armor of God is explicitly given to you in Christ Jesus our Lord, for of Him Isaiah the prophet has written, “Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him. For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay, Fury to His adversaries, Recompense to His enemies; The coastlands He will fully repay. So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.” If the standard by which you are able to stand in the evil day is Jesus Christ, your Armor, then it is Him that you must put on, and in your baptism, He has done this. His white robe is the armor of God that you need to stand firm.
The belt; He is the Truth, and the Way, and the Life, to gird securely about you.
The breastplate; He is the Righteousness robed upon you when you were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as He was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, you, too, may stand and walk in newness of life.
The sandals; He is the Prince of Peace in Whom you walk in peace with God; a peace that is eternally set, for neither cold nor heat, death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The shield; There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism. The one faith is not faith in faith itself, but faith in the solid Rock, Jesus Christ our Lord. Such a faith cannot be overcome just as He cannot be overcome.
The helmet; Salvation is shown in Revelation by the seal of God upon the forehead, just as you received at your baptism and remember now each time you make the sign of the cross that marks you as one redeemed by Christ the crucified. Salvation is of the Lord.
The Sword; If all the other weren’t enough to convince you how you are armored in Christ in holy baptism, let us then look to the language here of Spirit and the Word. Christ has given Himself for you, that He might sanctify and cleanse you with the washing of water by the word.
The presence of Christ with, and in, His people is the greatest comfort whether you face snowstorm or hellfire. Robed in Christ, donned in His armor, you shall stand firm against all wiles of the devil, seen and unseen. Have faith in your Armor, for He is an Armor sure.
In ✠ Jesus’ Name. Amen.
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