Sunday, September 1, 2024, 15th Sunday after Pentecost
“Heavenly Armor”
Psalm 119:129-136; Deuteronomy 4:1-9; Ephesians 6:10-20; Mark 7:14-23
Divine Service III with Holy Communion
Hymns: #727 “On Eagle’s Wings”; #665 “Be Strong in the Lord”; #660 “Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus”
Dear Friends in Christ,
Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus. Amen.
I’ll remember all my life those first few days of basic training in the US Army, at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, back in the summer of 1986. I remember shuffling through the line at the post supply depot, receiving the “basic issue” they give to brand new soldiers, all the things a soldier needs to survive on the battlefield. Uniforms and boots, belts and canteens, caps and helmets, OD green socks, t-shirts, and underwear. They piled it on as you moved down the line, until you could barely hold it all in your arms or see over the top of the pile. And at the end, we had to hold up every item, piece by piece, to be sure we had everything.
St. Paul in our reading in Ephesians urges us to put on our “heavenly armor,” our spiritual battle gear. Why do we need such a thing? Because this world we live in is a battlefield. The devil is shooting flaming arrows and unholy missiles everywhere. And we humans are soft and made of flesh. We’re like sheep; we have no natural armor, no claws, no sharp teeth to defend ourselves.
The shrapnel is flying in this world. There are all kinds of threats to our physical bodies; accidents, mishaps, slips and falls. When I taught my children to drive, the first thing I told them when they got behind the wheel was, “Your are now the pilot of a ton of rolling metal death.” We have to deal with pandemics, microbes, bacteria, and unseen viruses. We’re subject to diseases; diabetes, cancer, MS, and so many more. There are people out there in the world with evil hearts and ill intent. “Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ,” St. Paul says, and “not everyone has faith. “For from within,” says Jesus, “out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. And what’s in people’s hearts comes out of them in the awful things they sometimes do.
The old theological question is, “Why do bad things happen to good people? The answer is that it’s all random! Life is a crapshoot. Why do some of us die young, and others live on and on? Why do some soldiers live through combat, while others die? It’s either chance, or the grace of God, or pure dumb luck. Soldiers have a saying: “If a bullet has your name on it, there’s nothing you can do.” In Forest Gump, at the end of the movie, when the feather is floating away on the breeze, Forest says: “I don't know if Momma was right or if it's Lieutenant Dan. I don't know if we each have a destiny, or if we're all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze; but I, I think maybe it's both. Maybe both is happening at the same time."
So what happens to some of us could happen to any of us, on any given day. Storms don’t skip the Christian houses. Being a Christian doesn’t make us immune to tragedies. It rains upon the just and upon the unjust. The answer to “Why me?” is “Why not me?” Keeps a body humble, doesn’t it? One of my favorite bumper stickers is: “Christians aren’t better than everyone else; we’re just better off”. How can anyone walk through this world without Jesus? I, for one, don’t ever want to try; that would be way too scary. Our Lord in His mercy has given us armor to wear as we walk through this world. He’s given us everything we need to protect and defend ourselves, our loved ones, and our families from everything the sinful world and the devil can do - if we’ll only pick up His heavenly armor and put it on.
So, says St. Paul in our reading in Ephesians, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.” Literally, it’s: “Henceforth, from now on, from this day forward, be empowered in the Lord.” Let the Lord fill you with power - power that you would not have on your own – and live your life by His strength instead. (I promise you’ll find life to be better, simpler, and easier that way. You may even lose a few points on your blood pressure!)
“Put on the full armor of God,” writes Paul, “so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.” The full armor here is a panoplion in the Greek – a panoply, a full array. Paul is referring to the full set, the full issue of equipment that was given to every Roman soldier before they were sent out to war. (Like all that gear they loaded me down with at the start of basic training). God has issued us a full set of combat gear, all we need to defend ourselves, so that we’ll be able to stand against the devil’s schemes. And oh, the devil is a schemer. He’s no dummy. The Greek word for schemes is methodias - a method, a modus operandi, a strategy, a battle plan to bring us down; and on our own we’d be no match for him. Anyone who thinks they can fight Satan on their own is a fool.
This fight we’re in, Paul says - this spiritual war, this war for our lives and our souls - isn’t being fought against flesh and blood, or against human enemies or human armies. If that were so, we could gather some kind of army and fight. Our fight – a wrestling match, Paul calls it - is against “the rulers, against the authorities, against the ‘cosmic powers’ of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” It's hard for us to fight what we can’t see. Everything you’ve heard about devils and demons and evil spirits – all those things people try to laugh off as silly superstitions – are all too real. A third of heaven’s angels were thrown down to earth along with the devil, the Bible tells us; and they’re all still down here, living, and active, out on the prowl, out to ruin our faith and tear us away from God. The fact that we can’t see them doesn’t make them any less real; in fact, that makes them all the more dangerous.
Therefore, says Paul, because of this - because this is what we’re up against and this is the way things are in the world – put on the full and complete armor of God. Note that Paul doesn’t say God is going to put the armor on you; He’s not going to dress you in the morning. He’s going to provide you with what you need, but you’re going to have to faithfully get up every morning and put your outfit on.
“So that when the day of evil comes,” Paul says. Not if, but when. Honestly, there’s probably never going to be a day when the devil doesn’t come after you, or when something doesn’t happen in your life to test your faith. Best to start by assuming, when you open your eyes in the morning, that today just might be “the evil day.” Cross your heart and say a prayer and put that armor on. That way you’ll be able to stand your ground; you’ll be able to “stand in the day of evil.” And when the day is done, you’ll still be standing. (And if not, you’ll be in heaven, which is better still, so you really can’t lose either way.) Then at the end of the day you can lay down your head, thank God for His grace, sleep in peace, and get up in the morning to do it all again. “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep,” right?
Stand, therefore, and gird up your loins with God’s truth. Back in the days when people wore tunics and robes, to gird up your loins meant to hitch up your robe and tuck it into your belt, so you’d be ready to run without tripping over your feet. Wrap yourself in that truth you’ve come to know - the truth you were taught as a child, the truth you still confess in the creed, the truth about Jesus and who He was and who He is and what He did; the truth about what happened at the cross, and what happened on Easter morning; the truth about forgiveness and grace and the promise of life. Take that truth and wrap yourself in it, gird up your loins with it, as you go out the door and into the world. The truth will set you free – and maybe someone else too, if you tell it to them. God’s truth is the counterpoint to every lie the devil will try to tell.
And put on the breastplate of righteousness, Paul says. The Roman breastplate was called a thoraka, because it covered the thorax or the chest, to protect a soldier’s heart. God has given us the righteousness of Jesus Christ to protect our little hearts. We have no righteousness of our own, but the righteousness of Jesus, who lived a sinless life, and who made a perfect sacrifice for us on the cross, covers our sins; and daily repentance and forgiveness keeps our hearts righteous and clean.
And “fit your feet with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of peace,” Paul says. Back when they were trying to make a soldier out of me, the first “order of the day” the sergeants gave us was, “Take care of your feet.” Keep your feet dry, change your socks, every time you stop for a rest; because a soldier with sore feet can’t march or run, and won’t be much good in a fight. Paul is talking here about our Gospel boots, that we’ve been given to cover our feet, these beautiful feet God has given us to run and bring the world Good News. Gird up your loins, put on your boots, and out into that crazy mess of world we go – like “lambs among wolves,” Jesus says. The world is a battlefield, the evil stuff is flying – and into it we get to carry the Good News of peace. “My peace I leave with you, My peace I give you,” Jesus says. “Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid.”
And in addition to all this, Paul says, “Take up the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming arrows, missiles, and darts of the evil one.” The shield of a Roman soldier, called a thurion,” was rectangular, made of thick leather, and big enough to cover him from head to toe. And before battle, the shield was soaked in water, to put out the enemy’s flaming arrows. King David says in Psalm 3: “Thou, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, the lifter of my head.” There are people who claim that we Christians are weaklings, that we’re cowards who use our faith as a crutch instead of taking on the world ourselves. If that’s the case, Lord, give me that crutch. Give me faith as my shield and armor, and help me to trust in You alone. Tell any soldier he’s a coward for using a helmet or body armor or armor plating, and he’ll tell you you’re out of your mind.
And “take up the helmet of salvation,” Paul says. So it’s a breastplate of righteousness to cover your heart, and now a helmet of salvation to cover your head. Martin Luther was asked once is salvation was more a matter of the heart or of the head – a matter of faith or a matter of intellect – and his answer was, “Both.” I’ll put in a plug for Christian devotions and Bible study here. Part of this beautiful panoply of armor God has given us is faith in our hearts; faith as a gift of grace, faith to convert us and sustain us and keep us close to Him. But He’s also given us these brains of ours, capable of thinking, learning, and growing in spiritual understanding. The head informs the heart, and the heart informs the head. Faith informed and reinforced by knowledge is a powerful thing. People in the Word together is something the devil can’t stand up against.
And so, Paul says, take up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.” So far Paul has been talking about the armor we can put on, the things we’ve been given to protect ourselves; now at last we’re given an offensive weapon, a “spiritual sword.” When we were issued our gear in basic training, we weren’t given anything dangerous right away, like rifles, bullets, or bayonets, until they were sure we could be trusted with such things; and then only under careful supervision. The fighting weapon of every Christian is the Word of God. The devil has missiles, arrows, tanks, guns, and armies; and also propaganda, deception and lies; and we have words from the Book of Truth. And again, the devil hates it. If he could, he’d close every church, burn every Bible, and shut every Christian mouth. Keep that Word in your hands, in your heart, in your mind, and on your lips. Speak it aloud in your homes, teach it to your children, and we’ll win this fight in Jesus’ name. If you’ve read your Bible all the way through, you know the story has a happy ending. “One little Word can fell him,“ Luther’s old Reformation hymn says.
And there’s one more item in this duffle bag of holy things our Lord has given us, which is both an offensive and a defensive weapon. “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions,” Paul says, “with all kinds of prayers and requests.” Just like communication is important on the battlefield, we need to keep talking to God, and taking time to listen when He talks to us. “The prayer of righteous people is powerful and effective,” the Book of James says. Your prayers work. Your prayers matter. God hears our prayers and has promised to answer them. The devil really hates it when we pray, and especially when all of us pray together. It’s OK to pray for little things, and we should; but don’t be afraid to pray for big and impossible things, too. It’s OK to ask God for miracles.
And while you’re praying, please remember to pray for me. Pray that God will make me fearless, and that I’ll always tell you the truth, even if the truth is a little hard to hear sometimes. Every Christian pastor has a target on His back. If the devil can keep me from preaching the Word, he can keep the Word from reaching your ears. We pastors preach you the Word, and feed you the Sacraments, and give you what you need to keep you faithful and keep you in the fight. The devil hates a faithful pastor most of all.
St. Paul calls himself “an ambassador a chain.” He could have quit the fight and gone home, but his love for Jesus and his love for God’s people wouldn’t let him do it. “Woe to me if I don’t preach the Gospel,” he says. I won’t quit on you either. I love you and I care about you; and we’re all in this fight together, and together, by the grace of God, we’re going to win.
Lord, keep us faithful, keep us strong, and keep us ready and willing and fit for the fight. All for You, Lord, and all for the sake of Your name and the people You love. In Jesus’ name; Amen.