I feel a little extra brave whenever I’m wearing a backpack fit for the occasion.
Whether it’s hiking those first miles of dusty trail wearing a pack full of food and gear for the week’s upcoming trek….or striding up into a school bus to travel to a sporting competition with your teammates all if you wearing matching bags with team logo and number embroidered on it…or marching into school on that first day with a backpack full of paper not yet filled with notes and drawings…and all the colored pencil tips still shrap.
I’ve always felt a little more courageous when I’ve got a backpack, full of supplies and expectation of all the learning and relationships that might unfold in a new space. Of course our text for today from Ephesians is not talking about backpacks but about military gear. It uses the imagery not of a kid going off to school, but a soldier standing victorious in battle.
Right at the close of the letter to the church in Ephesus is this message of rousing encouragement – “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of God’s power. Put on the whole armor of God.”
When I hear the word armor – it’s not really a positive connotation. Armor can be scary. I think of how intimidating it can be to encounter police officers, with bulletproof vests, pistols and tasers and batons and cuffs on their waists. I think of prison guards wearing head-to-toe SWAT gear moving in to forcibly extricate someone from their cell. I think of the armored military vehicles that roll through communities to subdue them.
So when the letter to the Ephesians encourages the church to “put on armor” – I bristle a little bit, because I wonder if armor isn’t just about keeping the person wearing it safe in a dangerous battlefield, but it’s also a tool of intimidation and fear. Yet the letter deploys its military imagery to encourage the kind of bravery and strength needed to proclaim and live out the gospel of peace. It describes a very different kind of armor for a very different kind of battle.
Because the letter to the Ephesians is written by Paul or possibly someone else who describes themself as “an ambassador in chains,” which is a strange title to give yourself. An ambassador is someone who travels as a representative or promoter of their cause. Yet Ephesians is written by someone confined, shackled in chains, imprisoned because they have “proclaimed with boldness the mystery of the gospel.” And this person has had plenty of time to study up close – the nuances of the armor of the Roman soldiers who captured and now guard him. And though they wear no physical armor themselves – they turn to military language to encourage a church to faithfulness to Christ.
The imagery of armor is a reminder that God gives us all we need to be brave in our proclamation and embodiment of the gospel. We have everything we need in our backpacks to be a witness to the good news of the peace that God brings in Christ. We just have to stand and put that nonviolent armor on.
And putting on armor isn’t just a fun game of dress up to try on a new outfit and stand in front of the mirror. The armor Ephesians describes is necessary for the struggle the church finds itself in. “Put on the whole armor of God,” the text says, “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 power of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
That’s a lot to go up against! I recognize that words about grappling with evil, and wrestling against cosmic power of darkness and spiritual forces of evil, and standing against the devil is powerful, maybe dangerous language to use. And this language of spiritual warfare can be co-opted into a kind of Christian self-righteous victimhood, where groups always believe themselves to be persecuted, always believe themselves to be locked in a battle, in which they always stand on the right side.
But when we consider that the early church did not serve in the military – this language of struggling with rulers and principalities and evil forces – is a subversive and encouraging word, reminding its hearers that God has overcome any and all death-dealing powers by the power of the resurrection. And even though we might not be contending with the brutality of the Roman empire and its militarized and economic hierarchies that the early church knew well – we all can name powers, forces beyond ourselves that we’ve grappled with in our own lives or lamented in the world around us.
Whether it’s the specter of economic inequality that subjects those on the bottom to grinding poverty, or the forces of mechanized warfare always urging vigilance and revenge, or the centuries long nightmare of racism and colonialism, or whether it’s the deep despair of loneliness or mental illness, or whether it’s the patriarchy that creates homes and worlds with men on top – we know what it is to struggle.
And our text reminds us that whatever our struggle looks like – God equips us with the strength to continue to live out the good news of peace. This isn’t easy, and it’s only by God’s power that we can, as our text says, “make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.” That’s why we have to persevere in praying and asking for the Spirit’s help. That’s why we’re encouraged to put on all of the armor we can, God’s peaceful armor, to be prepared for a lifetime of faithfulness.
It begins by standing up – not in self-assuredness or intimidation, but in gratitude that God’s love is the triumphant force in this world and in our lives. After we’re standing, we’re encouraged to belt up, not with a buckle of self-promotion, but with a belt of truth around our waist – so that we can recognize and speak clearly about who God is and who we are as beloveds of God.
Then we put on the breastplate of righteousness, which covers our heart – a heart that when we draw near to God, beats to the rhythm of justice, living out the prayer that God’s kingdom would come here in this terrestrial ball as in heaven. Next we’ve got to put something on our feet – and in this item we’re given a wide range to choose from – strap on or lace up – whatever it is which will give you traction to proclaim the gospel of peace.
As people who follow Jesus – whatever shoes you’ve got that are grippy enough to traverse the rocky ground of loving your enemy and have a bold enough design to give you bravery in sharing with others about how in Christ, God extends peace to all – wear those sneakers or high heels or sandals or boots or Crocs.
In one hand grab onto your shield, reminiscent of the laminated leather ones the Romans soldiers carried to deflect the arrows of opposing armies, except your shield extinguishes the fiery arrows of anything seeking to separate you from the love of God.
And on your head – wear the helmet of salvation, so you can go out into life with the knowledge as close to your brain as possible – that you are loved and forgiven and made whole by the power of God.
You’ve got one hand left – so grab onto the only weapon that actually works.Take hold of the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” This weapon does not destroy or retaliate but cuts to the heart, speaking a life-giving word.
You will need to hear these words if you are to persevere. Others are desperate also to hear a word of truth and goodness and beauty spoken to them. So go forth in your lives and be brave to share and live this good news – that Christ brings peace to you and to me and to this whole beloved world.
And whether you are heading back into the classroom right now to learn or whether your work looks like logging into a Zoom room or caring for a patient or a family member or doing the dishes and folding the laundry – go into the space you find yourself boldly, faithfully, graciously, knowing that God has given you all you need to be an ambassador of good news.
God has clothed you as a peacemaker with all the equipment necessary to walk through the gritty messiness of life and to grapple with the forces of death.
So bring your bravery, bring your creativity, and remember that God’s spirit accompanies you wherever you go. And remember to pray for each other that we would persevere too!
So go forth to proclaim with boldness the mystery of gospel, knowing that you have on the armor of God.
You have all you need in your backpack.