Stay Strong in the Lord
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The writer Flannery O’Conner reportedly once said, “You shall know the truth and the truth will make you odd.” She was playing with the scripture verse where Jesus says, “You shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” To be sure, there is freedom in knowing the truth of the Gospel. But to really know that truth, to really live the Gospel, will also make us odd. I mean, the fact that you, on a Sunday morning at 9:30 am are worshiping makes you different than most of the population. The meaning of odd: different from what is usual or expected; strange. Bring it on! Perhaps embracing it will bring us a sense of freedom that leads to the abundant life Jesus offers.
Our reading for today comes from the end of the letter where Paul tells the church to stand firm in the Christian faith and life, and in the battle against the spiritual forces of wickedness. As Paul says,
“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.”
After last week’s passage from Ephesians where Paul was talking in pretty down-to-earth language about how to lead a moral life so to have this shift in his writing is a bit jarring! A bit odd! Remember last week and our “rules for living”? Then, in today’s passage, Paul shifts, rather abruptly, to talk about the “wiles of the devil,” the “spiritual forces of wickedness,” and our need to stay strong in a cosmic battle. www.episcopalchurch.org/sermon/the-truth-will-make-us-odd
I think most of us can agree that there is evil-and injustice in the world—a force that seems against all that is good and loving. It’s out there. Our world is marred by violence, arrogance, greed and injustice. And we grieve the ways the “spiritual forces of evil” which the Paul wrote about still wreak havoc in our world today--the powers and principalities that oppose the things that God is about-- justice and peace.
When I first read this text years ago I did not love it—mostly because of the spiritual warfare imagery (which I think has been used to make people come to faith out of fear) and military language or armor/war—it just didn’t sit right with me due to our harmful past as Christians and the countless people killed in the name of Christianity.
But when you really look at this text—Yes, this is a military image but the pieces of the armor stand for very unmilitary things.
The belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes to proclaim the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. We are equipped with truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, spirit.
It might not seem like enough to fight a battle (for if we think about it many of are fighting battles—sometimes battles no one even knows about) …and we are assured that it is enough. We know---that through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus—victory over sin and death is already ours!
This is all good news! But how does this affect our lives here and now? Because, yes, we have victory in Jesus but we still have to live in a world that is far from perfect and still wreaking havoc and real harm for many people. What do we do? When this text was written, the point was how do you fight the powers that be, such as the Roman army that has real soldiers with real weapons? Rome was a powerful force. The answer: You don’t put on weapons at all. The armor of God are all the tools of nonviolent resistance. Truth, justice, peace, salvation, faith and trust.
You confront the powers of violence with trust in God. You resist. You stand firm. You don’t give in. You don’t comply. But you also don’t use violence. We will fight against racism, sexism, poverty and every form of oppression. As we fight, we will choose compassion, we will choose hope, we will choose forgiveness, we will choose life. We will put on the full armor of God and live in truth and righteousness and peace and faith and salvation and the spirit. And in our world today, this will make us odd- different from what is usual or expected; strange. But we are called to do it anyway. And we are called to be strong in the Lord- Through it all.
That little phrase, “in the Lord”, is very important, for the Lord is the source of all true strength. Paul does not merely say, “be strong”, but “be strong in the Lord”. We are not strong in ourselves. Any strength that we do have is from God.
When I started ministry there was no lack of advice given to me—one which was if you want to make it in ministry, Richelle, you’ve got to be strong. You’re going to have to grow thick skin! Yet, when I tried--- when I’d toughen up, I became cynical and less sensitive to God and the people around me. The thick skin ----insulating myself from some of the very people I’m to serve was counterproductive. This text has become a personal mantra for me over the years as I encounter difficult times in my personal life—or in church life---or in the world around me. It’s not our job to protect ourselves with thicker skin. That makes us indifferent to the world and people around us. Instead, we need to prayerfully put on the armor God has given us. We can stand firm---not on our own---not by growing thicker skin—but knowing that God has our back. God has given us the most perfect gifts to equip us. That is where our source of strength is-- in Christ. Not in ourselves or what we can muster up. We are strong in the Lord. And that makes all the difference.
Amen