Ephesians 6:10-20 Common English Bible (CEB)
Put on the armor of God
10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. 11 Put on God’s armor so that you can make a stand against the tricks of the devil. 12 We aren’t fighting against human enemies but against rulers, authorities, forces of cosmic darkness, and spiritual powers of evil in the heavens. 13 Therefore, pick up the full armor of God so that you can stand your ground on the evil day and after you have done everything possible to still stand. 14 So stand with the belt of truth around your waist, justice as your breastplate, 15 and put shoes on your feet so that you are ready to spread the good news of peace. 16 Above all, carry the shield of faith so that you can extinguish the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word.
18 Offer prayers and petitions in the Spirit all the time. Stay alert by hanging in there and praying for all believers. 19 As for me, pray that when I open my mouth, I’ll get a message that confidently makes this secret plan[a] of the gospel known. 20 I’m an ambassador in chains for the sake of the gospel. Pray so that the Lord will give me the confidence to say what I have to say.
Footnotes:
Ephesians 6:19 Or mystery
May the Force be with You!
For the last six weeks, we have been studying Ephesians. The Cliff’s Notes version of Paul’s teaching and ministry, probably not actually written by Paul, but by someone who studied under him. When you think about it, Ephesians is pretty radical.
God always intended for everyone, Jews and Gentiles, to be included in the chosen.
We are to be unified, even though we were never intended to be uniform.
We are to be compassionate, kind, forgiving, and speak only truth.
We are to seek wisdom and live sacrificially for each other.
It is a lot to ask.
While we seek to live as Christ, we have to admit that we are just human. Sometimes people make me mad, sometimes the world really stinks, and sometimes I don’t feel like I can hear or see God at all.
We live in a time of turmoil, unease, and fear. People talk about a growing evil, looming war, and the lack of refuge or hope.
Kind of reminds me of a kid growing up in a sandy desert a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away.
Episode IV, A NEW HOPE It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet. Pursued by the Empire’s sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy….
And those plans, the only hope to find a weakness in the evil empire and restore justice and mercy to the world end up inside a tiny little droid named R2-D2 and in the hands of young Luke Skywalker.
Leia was a Princess and a leader of the rebel alliance. She understood what was going on in the world around her and how important her news of hope would be. But Luke didn’t. He had grown up on a farm far away from the struggle with the empire, and he knew nothing of the importance of the message he receives. An orphan, raised by his aunt and uncle, Luke has always longed for something more. As he stares into the night sky at the two suns of Tatooine, he can feel that there is something larger than himself, something pulling at him, beckoning him to join. He has never been off his home planet, yet he has a sense that it is not his calling, his destiny, to stay there. That what he is meant to do is somewhere out there.
Did you know that George Lucas, the creator of Star Wars, grew up a devout Methodist? When he set out to create the iconic science fiction world that became Star Wars, he intentionally included religious elements. In fact, it was one of the main reasons he wrote it. And it is no coincidence that Luke Skywalker, even though he has never been taught about the force, even though he knows nothing of the Jedi, and even though he has no idea who his real father is, still feels himself being tugged by that very force. George Lucas knew what that was. Obi Wan Kenobi, the old Jedi, tells Luke that the force surrounds us, penetrates us, and binds the galaxy together. Prevenient Grace. The Grace that comes before we even know it is there. The wooing by the Holy Spirit, pulling us close, and beckoning us to listen. God’s grace. The force.
At first young Luke resists. He is busy. He can’t get involved. And what good could he do against something like the Empire. He is only one person, after all.
As we have read through Ephesians, I can imagine that many of the early Christians who would have heard this letter might have felt the same way. They lived in a world where the Roman Empire was larger than life, often oppressing and even persecuting, and Paul’s teachings demanded so much. How could they even try to live in truth and seek wisdom when the system they lived in was often fraught with corruption? How could they be kind and make sacrifices for their neighbor when it was often every man for himself, life and death every day?
Luke’s defining moment came when his aunt and uncle were killed by guards from the Empire. In that moment, he realized that the sense he had felt all his life that he was to be something else was the force all along. When he goes back to Obi Wan and announces that he is ready to learn of the force, it is his transformational moment. No turning back. George Lucas, and Methodists call that Justifying Grace. The moment we accept that the power we have felt is God, and that we choose to follow God. In that moment, we begin to actively search for God, just as Luke begins his study of the force.
And that is when it gets really hard.
It is one thing to feel the tug of God’s prevenient grace and not understand what it is. We often make horrible mistakes, go down destructive paths and make terrible decisions. All the while feeling a constant pull and not being sure what it is or how to respond. But in that moment of Justifying grace, we know. We can no longer hide behind ignorance or youth. We know what we are supposed to do. And we know the demands are high. We are expected to live to a higher standard, give more, love more, be more. But how?
Luke begins to study under Obi Wan Kenobi. He practices with the weapon of a Jedi. He listens as Obi Wan teaches him. He does exercises. But Obi Wan soon realizes that young Luke Skywalker is attempting to use the force. He is trying to control the force to get it to do as he wants. Instead of letting go and letting the force lead him, he thinks he can use the force to make happen what he wants.
We call this search for truth and growth Sanctifying Grace. After we realize it is God’s force that has been working on us all along, we begin our Christian journey. Trying to learn, grow, live faithfully, and follow in the ways of Christ. But sometimes we get caught up in making Christ work for us. It’s what we ask for, what we want, what we need done. We lose our way even though we are trying so hard.
In Ephesians 6, after Paul has taught all of the responsibilities and demands which are being taken up by the Christians, he gives them one last instruction. Paul knows that the demands of living a Christian life are really impossible for mere humans, and so he reminds them that they were never meant to do it alone. He tells them: Put on the armor of God. Be strengthened by the Lord and his powerful strength. You aren’t fighting against just any old ruler; you are fighting the ultimate battle between good and evil. You can’t do it alone, but God would never ask you to. Take up the belt of truth, justice as your breastplate, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit. You are not facing the evils of the world alone. God calls you, but God also empowers and equips you. So that you can complete Christ’s mission and save the world.
In the climax of the movie, Luke has gotten the plans to the rebel base, and they have been analyzed and a weakness in the Death Star was found. The rebel fighters face off with the evil Empire in a winner takes all battle to save the world. Our young Luke, a skilled pilot, is in the attack squadron, sent to fight past the Empires TIE fighters and fire a torpedo into the exhaust shaft of the Death Star. It is the only way to destroy the massive weapon and defeat the empire. But it is almost unthinkable to be able to do it. Several other rebel fighters have already been shot down as they attempt to get close enough to make the shot, and the computer directed missile misses from the one shot one who does get in.
We feel like that a lot. There is so much that needs done in our world. We Read, pray, fellowship worship. We really try to seek Sanctifying Grace to help us be the force for good in our world. But no matter how hard we try to speak truth, be compassionate, and live sacrificially, it seems like evil still has the upper hand. It feels like we simply can’t live up to all that we are asked to do in this Christian calling no matter how hard we try.
As Luke approaches the shaft, and he knows the Death Star is only seconds away from being in position to fire and take out the entire rebel alliance, he just can’t seem to get a lock on the target. He has practiced, he is skilled, and he is focused. Yet, he knows the shot won’t be good. In that moment, he hears a voice, “Use the force. Let go. Luke, trust me.” In that moment, young Luke finally understands. He switches off his computer instruments and takes a deep breath. It isn’t he who takes the shot. He is but a vessel for the force to work through. When he fires, it is on feeling and trust, not on his own understanding or control. And it is in that moment that Luke reaches what John Wesley called Christian Perfection. Not perfect in action, but perfect in faith and trust. We don’t use the force, we open ourselves to let the force use us. And it is only then, when we realize the force around us has been God all along, when we accept that force to be the grace of God and work to live in and seek the satisfying grace of a Christian life, understanding that it is not about us or what we can do, but it is about how willing we are to really put on the armor of God, the belt of truth, justice as your breastplate, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the spirit, and then actually opening ourselves up to the full power of God’s grace and not relying on our own efforts or ego, that we can reach Christian Perfection.
It is only when we let go and trust in God that we become truly ready to take on the evils of the world and deliver our saving message of hope.
It is a big task. Daunting. Overwhelming really. We are but meager human beings against a full world of need.
But remember, the force will be with you always.
Amen.
Image by FrancescoValla from Pixabay
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