Sermon Text: Ephesians 6:10-20, Psalm 84
27 Aug 06
Dave and I are now almost home alone. I say almost because we've got just our youngest son left living with us -- James -- who's entered high school. We have all been wondering about how this was going to work, but it's been kind of nice.
James is our talker, so without the distraction of brothers, we have actually been having some pretty interesting conversations. Sometimes pretty theological ones.
Last week he started one with, "So what's the point of people saying they are Christians if they don't ever act like it?"
He was referring to a number of students at his high school who are part of Christian clubs, but when they are away from the club, they exclude and put down others. So we talked about the struggle to be good. C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, "No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. A man who gives in to temptation after 5 minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later" (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, A Touchstone Book, Simon & Schuster, 1996, Book III, Ch. 11, p. 126).
Of course this struggle is not confined to high school. We have all fought this battle and may be fighting it right now. The battle for good may be something inside ourselves. It may be with someone else. It may be at work or at home. And it is a struggle! The apostle Paul himself describes this struggle in the 7th chapter of his letter to the Romans: "I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me."
The struggle is personal and internal, and it is cosmic and external. It is part of our human story -- maybe that's why the struggle between good and evil is the stuff of so many popular movies. There is Star Wars with Darth Vadar and Luke Skywalker; and the Lord of the Rings with the hobbit struggling not to be overcome by the evil power that the ring represents. All the Superman movies and Harry Potter movies ultimately are stories of the human struggle between good and evil.
It's a human struggle that has been around since the beginning of time. Today's scripture from Ephesians describes in vivid images the struggle between good and evil. The writer names all these pieces of battle gear which would have been so familiar to the people of these times who were living under the rule of Roman soldiers.
This is no ordinary military gear. Each one is a characteristic of God. There's the belt of truth -- and we've heard about that in Isaiah 11:5 and numerous other places:
Ordinary military gear this is not. It's a divine sort of protection that only comes from God. It's as if the writer is saying - put on God before you try to do battle in this world.
Not that we don't try with gear of our own making. We try to arm ourselves with things that will never protect us from the level of spiritual struggle that we face in this life. We think money or success will make us winners. We think things like position or education will protect us. But none of these things are strong enough to win out over evil. It takes the whole armor of God to win this battle.
So if you're wondering where we sign up for this armor of God -- where we can pick up the belt of truth, and shield of faith, shoes of peace, helmet of salvation, here's the paradox. This gear only fits when we start with a posture of trust. It doesn't fit over our stubborn, headstrong, willful selves who think they know better than God. If on the deepest level, we don't really trust God, if we really want to stay in control, God's armor isn't going to change anything for us.
Today's psalm says this beautifully. O Lord of Hosts, Happy is everyone who trusts in you. Happy are those whose strength is in you. The Lord God is our sun and our shield.
Every so often I try to get away for a day or two for a silent retreat. What I do is not complicated. I pray, I read scripture, I don't talk to anyone. I am there to receive whatever God has to give. Every time I go on one of these retreats, I have to admit this, I think, well maybe this will be the retreat where God really gives me the answers: I'll know if I'm supposed to open an orphanage in India. I'll have the first chapter of a book written - the book that will change the world. I'll come up with an idea for a non-profit that will end world hunger. At the very least, I'll be given a checklist of what I'm supposed to do next. None of this ever happens. The only insight I ever have on these retreats -- and I have been doing this now for several years -- is STAY CENTERED IN CHRIST. STAY GROUNDED IN GOD.
I have come to understand what this means. It is both faith and action. We trust where Jesus Christ is leading us, even when we can't see the outcomes. Our strength IS in the Lord. But that doesn't let us off the hook. When we trust in the Lord, we do something. Life in Christ is more than just waiting to be clothed in the armor of God. Life in Christ requires a response.
Dallas Willard is a writer and teacher whom I spent some time reading this summer. He says Christians tend to understand grace and salvation too narrowly. We don't have to earn grace, he acknowledges. But still, we need to put in some effort. Being a Christian is more than a name we call ourselves. It is a commitment to follow Jesus Christ and learn to be a disciple. And being a disciple takes discipline (Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus' Essential Teachings on Discipleship, HarperSanFrancisco, 2006, Ch. 7).
The discipline we need is stated right here in the letter to Ephesians. "Take the helmet of God, and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God." The writer is talking about the scriptures. "And pray in the Spirit at all times."
Scripture reading and prayer have been part of the discipline of Christian formation since the time of Christ. Jesus himself was frequently found praying or teaching the scriptures in the synagogue. It was the way he stayed connected to his Father.
We had a great board retreat a week ago Saturday with about 25 members of the church last weekend. We had all kinds of ideas. All sorts of focus areas. Talked about priorities. Discussed our mission statement. Made a list of things we do well and things we could do in the future.
It's all important. But it all starts with something that each of us must choose. The most critical thing for the future of this church is that each of us make a choice to not only say we are Christians but to commit to becoming more and more like Jesus. To commit to being disciples of Jesus. To live life with Christ at the center. There is a discipline to this life -- which includes prayer, scripture reading, worship, and service for others. People know we are Christian not by name only but by how we live.
Going back to that conversation with James I had earlier this week, he began the conversation with the question: "What's the point of people saying they're Christians if they don't act like it?" But somewhere in the middle of the conversation -- which got fairly theological -- he asked another question: "So how do we know God is real?" James is not the only person the world asking these questions. We as Christians need to have some answers.
We don't put on all that armor of God just to look good or even to be good. And the armor of God is not some heavy burden weighing us down. The armor of God gives us wings -- gives us the freedom and the power -- to make God real in someone else's life. Mother Teresa, who spent her life doing this, teaches us this. But instead of the image of putting on the armor of God, she says "Put yourself completely under the influence of Jesus, so that he may think his thoughts in your mind, do his work through your hands, for you will be all powerful with him to strengthen you" (Reuben P. Job, Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer, Nashville: The Upper Room, 1983, p. 269).
Put on the armor of God, so that everything you say and do makes God real for somebody else. Amen.
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