12th Sunday after Pentecost August 23, 2009 "Tools for Worship and War" Reverend Michael D. Powell Ephesians 6:10-20

There's a war going on; always! It may not be armed conflict between opposing armies, but there's always conflict. Conflict is an unavoidable part of life. Nations and neighborhoods are divided. There's distance and discord within families. Even within church families there's disagreement. External conflict is inevitable, but I'm talking about the root of conflict. I'm talking about the fact that we're not of one mind or one heart even within ourselves. There's an internal war going on, a spiritual war raging in which the stakes are nothing less than our hearts and our souls. All the external wars of the world, no matter what their magnitude or scale, are pale reflections of the war within the human heart and soul.

Paul addresses this theme in terms that are both cosmic and mundane. On the one hand he recognizes the spiritual dimension of the war when he talks about doing battle against "the devices of the devil," but then he goes directly into a description of a soldier's common armor. At the time he wrote these words Paul was a prisoner, literally chained by the wrist to a Roman soldier for his preaching of the Gospel. The imagery he uses to describe our resources for spiritual warfare is inspired by the dress of his guard, but it's important to remember that the language is symbolic.

Paul's talking about doing battle with the temptations we all struggle with, the internal forces of darkness, deceit and distrust, as well as the spiritual and psychological tendencies that many of us wrestle with, such as insecurity and low self-esteem. He's also talking about those personal and emotional self-delusions we project onto others, justifying and even personifying them with catch-phrases like "the devil made me do it."

Each of us battle with demons, and we have certain spiritual tools and resources available to us as we face our demons, both within and without. Paul ticks off the items he sees on the soldier and calls them "the whole armor of God." Now, I doubt that many of us have a suit of armor hanging in our closet. Anybody got a spare breastplate or helmet, a shield or a sword I can borrow? Nevertheless, each of us has these same resources, although we might describe them in different terms. They're tools for war, for doing battle with our demons, but they're also tools for worship, for drawing us into communion with God. What is your "belt of truth?" What's your "shield of faith?" Each of you will have your own associations with the various elements of the armor of God. I'd like to tell you just two of mine.

The Belt of Truth: The Word of God is Truth with a capital "T," and that Truth is contained in the Bible. Obviously, the Bible is not a belt, although certain geographical regions of the United States have been described using that terminology. My personal association with the term is deceptively simple. When I was in seminary in New York City I spent the entire last year working on my thesis. It was a stressful time in the sense that only another graduate student would understand as stressful. I spent hours every day reading the Bible and various historical works and commentaries on the scriptures. I loved the study, but the writing was hard for me. I'd write and rewrite, edit and erase and wrestle with the demons of worry and intellectual insecurity about whether I would ever be able to communicate anything. For study breaks I took walks with our dog in Riverside Park, which was right across the street. Those walks were what kept me sane as I wrestled with student stress.

Now, here's the story. In New York City people put stuff out on the sidewalk to be picked up, either as garbage or by someone looking for a bargain. One day on my way to the park I spied a discarded trunk. I opened it and found a very old and worn, small leather-bound Bible. I stuck it in my belt and almost immediately discovered something amazing. The pressure of it there against my belly felt great, and it was a constant reminder of God's word, like something I carried around in my gut. For the next couple of months I stuck that old Bible in my belt when I went for my walks. Later I learned that the Japanese actually have a word for the pressure point near the navel, it's called the "hara," and it's a spiritual center. That was in 1972. Now, nearly 40 years later, I have to tell you that I've forgotten most of what I learned during that year of studying the Bible in order to write my thesis, but I've never forgotten the feel of the Bible in my belt. As important as it is to read the Bible, it's also important to feel the truth of the Bible in your gut. That memory, that feeling, still warms a certain spiritual center for me. It's my "belt of truth."

As a kid playing gladiator I used to use a garbage can lid for a shield, but Paul's "shield of faith" is far more sophisticated. One of the most dangerous weapons in ancient warfare was the arrow dipped in pitch and set afire. For defense the Romans developed a large oblong shield, made of two sections of wood glued together, then covered with leather which could be soaked in water. The shield protected nearly the entire body of the soldier, and when the arrows sank in they were quickly extinguished. Now think metaphorically. Paul calls upon us to have a "shield of faith." Flaming arrows are continually coming at us, from both within and without. What's your shield of faith? In Proverbs 15:1 we read: "A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." Proverb 15:18 reads: "Those who are hot tempered stir up strife, but those who are slow to anger calm contention." The Bible is full of faith-words that shield us from the fiery arrows of conflict.

But look also within. Some of Paul’s words are challenging to the point of near impossibility. For instance, when he writes in Philippians 4:11: "I have learned, in whatever state I am in, to be content . . . I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me," the only way I can deal with those words is to call upon the great Serenity Prayer, written by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr and adopted by AA: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference.” These words are faith shields against the fiery arrows that poke at us from both without and within. Do you see how they're tools for war, and for worship? What are some of your personal faith shields that offer protection, or bring you peace?

You get the drift of how Paul is using the imagery of the whole armor of God. I won't go through the whole list but I challenge you to reflect upon your own breastplate of righteousness, helmet of salvation and sword of the spirit.

I'll close with the most important tool. "Pray at all times in the Spirit," Paul says. Prayer is the ultimate weapon as we do battle with the forces of darkness, and it's the ultimate tool for connecting us to God through worship. Paul ends on a personal note, a plea to those who listened to his sermons and read his writings. It's a personal request which I, as a pastor, readily echo: “Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel.”

I’m not a finished product. None of us are. We need each other. We need each other's prayers to help complete us. We need one another’s love and prayers, both for protection and for peace. We are the Body of Christ, and our spiritual warfare is to personally strive to incarnate the Good News of God's love in everything we say and do. That's what makes us the church. Lord, help us to be faithful. Help us to help one another, and to reach out to a world longing for the touch of peace, through Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.