Sermon: "Armor of God - Gospel of Peace"

The Rev. Maureen R. Frescott

Congregational Church of Amherst, UCC

August 26, 2018 – Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Psalm 84; Ephesians 6:10-20

“Armor of God – Gospel of Peace”

When I was nine-years-old, I wanted to be Johnny Bench.

For those who don’t know who Johnny Bench is, he played for the Cincinnati Reds baseball team back in the 1970’s.

He was the catcher and he was behind the plate when the Cincinnati Reds defeated the Boston Red Sox in 7 games to win the 1975 World Series.

I realize that many of you may have blocked that out. 

In the early 70’s, Bench led the league in RBI’s and runs scored and was voted the league’s Most Valuable Player multiple times.

But as a nine-year-old watching my first World Series on television I wasn’t really aware of any of that.

I loved baseball, and I knew Johnny Bench was a great player,

but I what I really admired about him was the equipment that he got to wear.

The catcher’s mask, the chest protector, the shin guards, and the round glove with extra thick padding.

I would often play the position of catcher during our neighborhood sandlot games, and I can’t tell you how many times I got whacked in the shins, beaned in the chest, or smacked in the face, by an errant ball or bat...and my thin, Jr. fielder’s glove would leave my palms stinging with every catch.

So on summer nights, I would pull out the Sears Catalog and pour over the sporting goods section. Looking at the pictures of catcher’s equipment,

and pining over the plastic leg-guards, caged masks, and padded gloves.

And I’d imagine myself donning all that fancy protective gear and crouching behind the plate, just like Johnny Bench.

I never did get that catcher’s equipment.

There was no way my parents could afford it with ten kids to feed and clothe.

And since girls couldn’t play Little League baseball, I could never justify needing such fancy equipment for our neighborhood sandlot games. 

But it would be many years later that I realized that my obsession with getting that protective gear had less to do with my desire to avoid injury,

or my desire to look cool behind the plate, and more to do with the vulnerability I was beginning to feel as I approached my pre-teen years.

I was starting to notice that I was different.

Earlier that year I had asked my mom if she would order me a pair of pajamas from that same Sears catalog.

They were football pajamas, emblazoned with the logo of the NY Jets,

and with white knit bottoms that looked like real football pants.
I thought they were so cool.

I remember my mother calling the Sears catalog order desk, as I stood excitedly by her side, and at one point she covered the receiver of the phone as she frantically whispered to me,

"The lady at Sears says these are BOYS pajamas."

I sheepishly replied, "I know they are, but I really like them."

Kudos to my mom. She ordered them anyway. 

And then she sewed up the fly on the pants before she let me wear them.

At the age of 9, I was beginning to recognize that there weren’t many little girls who wanted football pajamas or who wanted to be Johnny Bench.

So the idea of having a catcher’s mask and chest protector to hide behind was very appealing – to both disguise my gender, and offer protection from the slings and arrows of judgment that I was already beginning to feel.

For many, putting on the armor of God serves the same purpose.

As we long to have protective armor to wear to act as a shield against the many things that can hurt us in life.

This passage from the letter to the Ephesians is memorable because it gives us this vivid imagery of God standing as a physical barrier between us and harm, while at the same time equipping us with the tools we need to go on the offensive and stand firm when we encounter what we would call evil.

But as comforting as this imagery can be, it is not without its problems.

For some, this passage has a militaristic overtone to it that is either strongly appealing - or unappealing -  

as we imagine donning the breastplate of righteousness,

picking up the shield of faith, and brandishing the sword of the Spirit –

as we head out to battle the forces of darkness

or fight our human enemies with God on our side.

Depicting God as a shield or a weapon who protects some and harms others can put us on shaky theological ground,

especially if we believe in a God who loves us all unconditionally and equally, and who calls for us to love one another as we too are loved by God.

Unfortunately, the imagery of battle gear is so strong in this passage that we may miss the context in which it was expressed.

The author of Ephesians writes: 

“Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the evil one.  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.”

This is powerful language.

What the text does not say is that this armor of God is meant to be donned in our fight against human foes here on earth, as we brandish our faith as a weapon.

Rather it’s the spiritual forces of darkness that we need protection against.

The forces inside of us and outside of us that pull us towards the things that separate us from God and one another –

Fear, selfishness, ignorance.

The desire for power over others.

The impulse to lash out at those who have harmed us.

The distrust of those who have a different experience – a different story to tell – than our own.

Whenever we encounter intentional injury, inhospitality, or injustice, we are dealing with the spiritual forces of darkness.

This is the force that rises up or takes root in our own hearts and causes us to do harm to one another – as individuals, and in our systems and laws institutions – as we deny the divinely orchestrated connection between each and every one of us.

But we have to ask ourselves why we feel pulled along by forces that separate us, when God created us to be connected to another?

And why is this imagery of donning the protective armor of God so compelling to us?

Perhaps because we all feel vulnerable.

Every single one of us.

Regardless of age, gender, race, or income.

Regardless of our education level or status.

Regardless of how strong we feel inside or how much weight we can carry outside.

We were all children once.

We all know what it’s like to feel powerless and fearful.

And so much of what we experience as adults taps into that fear,

or adds to it, as we encounter challenges or people, that make us feel as if we’re vulnerable children all over again.

Whether we’re faced with the alluring pull of the forces of the outside world that feed our desire for power, control, security, and superiority,

or the forces that pull at us from the inside, that tell us we are weak, or worthless, or a waste of God’s time.

it’s the gospel of Christ that acts as a counter-force.

The good news of Christ is our shield and our breastplate and our sword.

The good news is that God is doing something NEW in our world.

Calling us to be counter-cultural as we resist the pull to give in to our fears, and instead LOVE our neighbor, and WELCOME the stranger, and LIBERATE those who are held captive by the many isms of this world – racism, classism, sexism, ableism, ageism - and egoism – for those who lack humility are also held captive by the fear of appearing vulnerable and weak.

We may say it’s all well and good for some ancient followers of Jesus to embrace a good news gospel and use it as a metaphorical shield and sword against evil, instead of the real thing.

They didn’t live in the world that we live in today.

Where we have nuclear weapons, and terrorism, and cyber attacks, and biological warfare,

all of which cause us to feel vulnerable in ways our ancestors could never have imagined.

But the Pauline community that gave us the letter to the Ephesians wasn’t some idealistic Kumbaya community of uneducated peasants who were in denial about the challenges of the real world.

They lived under the Pax Romana – the Imperial Peace of Rome – an artificial peace that was enforced by oppression and the weight of the Roman Empire’s foot standing on the neck of the people.

You can’t raise a rebellion, when you can’t even stand up.

Paul, and those who followed in his footsteps, threatened that forced peace, because they preached a gospel of TRUE peace – one that would be brought on by loving enemies, welcoming strangers, and liberating those held captive.

The followers of Jesus’ WAY were thrown in prison for preaching this gospel so many times that they likely never bothered to make hotel reservations on their travels. Why book a room in the town you’re preaching in when you know you’re going to end up sitting on a dirt floor surrounded by iron bars by the days end.

If anyone had a right to hate and despise his enemies, and secretly wish he could take them all out with one swipe of God’s Sword of righteousness, it was Paul.

Yet he harbored no malice or thoughts of revenge against his captors – or the imperial state of Rome, which they served.

Instead Paul taught his community to fight against the “spiritual forces of evil – the cosmic powers of the present darkness” that rose up in their own hearts.

Now, all this talk of evil forces may have some of us squirming in our seats, but if we deny that we’re all capable of nurturing these forces within our own hearts, then we may also miss the invitation we’re given here to put on shoes that will make us ready “to proclaim the Gospel of Peace” -

Loving enemies, welcoming strangers, setting captives free.

Let’s go back to where I said we’re on shaky theological ground when we talk about God being a shield that protects some and not others.

This in no way negates the very real comfort that many derive from this image of God as protector.

No amount of biblical exegesis or theological nuancing can rob this text of the power it has to lift up and shore up those who are facing some very real evils in this life –

Women in abusive relationships,

Refugees living in containment camps,

People imprisoned by addictions,

People of color who are beaten down by the everyday occurrences of racism.

As a child, I longed for such protective gear as I anticipated the difficult years that lay ahead.

I believe I made it through those years because I was leaning into the arms of God – and into the arms of those who embodied God’s presence on earth.

Who doesn’t long for a belt of truth, a shield of faith, and shoes of peace?

Embrace your vulnerability – 

and trust that the GOOD NEWS will set you free.

Thanks be God, and Amen.