A
homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given
at Trinity Church, Mt. Vernon,
Illinois; Sunday, August 26, 2012.
“LIVING
THE CHRISTIAN LIFE: LEARNING NOT TO BE A
CASUALTY”
(Homily text:
Ephesians 6: 10 - 20)
“Don’t become a casualty!”
The voice of my Army drill sergeant still rings in my ears, “Don’t become a casualty,” he said. His aim was to teach us the ways that we could survive in times of combat, in order that we could come home once the war was over, and – just as important – so that we could carry the battle to the enemy in order to achieve victory.
Soldiers in all ages and times have
to learn to do two basic things:
- Survive on the battlefield
- Take the battle to the enemy
So St. Paul instructs the Ephesian
Christians in the tools which will allow them to survive on the spiritual
battlefield that they face, given the pagan culture that they lived in.
Paul uses Old Testament images to
describe the armor of God. These are
drawn from Isaiah 11: 5 (the belt of righteousness); from Isaiah 52: 7 (the
shoes of peace); and from Isaiah59: 17 ( the breastplate of
righteousness). Elsewhere, in Hebrews 4:
12, the word of God is described as a sword.
It is interesting that Paul uses a common image to convey the message: that of a fully equipped Roman infantry soldier, dressed and ready for battle. The Ephesians would have known this image quite well, for the Roman military presence was everywhere in the Empire.
Yet Paul makes it clear that it
isn’t the Roman army or government that is the enemy. No, the enemy is the devil himself. This is a spiritual battle, waged in a war
that pits God against all the alien forces that would seek to invade and
destroy God’s people.
Paul’s list of equipment allows the
Christian soldier to withstand the attacks which cannot be avoided, and to move
to get away from attacks that can be avoided.
His list also includes the tools that will be needed to carry the battle
to the enemy.
Let’s have a closer look at Paul’s
list.
We should begin with those things
that will protect the soldier from direct attacks:
Moveable protection: The shield of faith allows the Christian soldier to protect against attacks by meeting them from whatever direction they might come. (The word that Paul uses here for the word “shield” is one that describes a large, rectangular shield which could protect the entire body from attack.)
Next, Paul outlines the need for being able to move quickly:
Mobility: Footwear allows for quick mobility, not only to avoid threats, but to carry the battle to the enemy. (Soldiers in all times are taught to carefully protect their feet.) The waist is also girded with righteousness, allowing freedom of movement.
Finally, Paul places a weapon in the hands of the believer:
Offensive and defensive capability: Finally, the sword is placed in the hand of the soldier. The Roman soldier was equipped with a short sword (having a blade which was about 18 inches long), and which was designed for close combat. The sword has two functions: Defensive, to parry the thrusts and blows of the enemy, and offensive, to carry the battle to the opponent.
Paul’s military analysis is superb.
This is a struggle of the spiritual
kind, as we said a moment ago, a struggle with the devil himself. But, lest Paul’s hearers (and us) are tempted
to lose heart, Paul begins by reminding his listeners that it is in God’s might
that we fight. “Ah,” we should respond,
“We are already on the winning side!”
The
soldier is in good hands when the general has made a careful assessment of the
strengths and weaknesses of the enemy, and the nature of the way the enemy
fights. Along with that assessment must
come a careful assessment of the power which the army itself possesses.
Next,
notice that Paul issues the mobilization order:
“Therefore, take the whole armor of God….” That is the call to arms.
Now,
Paul tells each soldier what they are to do:
“Stand!”
What
naturally flows out of these instructions is the realization that the battle
will be tough, hard fought, and it will involve a face-to-face,
up-close-and-personal struggle with the enemy.
No soldier in this army should expect that the commander will simply
wave his hand and wipe the enemy off of the battlefield.
No,
this struggle will be hard fought, and it will involve absolutely every soldier
available for the fight. The commander
will need every one in order to prevail.
The
Ephesian Christians, as we’ve remarked in recent weeks, faced a constant, daily
struggle with the forces of evil as they lived in the pagan culture of the
Greco-Roman world of the first century.
Historians remind us that Ephesus was the center of the cult of the
pagan god Artemus, and a large temple to this pagan deity stood near the
city. Moreover, Ephesus was also a place
which dabbled in magical and occult practices, so the presence of evil must
have been quite powerful, in addition to being pervasive.
Our
contemporary situation isn’t quite so stark:
We don’t have temples to Artemus in our communities anymore. But we have plenty of other sorts of temples
at which people worship the various idols of our own day.
And
the world is still a place in which evil is found, a place where people hurt
and harm each other, a place where addictions still rob people of the life that
God intends for each one of us.
So
our task is to stand, fully equipped to survive the threats that we will face,
fully equipped to deftly avoid those threats that we can avoid, and to survive
those threats that we cannot avoid.
These actions will allow us to avoid becoming a casualty.
Having
done so, we can stand upright on the battlefield and carry the battle to the
enemy, so that victory can be achieved, one soldier at a time.
For
we are on the winning side, God’s own chosen soldiers, who carry with them the
gospel of peace.
May
we, through God’s strength, be dressed and ready for battle, able to survive in
the day of the contest, able to carry the battle to the enemy, for the victory
is the Lord’s.
AMEN.
