2nd 3rd or 4th
Michaelmas
Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, 6:10-19
What it comes to in the end is this: grasp the power that
streams to you in the experience of Christ in the soul and in the powerful
regency of his pure spiritual strength.
Put on the power of God as one puts on full armor,
so that you may stand against the well-aimed attacks of the adversary. For our
struggle is not to fight against powers of flesh and blood, but against
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| after an icon of the Archangel Michael by Rubliev |
spirit beings mighty in the stream of time,
against spirit beings powerful in the molding of
earth substance,
against cosmic powers whose darkness rules the
present time,
against spirits who carry evil into the realms of
the spiritual world.
Therefore take up the full armor of God, that you
may be able to stand your ground on the day when evil unfolds its greatest
strength, and victoriously withstand it.
Stand firm, then, girded with the truth, like a
warrior firmly girded. Connect yourself with all in the world as is justified
in the spiritual world, and this connection with the spirit will protect you
like a strong breastplate.
And may Peace stream through you, down to your
feet, so that on your path you spread peace, as the message that comes from the
realm of the angels.
In all your deeds have trust in God. This trust
will be like a mighty shield; with it you can quench all the flaming arrows of
the evil one.
Take into your
thinking the certainty of Christ’s healing deed. It will protect your head like
a helmet.
And the spirit, which has become living in you, you
shall grasp as one grasps a sharp sword. The sword of the spirit is the working
of the Word of God.
May this armor clothe you in all your prayers and
supplications, so that in the right moment you raise yourself in prayer to the
spirit, and at the same time practice wakefulness in inner loyalty.
Feel yourself united in prayer with all other
bearers of the spirit—also with me, Paul, so that the power of the word will be
given to me when I am to courageously bring the knowledge of that holy mystery
which lives in the message of the gospel.
2nd
Michaelmas
October 9, 2011
Ephesians 6: 10-19
As the days grow shorter, the power of the sun seems to be
declining. The sun itself, however, has not lessened. It is as though the
earth, and we retreat from it a little, creating a space. And in that space of
the diminished outer working of the sun, we are being encouraged to resurrect
the sun’s power, its warmth and its light, within our own souls.
The reading encourages us to take hold of the experience of
Christ working within the soul. What is that experience? It is the power of a
Self permeated and radiant with a quiet love. It is a power like the sun—always
there, always sustaining, even as it changes; always giving of light and
warmth, shining on all alike.
This is the power that allows us to stand fast, to withstand
the attacks of those spiritual beings who would imprison our souls, cloud us
with fear, darken us with hatred and weaken us with doubt.
Christ’s sun-like power in our souls lights up both our
inner and our outer landscape. It helps us to stand firm, in trust and in
certainty. Though we may be tempted to abandon our place, we may be sure that
Christ is and always will be with us. For as the poet says:
God
pours light
into every cup,
quenching darkness.[1]
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