2nd Michaelmas
October 12, 2014
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
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 12, 2014
In this reading, we are presented with the image of a strong
warrior. He stands upright, stands his ground, withstands. He spreads, not
destruction, but Christ’s peace, which radiates from him down into the ground,
guiding his path.
His power comes from Christ, who is truth itself, the real,
true reality beyond illusion, beyond death.
The warrior shields himself with trust in God, his head and
thoughts are helmeted with the certainty of Christ’s healing deed on Golgatha,
so that we can be sure we survive beyond death.
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| artist unknown |
He grasps and takes hold of the Word of God who is Christ
the Creator Himself.
In this posture of defense the warrior protects himself from
fear, from doubt, and from hatred. All of these are dark spirit beings of our
time. Becoming spirit warriors, we put on the armor of God, the armor of peace,
of truth. We clothe ourselves in the certainty of Christ, so that we may
withstand the attacks of these beings, who are trying to conquer our souls. We
may hear the voice of the spirit warrior in the prayer against fear by Adam Bittleston:
May the events that seek me
Come unto me;
May I receive them
With a quiet mind
Through the Father’s ground of
peace
On which we walk.
May the people who seek me
Come unto me;
May I receive them
With an understanding heart
Through the Christ’s stream of
love
In which we live.
May the spirits which seek me
Come unto me;
May I receive them
With a clear soul
Through the healing Spirit’s
Light
By which we see.[1]
