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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| Durer, The Knight, Death and the Devil (wiki) |
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 11, 2015
Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, 6:10-19
When we ship out something precious, we know to pack it well
. We give it layers of protection, so that it can withstand the shocks and
drops and weight of the shipping process.
In this reading, called The Armor of God, it is clear that
we are being sent out in the midst of a battle against spiritual adversaries.
We are to receive and bear protective armor. We are to put on the protections
of truth, of trust in God, and of the knowledge that Christ heals. The only
weapon we hold is the sword of spiritual discernment, discernment according to
Christ’s Word. Yet we are not being
called upon to attack the adversary, nor to destroy them. Our part in the
battle is a defensive one. We are to endure their attacks, and remain standing.
Through the wearing of
this armor we are called upon, not to thrash about and flail our weapons. We
are called upon to become a protected vessel that contains and pours out peace,
a peace that reaches down into the way we walk in the world, a peace that
streams out from us so that we become messengers of the good news from the
realm of the angels. As Adam Bittleston says:
We need in the strife of our day
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| St. Michael, Norton Simon Museum |
The eternal Peace of the Word of
God.
Seeking this Peace with our
whole being
On the path which leads from the
nightmare
Of endless chaos,
Into the order of heaven
And to the Father of all things—
We shall meet Michael
Who reveals how Christ
Awakens Man
That he may serve God.[1]
