Deuteronomy 41-9

Psalm 15

Ephesians 6:1-20

MARK 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

The Whole Armor of God

In the baptismal vows in The Book of Common Prayer (page 302) candidates for Holy Baptism (or their parents and godparents, if they are very young) are asked to renounce evil in three forms.

One question is, “Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?” These powers include materialism, racism and all forms of bigotry as embodied in the behavior of human groups or institutions which result in human beings – and other creatures of God – being treated as far less than what God made them to be. Human institutions and human culture can either obstruct or empower individual and group efforts to obey God’s commandment to “love our neighbors as ourselves.” Moses, in today’s first reading, is trying to shape ancient Israel’s institutions and culture in accordance with God’s will.

Another question in the baptismal service is, “Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?” This is the focus of Jesus in today’s Gospel. Confronting those who focused on “sin” as disobeying religious ritual laws and niceties, Jesus declared that what comes out of us is what defiles us: “fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly.” (That’s his list in this passage.) Those who would blame their own sinful behaviors (or those of others) on the baleful influence of institutions or culture or context alone (see the previous question) are confronted by Jesus standing in front of them with a mirror, reminding all of us and all people of our responsibility for our own behavior.

Calling individuals to repent and return to God and seeking to transform institutions and culture: both are the jobs of people of faith. It’s been said that “liberals” love humanity; it is people they can’t stand. And with “conservatives” it’s the opposite. All people of faith are called to account both for our own individual behaviors and for those of our institutions and cultures. We can’t seek to clean up one while ignoring the other.

But there is one more kind of evil which those taking – or renewing – baptismal vows are called up to renounce, and it is the kind which is the focus of today’s passage from the Letter to the Ephesians. The first baptismal question asks, “Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?”

St. Paul (or his disciple writing in his name) urges his readers to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

So, let’s be clear that the Bible and The Book of Common Prayer both affirm the existence of the devil, Satan, Lucifer – whatever you want to call him – and that both identify him as a spiritual (a fallen angel, not an equal of God) enemy to us who is in rebellion against God. Satan “and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God” can cause real harm, here and now.

If you’re skeptical of that statement, perhaps you missed the article on page 14 of Friday’s Star Ledger headlined, “N.Y. dad, citing voodoo, drowns kids, kills himself.” “Convinced he was the victim of a voodoo curse,” authorities reported, Franz Bordes of Staten Island drowned his two children, aged two and four, and then threw himself in front of a subway train. Voodoo is certainly on the list of “spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God.” The impact of these three lives lost will spread pain far beyond them – and fear will be spread with it. Whether voodoo has power of itself or not, if someone believes it does, it does and it did.

There are lives lost and lives warped by spiritual evils all the time – evils no amount of spending or training in Homeland Security can guard us from completely. We must respond to spiritual threats with spiritual power.

At some level, modern pop culture understands this. However, we cannot learn to levitate aircraft like Jedi master Yoda of “Star Wars” fame, nor have any of us been left “invisibility cloaks” by our fathers as Harry Potter was.

But our Heavenly Father does offer us “the whole armor of God.”

Lest anyone feel this would be like the young David trying on Goliath’s armor, let’s listen to what Paul describes as “the whole armor of God.” He uses images – they are just that – from a well-equipped Roman soldier’s outfit:

“Fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate [think bulletproof vest] of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith…and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.”

Now, first of all, notice that only one piece of equipment named is offensive, the sword “of the Spirit.” Helmet, breastplate and shield are for protection, as are the shoes and belt.

Most of Paul’s emphasis is on our ability to protect ourselves from temptation, which is the Devil’s main weapon. The breastplate of righteousness (not self-righteousness – that’s a temptation) protects our body core with right living according to God’s precepts. The helmet of salvation means surrounding our minds with The Main Thing: the opportunity for each of us (and others) to experience ultimately the fullness of joy in God’s presence.

Telling and living the truth are as important as keeping our pants or skirts on with a belt. If we don’t live by the truth – including Jesus, who is The Way, The Truth and The Life – we will indeed be left exposed. Living and working for peace in its fullest sense (shalom means not just the absence of bloodshed, but the fullness of security, tranquility and community) is as fundamental to a Christian as wearing shoes is in a cold climate.

The shield of faith, Paul explicitly says will “quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one” – perhaps The Evil One’s worst and biggest efforts to destroy our lives even as he destroyed the lives of that man in Staten Island and his two children. Faith, faith in God and in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, is a gift of God which, when we pick it up, can shield us indeed.

And finally, “the Sword of the Spirit” – the reason Paul is sometimes depicted with a sword. Paul immediately follows this description with a command to “Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.” With the spiritual “Sword of the Spirit” – prayer – we can come to the aid of others who may be afflicted by any sort of evil – spiritual, from human institutions, or manifested in their own personal behavior.

This spiritual armor can help us to oppose evil while not falling victim to the greatest temptation of all – using the Enemy’s weapons and tactics against him. It is tempting to “fight fire with fire” – but real firefighters use water! In the same way, we can use love to oppose hatred, understanding to oppose bigotry, compassion to oppose vengeance.

It’s hard. It is up to us to sign up for and dedicate ourselves to Spiritual struggle and this requires training, discipline and teamwork, just as much as any other kind of struggle. The equipment – that’s been provided by God. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Holy Spirit, prayer: equipped like this, and seeing others around us similarly equipped, can strengthen us as we seek to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.”

(The Rev.) Francis A. Hubbard

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church

Monmouth Junction, NJ