27^th August 2006

Trinity 11 2006 Sermon – Morning Prayer (Bures)

Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18

Ephesians 6:10-20

Our new testament reading this morning speaks of the armour of God, and you might think that the whole idea of armour is something of historical interest, and not very important to us today, but you couldn't be more wrong of course. I can't think of a single boy who isn't fascinated by the whole idea. There are two boys in my house – one is 12 years old, and one is around about 4 times that – both past the age of toy swords then – but even so they're both engaged in armed combat all the time, in the virtual sense I mean. Both of them play computer games full of sword slashing and the clash of weapons, and other rather horrible sound effects. If a real madman was ransacking my house I probably wouldn't notice because it sounds a bit like that all the time! And the two of them have rather surreal conversations around the meal table along the lines of: "so where do you go to get your shield restored?" and things like that. All double dutch to me of course – I don't know anything about fighting, and not much more about computers, I think the new self scanning machines in Waitrose are enough of a challenge!

But whilst we're talking about armour and computers, if you're whiling away some time on the internet this afternoon, and want to see something to raise a smile, why not look at www.armorofgodpjs.com, which will show you a picture literally of some 'armour of God pymajas'. I've got a print here that will show you that I'm not kidding! Children's pyjamas with truth and righteousness written on the front, and even some rather fetching headgear with salvation written large, the whole lot in lovely white satin, and all yours for just 40 dollars - you could order some for Christmas, although your children may never speak to you again!

However, to be serious now, no matter what we know about armour or computers, we are all aware I think that real fighting is neither a game nor a laughing matter. The reality of armed warfare is violent, and it's a notion that doesn't sit easily with our peace-loving faith. Perhaps some of us struggle with the whole idea of being Christian soldiers. I know that some of you here this morning have lived through war firsthand and know all too well how horrible it is. And there is no doubt that many wars throughout history have been unjustifiable and self-serving, not least those fought in the name of Christianity. The whole notion of war defines people as enemies, it focuses hatred, and it sets up barriers, the very barriers of discrimination that Christ came to break down. So what does it mean to be Christian soldiers?

The first mistake that is often made, I think, is to believe that our mission is to defend God, that we're the ones who fight his battles for him, that we're in the front line and he's right behind us. Clearly that can't be right, that would be to diminish God. He doesn't need us to defend him. He can do very nicely without us thank you. So it's not about us defending God, but about God defending us. Paul doesn't write 'be strong for the Lord' but 'be strong in the Lord, and in his mighty power'. To be strong in the Lord is to put on God's protection, rather than relying on our own power. And God gives us many resources for our protection, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the shield of faith – they all have a role. The belt strictly speaking is not a protective item, but holds all the clothing together underneath the armour so that it fits on properly. The truth of the gospel does that, holds everything together. It's the basis of everything if you like, it's what lies beneath. The helmet and breastplate protect both head and heart, all of our inner being you might say, as God himself does with his love and mercy. And the shield of faith is the knowledge we can trust God at all times. And by the way the particular thing about the Roman shield that Paul has in mind is that it wasn't round, but a large rectangular shape designed to overlap with that of the man next to you, so if you stood in a line you presented a complete defensive barrier without any gaps. In other words our extra defence is that there is strength in numbers, as a church of faith with many shields we can stand much more firm than one individual on his or her own.

Roman armour was the best in the world, and Paul can think of no better image to convey how effective and complete God's protection is. But why do we need it? We certainly live in a hostile world, but according to Paul, there's more to it than that. This again is where we have to cope with an uncomfortable notion. This passage of scripture is not just about warfare, but about spiritual warfare. It's not other people who are the enemy, but the devil himself and his schemes, the spiritual forces of evil. Now we're inclined to dismiss the devil these days I think, to remove the first letter of his name and speak of evil as a thing, to see the fight as being against ideas and ideologies and sinful ways of life. I can see the reason for that because the evil that is very evident in the world is what we see, whilst the devil is invisible. And we struggle with the idea of fallen angels, and we're reluctant to get involved in mumbo jumbo. However even if it all seems rather weird, we must remember that even Jesus himself speaks of the devil as a person, and no matter how little we ourselves understand, I think we can assume that Jesus has a much better knowledge of the unseen world than we do. It would be wrong to give the devil too much attention. But it is dangerous to ignore his influence.

However does that mean we're taking on too much of a challenge? Suppose even with all the resources God gives us, we lose? Suppose we're not able to stand firm enough. Well, perhaps the most valuable item of defence God gives us is the knowledge that the battle is already won, the victory is secure. Jesus defeated the power of sin and death on the cross 2000 years ago and his victory was absolute. To give you an image of what that means, there's a story I like about a wagon train in the wild west, and they're in the path of a fire that they can't outrun. So they stop and light their own fire on the ground, and when the flames have moved away they move on to the scorched earth where there is nothing left to burn, and stand to wait for the first fire to catch them. One little girl takes her father's hand and asks "won't the flames hurt us here?". His reply is to say, "No my child, because we're standing where the fire's already been." We too as Christians are standing where the fire's already been. That's what was achieved by Jesus on the cross and in his resurrection. That's the core truth of the gospel, that's the reason for our faith. That's our armour. Jesus died and rose again so that we might have eternal life. We're standing where the fire's already been. The devil has no answer to that.

But even though the battle is won, we do still need to fight the fight. This is a dark world. The devil may have lost, but Jesus calls him amongst other things a 'liar and the Father of lies', and lies can be persuasive influences that draw people away from God, lies can be persuasive influences that lead us to withdraw into our comfortable lives and turn our backs on the injustices of this world, lies can be persuasive influences that speak of money and power, and never mind the vulnerability of others. So our task is not just to stand firm, but also to continue to shine the light of Christ into the darkest places, both in our own lives, and out in the world too. The devil puts up walls to keep out that light, Christ came to tear those walls down, and that should be our agenda too.

So along with our wonderful armour of defence, we have two means of attack.. Firstly we are to proclaim the gospel, not only to speak it, but also to live it out, our feet fitted with the readiness to do that as it says in our reading, ready not just to stand, but also to step out in the world. We sang earlier "How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, proclaiming peace, announcing news of happiness". The gospel is the truth that answers all the devil's lies, and we're not supposed to keep it to ourselves. We're not supposed to force it on others either, but we would be wrong to retreat into such a defensive position with our eyes squeezed tight shut that we forget that Christ gave us not only salvation but also a mission, to speak and to live his message. In that sense the word of God is a weapon in our hands, but one that's intended to bring peace and compassion rather than division and fear.

And then there is prayer. Not technically a piece of armour of course, but an invisible weapon nonetheless, perhaps the most important one we have. Pray, pray, pray, says Paul. Pray on all occasions, with all kinds of prayers and requests, pray for the world, pray for the church, pray for each other, pray all the time. Prayer is powerful - firstly because every prayer is a call on God's strength, but then also because every prayer is a blow against the enemy. Every time we pray we are turning to God and away from the devil. Every time we pray we are making it clear where our priorities lie. Every time we pray, we're saying (not 'aren't we good but) 'God is good'. In our Old Testament reading this morning Joshua urges the people to make a choice. His plea is that they will follow the God of their fathers who has given them so much, rather than some other power. As for me, he says, I will serve the Lord, now it's up to you. No one can force them in one direction or the other. But they make the same choice too, to serve the Lord, because he is God, and in so doing they reject all other options. When we pray we make that choice too, over and over again. And we can do so with confidence, confidence in the victory, confidence in our captain, confidence in the kingdom of heaven, which will never fall – Christian soldiers, standing firm, because we're standing where the fire has already been. Thank God for that.