14 Pentecost Cycle B proper 16 August 26,2018
Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 Psalm 34:15-22
Ephesians 6:10-20 John 6:56-69
St. Paul like all users of language deployed figurative language and all kinds of metaphors in order to present insights for understanding and living a life of faith.
He used both the metaphor of a birthing mother and caring father as his role in the lives of people coming to faith. He used the metaphors of runner and boxer and prisoner.
St. Paul lived in the Roman Empire. Wherever he went, he found the presence of the Emperor and the presence of the Emperor was most visible in the person of the Roman soldier.
Soldiering was a major occupation in the Roman Empire. There were centurions and soldiers in the Christian churches. For Paul, the soldier became a metaphor to illustrate the Christian life.
St. Paul completely spiritualized the armor of the soldier to illustrate his understanding about a major experience in life.
Being a soldier is a special discipline. It means always being physically and mentally ready for the arising crisis of battle.
We perhaps don't like admit a main reality of life. What is that reality? Life is a struggle. And so Paul uses the metaphors of soldier and fighting and war. We are at war. Well, that's not too pleasant. I wish life was just "having it made in the shade." But just as exercise is needed to prevent atrophy of muscles, so struggle is necessary to prevent the atrophy of the muscles of faith.
In the disagreement about eating the body of Christ and drinking his blood, Jesus said that his words were spirit and his words were life. The words of Paul were spirit and written about the spiritual life.
St. Paul wrote that we don't fight against flesh and blood. This is a recognition that the environments in which we live are not always going to be automatically favorable or friendly for us. And as we daily confront the environments of our lives, St. Paul writes that we must be spiritual warriors. Our spiritual being has to be in good shape because if we only live in reactionary patterns to our five senses, we will be overcome.
The inner essential spiritual person has to be constantly prepared for the struggles which occur in our environment.
Even as a Roman soldier has all of the equipment of armor for protection and for attack, the inner spiritual person needs to be comprised with corresponding tools. The battle that occurs in our environment has to be prepared for by being spiritually fit.
The life inside of us is a war of words. Desire can create within us temptation for power, greed, anger, envy, revenge, fear, guilt and timidity. We can be tempted to act in wrong ways because it often seems immediately to our advantage to lie instead of telling the truth. Paul wrote that we should wear the belt of truth. Coupled with that is the breast plate of righteousness. Simply put, if one is guided by just doing what is right, it prepares one to stand against accusations about wrong behaviors. The spiritual soldier's shoes or boots, involve being prepared to share the Gospel of peace. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel." For Paul, the Gospel was a Gospel of peace and that is truly ironic given that Paul is using a soldier's uniform as a metaphor. The spiritual warrior is a person of peace and one who is spreading the peace of Christ. Paul's spiritual warrior carries a shield of faith. There are many things that we face in life that could incite fear, anxiety, doubt and despair but faith is the ability to anchor our lives on hope rather than despair. Faith is the ability always to act with the optimism of hope. It's like the perpetually hopeful baseball fan: "Wait till next year." I am going to live now as though things will eventually be much better, even toward a resurrection afterlife. Hope is the quenching water for the flaming arrows of accusation and fear and with faith one accesses hope as a deep motive for living. Paul's spiritual warrior wears a helmet of salvation? And what needs to be saved more than our thinking minds. Certainly our minds can be the devil's playground as we can find them to be the battlefield of clashing thoughts representing the great disagreements which can occur within us. Each day we need salvation in our minds; we need heath in our minds as we sort out all the thoughts that can arise within us.
The spiritual warrior of Paul has lots of armor to be in place for defensive protection. St. Paul's spiritual warrior is not just to be on the defensive; the spiritual warrior is to wield the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. St. Paul's spiritual warrior did not yet have the book that we call the Bible (since even the words that Paul was writing did not become part of the Bible until centuries later), so Word of God does not refer specifically to our Bible. The Word of God stems from Christ being called the Word of God who creates all things. Words can be used in detrimental ways and in holy ways. Using the Word of God in holy ways means to deploy the use of our language in word and deeds in ways which express what is excellent, loving, kind and just. We are not just passive defenders taking the blows of all that life has to deal us. We are also on the offense with the Word of God, as the holy and good speech and body language deeds are used to make our world a place worthy of Christ.
Today, you and I are reminded that we are spiritual warriors. We have to learn how to win the war in the battleground that is always taking place within us, before we deploy ourselves in the various missions of our live to which we have been called.
Let us today put on the whole armor of Christ so that we may prepared to be faithful in our lives today and counter the atrophy of faith that can diminish our lives and the life of our world. Amen.
He used both the metaphor of a birthing mother and caring father as his role in the lives of people coming to faith. He used the metaphors of runner and boxer and prisoner.
St. Paul lived in the Roman Empire. Wherever he went, he found the presence of the Emperor and the presence of the Emperor was most visible in the person of the Roman soldier.
Soldiering was a major occupation in the Roman Empire. There were centurions and soldiers in the Christian churches. For Paul, the soldier became a metaphor to illustrate the Christian life.
St. Paul completely spiritualized the armor of the soldier to illustrate his understanding about a major experience in life.
Being a soldier is a special discipline. It means always being physically and mentally ready for the arising crisis of battle.
We perhaps don't like admit a main reality of life. What is that reality? Life is a struggle. And so Paul uses the metaphors of soldier and fighting and war. We are at war. Well, that's not too pleasant. I wish life was just "having it made in the shade." But just as exercise is needed to prevent atrophy of muscles, so struggle is necessary to prevent the atrophy of the muscles of faith.
In the disagreement about eating the body of Christ and drinking his blood, Jesus said that his words were spirit and his words were life. The words of Paul were spirit and written about the spiritual life.
St. Paul wrote that we don't fight against flesh and blood. This is a recognition that the environments in which we live are not always going to be automatically favorable or friendly for us. And as we daily confront the environments of our lives, St. Paul writes that we must be spiritual warriors. Our spiritual being has to be in good shape because if we only live in reactionary patterns to our five senses, we will be overcome.
The inner essential spiritual person has to be constantly prepared for the struggles which occur in our environment.
Even as a Roman soldier has all of the equipment of armor for protection and for attack, the inner spiritual person needs to be comprised with corresponding tools. The battle that occurs in our environment has to be prepared for by being spiritually fit.
The life inside of us is a war of words. Desire can create within us temptation for power, greed, anger, envy, revenge, fear, guilt and timidity. We can be tempted to act in wrong ways because it often seems immediately to our advantage to lie instead of telling the truth. Paul wrote that we should wear the belt of truth. Coupled with that is the breast plate of righteousness. Simply put, if one is guided by just doing what is right, it prepares one to stand against accusations about wrong behaviors. The spiritual soldier's shoes or boots, involve being prepared to share the Gospel of peace. Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel." For Paul, the Gospel was a Gospel of peace and that is truly ironic given that Paul is using a soldier's uniform as a metaphor. The spiritual warrior is a person of peace and one who is spreading the peace of Christ. Paul's spiritual warrior carries a shield of faith. There are many things that we face in life that could incite fear, anxiety, doubt and despair but faith is the ability to anchor our lives on hope rather than despair. Faith is the ability always to act with the optimism of hope. It's like the perpetually hopeful baseball fan: "Wait till next year." I am going to live now as though things will eventually be much better, even toward a resurrection afterlife. Hope is the quenching water for the flaming arrows of accusation and fear and with faith one accesses hope as a deep motive for living. Paul's spiritual warrior wears a helmet of salvation? And what needs to be saved more than our thinking minds. Certainly our minds can be the devil's playground as we can find them to be the battlefield of clashing thoughts representing the great disagreements which can occur within us. Each day we need salvation in our minds; we need heath in our minds as we sort out all the thoughts that can arise within us.
The spiritual warrior of Paul has lots of armor to be in place for defensive protection. St. Paul's spiritual warrior is not just to be on the defensive; the spiritual warrior is to wield the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. St. Paul's spiritual warrior did not yet have the book that we call the Bible (since even the words that Paul was writing did not become part of the Bible until centuries later), so Word of God does not refer specifically to our Bible. The Word of God stems from Christ being called the Word of God who creates all things. Words can be used in detrimental ways and in holy ways. Using the Word of God in holy ways means to deploy the use of our language in word and deeds in ways which express what is excellent, loving, kind and just. We are not just passive defenders taking the blows of all that life has to deal us. We are also on the offense with the Word of God, as the holy and good speech and body language deeds are used to make our world a place worthy of Christ.
Today, you and I are reminded that we are spiritual warriors. We have to learn how to win the war in the battleground that is always taking place within us, before we deploy ourselves in the various missions of our live to which we have been called.
Let us today put on the whole armor of Christ so that we may prepared to be faithful in our lives today and counter the atrophy of faith that can diminish our lives and the life of our world. Amen.
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