Be change

February 13, 2008

Ephesians 6:10-20

“Finally, 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. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet, put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.”

When you trace the etymology of the word disaster you find that it comes from the Latin root word, astrum and evolved into combining with the French prefix ‘dis’ + astro (meaning star.) What in the world does that have to do with this scripture?!

As you know, in the days of these early Ephesians there was much stock placed in the power of the gods their abilities to rule over the things of the world—sea, stars, etc. Such ruling was thought to determine the destinies of humans. It came to be thought that the gods and spiritual powers were battling against each other and eventually that as humans we had a role to play in this spiritual battle.

It is from this mentality that the words of the author are written. True Pauline perspective would have championed the idea that Christians have been given what they need to defend themselves against the evil attacks of powers at work against them. So from that perspective, the author feels the need to exhort the church that this use of their defensive spiritual equipment is crucial for making a difference in the world around them.

We don’t have this same mentality these days. I’d like to think that we have advanced in our spiritual understanding of God—that life isn’t so literal as it used to be.

We can’t deny that disaster is still a part of our lives—so an inkling of that ancient spirituality does remain and the call of the scripture really does remain applicable to our lives.

Our world is full of natural disasters, full of disasters that humans must claim as our responsibility. Our lives are full of disasters, sometimes in the form of the relationships we maintain or do not maintain for that matter, sometimes in the form of finances, sometimes in the form of our own lack of self-care. I am convinced that such disasters are not caused by God but are rooted in our own spirituality and in our own distance from God. I contend that if we would pour ourselves into a thirst for God, into a posture that causes us to reach for God in every moment, we would begin to find a peace within ourselves that would equip us to face the things that look and feel like disasters at any level. We would have the ability to share the transformative experiences of our lives with each other and help others find peace and by our own example and encouragement, Pollyanna as it may seem, I believe that our world would begin to look very different because people’s lives would be changing.

But, how do we get to that place? We must be willing to be like that soldier of the Scripture. We must prepare our hearts to be that place where God really resides—where the fruits of God’s Spirit find their home. We must put on God’s truth as if it were our uniform for living and by seeing God’s truth all of those gifts of the Spirit will be seen in us. Such an admonition of the Ephesians author required much of the people of his day and it requires much of us. The question remains—are we ready?

Was it Gandhi who said, “be the change you want to see in the world?” Are we ready to see peace replace disaster? Are we ready to watch lives around us change? Are we willing to engage in the spiritual vigilance required for peace to reign? It is easier to claim the status quo. It is easier to control our own living and leave God out of the picture. The choice is ours to make and rest assured the choice will make a difference—one way or another.

I hope we can claim the admonition of the Ephesians author to put on God and thus ‘be the change we want to see in the world.’ May it be so! Amen.