“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
“Putting on the Whole Armor of God”
My dear children, we are all in danger. We are all under attack.
The serpent in the Garden beguiled the woman and tempted the man, bringing sin and death into our world and our lineage. We are made to live forever, yet we continue to drop off despite our best efforts to hang on.
Each one of us is assailed every day, beset by temptation and trial, the “wiles of the devil”. Have you ever wanted another fifteen minutes’ sleep instead of showing up to work on time? Would you rather do something in your home instead of say your prayers? Then you are under enemy fire through temptation.
In the Martyrdom of St. Polycarp around the end of the First Century, we read of what those condemned to die faced (2:4 – 3:1) “The devil tried many devices against them. But thanks be to God, his might did not prevail over any.”
We read in the Revelation of St. John xii.7: “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,” We are in a fight whether or not we recognize it. Before we can put up an adequate defense, before we can recognize that we need a savior, we must realize that we are in terrible shape, and the enemy relents not, continuing to attack us in our weakness as well as our strength. We are in danger, for we are under attack.
We are insufficient to the task of defending ourselves against the powers of evil. We ourselves are influenced by the taint of wickedness and sin. We are surrounded by evil intelligences seeking our destruction. The rest of humanity, also under the influence of sin, distorts our sense of righteousness and entices us to follow it. We need help. We need divine help.
But thanks be to God, we read in this epistle lesson, as well as many other Scripture verses, that God has defended us. “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
This is not a new concept. Centuries earlier, Isaiah wrote in lix.17: “For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.”
St. Paul also wrote in 2 Corinthians x.3-4: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)”
Of course, using armor and weapons in this warfare means that we cannot fight naked, unarmored, and unarmed; that is, without help from outside of ourselves.
How are to be strong except in the Lord and the power of his might? All strength comes from God; all salvation comes from God. There is no one to help us but God. We have no life except in God.
We have the very Son of God, our noble captain. We have all the faithful saints as our comrades. We have Truth, righteousness, the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the Holy Ghost as our armor. We go forth in prayer, perseverance, and supplication. Christ has already won the ultimate battle on the Cross. Christ defeated death on that Cross. And yet we still fight the good fight. Christ has gone on to open Heaven to us, but He has not left us alone. He has sent us the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Ghost.
With these spiritual protections and the very presence of God, we should not fear in the face of the ancient enemy or the contemporary ally of that enemy.
King David sings in Psalm lxxi.2: “Be thou my stronghold, whereunto I may alway resort:” This is a prayer, which is answered by God’s promise.
Psalm xxvii.1: “THE LORD is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? * the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid?” Without God, we are weakened in darkness, caught by our enemies. We are caught by death, by hunger, by thirst, by nakedness, by unpopularity and loneliness, by disease, by icy coldness and scorching heat. Without God, we are utterly at a loss, destitute, defeated.
“MY brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” How are we to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might? St. Paul continues on and tells us that we are to “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
We as Christians are not alone. First and most importantly, we are members grafted onto Him, the True Vine, the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega. We are members of Christ by His gracious allowance. He is most generous and courteous to us. Through our Holy Baptism into His death and Resurrection, He accepts us as members of His Body. We are never alone, for we are in Christ.
We as Christians are not alone. Second and most graciously, others are also members of Christ alongside us. We have brothers and sisters uncounted throughout the world and across time. St. Mark xii.26-27: “And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living:”
We are forever alive in Christ; in Christ we all have eternal life. We are right now the brothers and sisters of all the saints whose names we read in the Holy Mass – and have been read for many centuries – along with all the saints who appear in the back of the bulletin, along with those whom we pray for that we have known, along with saints we will never personally know until Heaven. We are members of Christ, yes and true; but we are also members one of another. We had better grow close to each other here and now, for we will be seeing each other for all eternity. And not just us, but many others born and those yet to be born. We are a powerful army, the great host of the Lord God of Sabaoth. We are members of Holy Church. We are the chosen, the elect of God Almighty. The world may turn its back on us, but first it turned its back on Christ, our High King and brother through divine adoption.
Psalm xviii.1-2: “I WILL love thee, O LORD, my strength. * The LORD is my stony rock, and my defence; My Saviour, my God, and my might, in whom I will trust; * my buckler, the horn also of my salvation, and my refuge.”
Even in the Old Testament, King David sang of the great power, support, and defense of our great, good, and powerful God. He sang that we trust him. He sang that the Lord was his “buckler, the horn also of my salvation, and my refuge.” Buckler, or shield: David used God to defend himself. Horn: David called upon God to assist him and summon help in time of need. Refuge: David used God to hide himself in him, to rest assured that his enemies would not destroy him.
This is why we flee to Christ. He is God Incarnate. He is the Almighty Sovereign Lord God of the Universe Who has come down amongst us as a little baby in tiny Bethlehem. Bethlehem in Hebrew is Beth Lehem, or House of Bread. Christ is Heavenly Bread sent down from Heaven for us to eat, like manna. But unlike manna which lasted for but a day or two and gave nutrition only for a day or two, Christ’s own Blessed Body gives eternal life. Christ is God, and Christ offered up His Body for us to eat and offered up His Blood for us to drink.
Yesterday, our young Mr. Jordan Hewett received the completion of his Baptism in the Sacrament of Confirmation. He has now literally entered into the communion of Christ by communing with His Body and Blood. He has eaten the Bread of Heaven. He has drank Christ’s own Blood poured out for the life of the world.
Christ died on the Cross so that our newest communicant might be saved, and Christ offered him His Body and His Blood so that Jordan might receive Divine Medicine, the only cure and stay against death, disease, and decay. Jordan has partaken of everlasting life, like so many of you have! We are defended against “the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” We are here to put on “the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
We are weak, but He is strong. So we wrap ourselves, not in the temporary flag of this mortal country, but in the Flesh and Blood of our Lord Christ. We put on the whole armor of God, which is God Himself! We bury ourselves deep into the bosom of our Lord so that all the ailments of this world cannot touch us.
Oh, but we are still subject to “the rulers of the darkness of this world.” Unless Christ returns first in power and great glory, we will die, we will draw our last breath, our eternal spirits will separate from our bodies, “earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” But lest we forget the words which follow, recall that we will rise again, “in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection unto eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, at whose coming in glorious majesty to judge the world, the earth and the sea shall give up their dead; and the corruptible bodies of those who sleep in him shall be changed, and made like unto his own glorious body; according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things unto himself.”
Christ is God. Christ is Lord. We are fully vested in Christ, and Christ will redeem us, Christ is redeeming us, and Christ has redeemed us. We are entirely secure and safe in our Lord Christ.
Christ is our savior and our friend, He Who delivers us from the power of Hell and brings us into everlasting life through His Body and Blood.
Christ guards us and wards us with powerful arms and armor, so that each of us may:
take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
We do this not alone by ourselves, but constantly “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
We are never alone. We are saved by the Body and Blood of Christ. We are mighty in the Holy Ghost.
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
+ In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.
Mystagogicon 