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Costume of Faith Ephesians 6: 10 – 20; Psalm 84 At first glance, the passage for today is a difficult one for me. It is rich with truth and full with importance. The exterior language, however, is a stumbling block. To get into it — and to capture the treasure —it is important to ground it in its time and then extrapolate it outside its time. Just as slavery was an acceptable social custom for all the years spanning Biblical writings but is unquestioningly UNacceptable for us today, that doesn’t mean we can not learn from the experiences and faithfulness of the people writing and living during the times of biblical history. Just as male supremacy in leadership and heterosexism were the acceptable norms for the years spanning Biblical writings but undeniably outside our custom and belief system, that does not mean that we can not glean from the peoples and times before us. So, too, the war imagery of many Biblical writings and early Christian hymns shouldn’t impede us from digging deeper into the true meanings of faithfulness. The language does bother me; so I work to get underneath the militaristic language, because there is so much to discover in these words and thoughts. The fact is that throughout history communities have waged war with each other. Much as I can tell you I do not believe it is the way God would wish life to be, it has been the reality of existence. And just because it has been the reality of existence doesn’t mean we are released from the responsibility of working against it and proclaiming (if we believe it) that war and violence are never the only answers to conflict. It is just as important, as Christians for us to not be naïve about the conflict between good and evil. It is real and life poses a serious and almost constant struggle with that conflict. Miroslav Volf, professor at Yale Divinity School, tells the story of the struggle. Dr. Volf and his wife were rushing to a hospital to meet their adopted son for the very first time. Volf incorrectly turned down a one-way street. A gruff police officer gave him a ticket. Volf later described the morning’s experiences as saying: ‘within the space of one hour, I got a nasty ticket from an irate cop, and a tender child from a loving birth mother. In ministry we are always wanting to spread the news about the grace of God in this life – and yet we walk into a world marked by gracelessness …where the goodness of humanity is often well hidden.’ (The Bulletin. Lexington, KY: Lexington Theological Seminary. Vol 42, No. 2. P. 1) How can we be equipped to meet that world that is marked by so much gracelessness, which is often far more than merely a gruff cop giving us a ticket. We live in a world now where we immediately know about vile and horrific activities of human beings. We hear about – even if think we don’t live beside – people who kill for sport, steal for greed, or prey on children for pleasure. We know that there are people whose conscience does not stop them from doing whatever they choose, to whomever they choose, whenever they choose. None of which can be done when one is in tune with and centered in the presence of God. Evil is alive and well — we know that. How do we stand up against it is the issue. How, as Christians, do we prepare ourselves for the struggle in life that evil demands. The author of this wonderful letter to the church at Ephesus lists the equipment needs: Truth is a reality outside of ourselves. Much as we try to make most everything subjective, truth, real truth, is not subjective. As people of faith, the basis of truth is what God knows not what we know. Our task is to constantly be searching for that reality of truth that is known fully only by God. This poses a dilemma for us because most of us want to have substantial verification; we want to know what is — really is. We want to know what we think is right, really is right. We want to know and claim what is truth, and yet we can never be absolutely certain because we are not the source of truth; we are only the seekers of truth. As we seek truth — if and when we seek truth (God) — it follows that we would respond (in our behavior) with righteousness, acting on what we have heard and seen and come to know from God that is appropriate and acting toward other creatures of God’s making and other aspects of God’s creation in ways that would give honor to the truth and reality of a loving creator. And when that discipline of righteousness becomes our life we become perpetrators of peace. Righteous behavior embodies the living out of a co-existence with others in this world that will foster inter-dependence, support of differences, satisfaction with contrast and variation, and determination to find ways for disagreements to be managed and not accelerated. All of this is based on the underlying faith that God is the beginning and end of life, that God is the mind and heart of this universe, that God’s ways have purpose and significance, that God cares and loves not only this creation but every one in it. Without that shield of faith we can deal with life’s struggles — we can even make an impact against certain evils in the world — but we do it for our own satisfaction and as a good human effort. When we understand that we are called by God to serve and witness in this world — when we have the shield of faith surrounding us — we not only are ever so much stronger to do what we need to do, but we are centered in a relationship that has no possibility for ultimate failure. Salvation is perhaps the sweetest of the equipping instruments. It is not a word we use much anymore, but it is an experience we value. To know that we do not have to be perfect and that God has not only made us to be like we are but loves us in spite of our foibles is a pretty amazing concept. Not only is it amazing but it makes moving through the days of our lives possible, fruitful and satisfying. We can get up each morning knowing we are offered a new day! Truth, righteousness, peace, faith and salvation put on together make for a great uniform to wear and make a great costume for us to adorn our lives with each morning. It is not ‘pretending’ to claim that what we wear helps us to be whoever we want to be. The exterior and interior integrity of clothes to the person is real. As actors put on their make-up and don their costumes, they go through a remaking of themselves into their character. Of course, it has to happen way before the dress rehearsal, but the nights of dress and performance accentuate how they are to be the ones they are dressing to be. Our instructions from the writer of this passage today are telling us something very similar. Put on these virtues, don the costume that speaks of faithful attributes. Soon it will help the integration of them with ourselves. With all of these pieces of equipment that we are to wear, the only weapon mentioned is the ‘word of God.’ That, we can only know after we have given time to searching for God’s truth, worked on the discipline of living in righteousness, realized the shield of faith that filters all of life, given ourselves to finding ways for peaceful existence, and accepted the humbling gift of salvation/forgiveness when we have put on all of those. THEN we will be able to use the word of God in such a way that will not compromise God – but in fact, give glory to God. Then we will be able to serve God in this world and not just ourselves. Then we will be the Christians God so desperately needs in this world full of gracelessness. Then we will be the ambassadors of God’s peace and truth and love. SW |
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