Reflection on Ephesians 6:10-20

 

A few years back I heard a general from the Pentagon speak about the importance of getting ready in the morning.  As you may know, the regimen for getting ready in the morning is different in the army than it is for us civilians.  I tend to wake up, check the email on my phone, read the news, eventually get out of bed, and then continue to lounge around the house in my PJs for a bit.  During the height of the pandemic, I have to admit, I was lucky if I ever got out of my PJs before it was night again. 

So, to lazy, morning slouches like me and maybe also you, the general suggested that as soon as we wake, we make our beds, get our showers, and dress as nice as possible for the day.  This is what the army has taught him to do and it actually means something to him.  He does this immediate ritual every morning, not because he was once ordered to in boot camp, but rather, because he views this morning routine as a gift from the army to him. 

“You see,” he explained, “when you make your bed first thing in the morning; you start the day with a fulfilling sense of accomplishment.  And, after you shower, and dress as nice as possible, with all the wrinkles literally ironed out, you are wearing a sense of pride.  It directs who you are and who you will be throughout the day.  You will be moving throughout the day, literally wearing honor.” 

It is the army’s way to start the day right.

I was never in the army, but I think that I understand this.  As an actor, I understand what it is like to put on a particular character’s costume for the first time.  In all the weeks preceding putting on the costume, you pretend to be the character you wish to portray on stage.  But, once those unique shoes are on and those foreign fitting clothes are wrapped around your body, you do not just pretend that you are that character, you actually become that character.  There is just something about wearing clothes that shapes who we are and who we become. 

Put a tutu on a young girl and she will immediately twirl and do a plie.  She becomes a dancer.  Put a toy gun a young boy’s hand and he will start shooting, becoming a hunter or a soldier. 

What if I told you that the writer of Ephesians desires this sort of experience for you?  

What if you could get up in the morning, make your bed, take your shower, and put on the clothes of faith?  What if you could step into the character that God has told you that you are, but you have always felt that you have not quite lived up to being?  What if you could have a costume that would transport you from the realm of thinking about the faith, and pretending to live the faith, to being a person of faith?   What if you could step into your day as a warrior of God’s peace and grace?

Take a moment to consider those Roman soldiers who took Jesus’ clothes, cast lots to see who would get the value of the garment, and nailed the savior of the world to a tall, wooden cross.  Those Roman soldiers, who would struggle against fellow brothers and sisters of the world, against flesh and blood, were the most feared fighting force in the world at the time.  If they ever were defeated, their retaliation would be quick, and overwhelming, and brutal.  The writer of Ephesians wants you to take that image of the Roman soldier, and reshape it; reshape its brutality, reshape its demeanor, and reshape its purpose to something good and holy.

The soldiers had a belt that would hold together the whole outfit and would house their sword, and the writer of Ephesians wants you to have a belt too; a belt of truth.

Truth.  Do we even know what truth is anymore?  In these days of information overload mixing with misinformation overload, the truth seems to be hard to find.  I personally know people who actually do not care if what they say is “the truth” or not.  “As long as it gets us a win, it’s good for us,” they try to convince me. 

No, it is not good.  Anything less than the truth is a lie, and lying is decidedly not good.  “Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor” the commandment says clearly. 

Christians care about the truth.  Christians follow the truth: Jesus Christ, “the way the truth and the life.”  The truth is essential to settling disputes and finding the way forward through difficult situations.  If there is a waterfall at the end of the river, the truth of that may be a good thing to know.

So, each morning the Christian puts on the belt of truth, its buckle pressing against the belly, serving as a reminder throughout the day that everything depends of sharing the truth and following only the truth.

After-all, evil would love you to share lies and turn people against one another.  Evil would love you to help in tearing the world apart.

The soldier also had a breastplate of righteousness.  This is a plate that protects the goodness of the heart that God has given you.  It protects the urge to help the helpless from the threat of hatred.  It protects the urge to forgive the sinner from the threat of eternal rage against someone who has made terrible mistakes.  It protects the heart, and we put it on each morning so that our hearts do not grow hard and uncaring.

Evil would love to overwhelm the breastplate and make your forget to care and forgive.  Evil would love you to forget to be righteous, but the breastplate keeps the heart pure.

As for your shoes, you get to choose those.  And all the women in the room rejoiced…and a couple of men too…you know who you are. 

Just as Paul says in Romans 10:15, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news,” the writer of Ephesians says, “Go ahead and choose a shoe that is your style.”  If sandals and ankle length white socks with stripes at the top help you to share the good news of peace in a way that only you can, then go for it!  But, if sandals and striped socks are not your thing, by all means, feel free to wear something else!   Wear something that will take you to places and people who need peace.  Wear something comforting and full of patience. 

Be ready to go about your day in the correct pair of shoes.  They will walk you in the ways of peace and grace.

Take the shield of faith along with also.  Faith, after-all, is able to block the arrows of the evil one, who will try to strike you and keep you from being the child of God that you have been created to be.  The evil one hopes that your faith falters and that you start to trust something…anything but God. 

But, for to those of us who have the shield of faith, when evil and hardship threaten to overtake life, we trust that Jesus will see us through, just as Jesus has many times before.  We may not know how Jesus will do this, but we know that Jesus will.

Then, there is the helmet of salvation.  Salvation, simply put, is God grace and forgiveness with which you have been saved through Jesus Christ.  What if you started your day by putting on the helmet of salvation and directing all your thoughts through the helmet of grace and forgiveness?  How would your day be different if you looked at all situations through the grace and forgiveness of God?  In the same way that getting dressed well is a gift from the army to the general, the writer of Ephesians thinks that putting on the helmet of salvation is a great gift from God.  It is what needs to be on your head to really start off your day right.

Then, there is the “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”  After-all, it is God’s word, God’s love, God’s forgiveness, God’s direction, and God’s plan that will slice our way forward in life.  Now, I just want to point out that the sword is in no way intended to be a weapon of destruction.  Nothing on your body is intended to be a means of destruction and mayhem.  You are a vessel of God’s peace, directed in your head by God’s grace and forgiveness, with a sword of God’s word, inspired by God’s Spirit as your tool to accomplish the will of God.

When you dress like this in the morning, how can your day be anything other than, full of love and peace?  How can your day be anything except, holy? 

Go ahead, get up, make your bed, take a shower, and dress in the clothes of Christ.  These fine clothes of grace and peace are a gift to you, and to your neighbors who will see you dressed so fine.