Put On The Shield Of Faith
THE TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
Ephesians 6:10-20; St. John 4:46-54
Today marks the third Sunday before the season of Advent begins, which means that the end of Trinity-Tide is near, and soon, a new Christian year commences. As we have often discussed, Trinity is a time of spiritual growth. It's not as though we're unconcerned about growing throughout the entirety of the liturgical year but more aware and consciously engaged in the work of sanctification, in the spiritual disciplines, and in pursuit of virtue. If the Spirit and God's grace is profoundly enlarging the desire to pursue holiness, to grow up, and get serious about actually living as a scripturally based disciple of the Lord Jesu Christ, then you know (or will soon be reminded) that the cruciform life is fraught with all sorts of perils, snares, and dangers. If you are taking the spirituality of Trinity-tide seriously, then you are keenly aware of this: the way of holiness is not easy. The road to destruction is easy but holiness, not so much. Remember what Jesus has told us. He says, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Mt 7:13-14).
Now, as a descendant of Adam, I'm very quick to identify the culprits who make me stumble along the way. "I wouldn't have lost my temper if he or she hadn't..." Fill in the blank. "If I hadn't driven on Highway Thirty, I would have never used that language!" "Well, if he or she wouldn't dress that way, then I wouldn't have cause to lust." Or, "Sure, I'll forgive them just as soon as they apologize to me," and so on. I'm very quick to identify all of the culprits except for one: myself. I don't know about you, but the longer grace urges towards a Christ-like life, the clearer the enemies become. Enemy number one: the inner life. Which, for me, is most often the place where much of the spiritual battle rages; my thoughts, words, and deeds so easily beset by the old man and his proclivity to vice and concupiscence. Yes, we are being made perfect, but we still have a way to go. You see, the Christian life is a continual struggle against sin, against the unholy impulses of the will and desires of the flesh. And overcoming the old man (the old sin nature) and putting on Christ is precisely the goal which occupies so much of the theology, scripture, and lessons during Trinity-tide. We must, by grace, faithfully battle on, against the sin-nature, and embrace the call unto holiness, "pressing on" as St. Paul says, "toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:14).
Now, not only are we challenged by our own sinful proclivities, but as the Apostle reminds us this morning, we have external enemies as well! There are, according to Holy Scripture, evil forces seeking to destroy us. In other words, there are things at work behind the scenes. As we read in the Epistle, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." In other words, underneath and behind all this is human and sinful, Satan is active. That crafty serpent seizes upon the corrupt nature of fallen men. Active in the worldly structures and institutions of power and influence, the world-ruling powers of men, in a world which lie in darkness.
But St. Paul encourages us this morning, "My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might... Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Friends, we are in a battle. If you are living to be more like Christ, denying yourself, taking up your cross, putting the needs of others first, praying for your enemies, seeking the kingdom of God and its righteousness, then you are in a battle. So I boldly repeat the Apostles words: "My brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." He's telling us to "Stand." Not in our power, not in our righteousness, or wisdom, but Stand in the power the Lord Jesus Christ. "Stand in Him," like a soldier ready to withstand whatever onslaught the enemy might bring. St. Paul is exhorting us just as he did our brothers and sisters in Ephesus: "stand"; hold your ground; be steadfast and unwavering.
Now, if we are going to stand, then we have to first put on the Divine armor, every single piece of protection available to us: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, our feet fitted with the preparedness that comes from the good news of peace, and taking up the shield of faith. Only then, clothed in the divine armor, will we be able to stand in the conflict, which is ever at hand, and afterward, stand as victors in Christ.
To withstand the enemy, both his internal and external attacks, "our feet," says St. Paul, "must be shod with the preparedness of the Gospel of peace." What does this mean? First, we must think of the war-sandals common to Paul's day that provided a firm footing and gait to the soldier. Second, the sandals are a metaphor for the "gospel of peace," it is the Gospel in which the feet of Christ's warriors stand. By the Gospel, we who were wicked sinners and enemies of God, St. Paul says we were at enmity with God, and why? Because at one time we were on fighting for the wrong side, our allegiance was to self, our master… sin.
In the words of St. Paul, "In times past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others" (Eph 2:2). "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph 2.2-8). "But God…" are these not the two sweetest words that ever touched a sinner's ears?
Through the gracious gift of faith, we are at peace with God. No longer enemies but friends. No longer strangers but sons and daughters. No longer living in fear and anxiety of death but filled with joy and hope of eternal life: for in Christ, we have overcome death; no longer on shifting sand but standing firm in the peace of the Gospel; pardoned by the King of the universe; not on account of anything we have done but by faith in his beloved Son Jesus Christ who gave himself for the life of the world. Hear the blessed Apostle, "Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of God's glory" (Rom 5.1-2).
Beloved, we stand firm in the prior knowledge of our salvation but also in the future hope of glory. And amid the battle, we are bold to say, "If God is for us, who can be against us? Indeed, he who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, freely give us all things? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? (Rom 8.32-36). God stands for us when we stand in the Gospel of peace; this, you can most certainly be assured. And with the confidence of the Apostle proclaim with him, "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor heavenly rulers, nor things that are present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom 8.38-39).
The miraculous healing of the Nobleman's Son teaches that in times of trouble, the peace of God (if we are to experience it) depends upon faith: peace comes and resides with belief and trust in Christ. The nobleman set off on a journey of sorrow, anxiety, and sadness for his Son was deathly sick. And, yet, it was a journey of faith, though mixed with fear. For without faith, he would not have come. A true belief was present, but a feeble one, for, unlike the Centurion, this man doesn't believe that Jesus can heal without actually going to the place of need, and, that if the child, unfortunately, dies before Christ gets there, then all would be lost! Little faith has little peace.
The strength and size of the nobleman's faith are not what's most important. The quality of his faith matters far less than the object of his belief: whom he placed his faith in. Friends, he trusted in Jesus Christ (perhaps with faith no larger than a mustard seed) to do what he could not. He believed in the miracle-worker, not the miracle. Faith does not spend its energies running after miracles and apparitions in faraway places but entrusts itself in quiet and joyful confidence in Christ: no matter how unlikely our circumstances may be.
Jesus said to the nobleman, "Go thy way, thy Son liveth." Surely he who had faith to come needed a greater faith to go away. Who can describe his journey home? Just think of it, struggling between belief and unbelief, riding as fast as he can, jockeying between confidence and anxiety, and all the while, hoping that what the Lord said is true. But divine mercy curtailed this problematic journey by arranging that the nobleman's servants should meet their master on the way and confirm that which he desperately hoped to be true: "Thy son liveth." The grace and goodness of God shall not let us suffer one moment longer than the Divine will allows. How gracious our Lord is. Friends let us remember in our time of testing that the journey of faith may be shorter than we fear, and more importantly, the message of peace may already be on its way.
St. John concludes this Gospel story writing, "So the Father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy Son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house." But did he not believe before? Was not this Divine miracle itself the gracious reward of his faith? Yes, he accepted the word of the Lord: "thy Son liveth." But this is something more, a deepening of faith, the giving of his whole self to Jesus, the healer, and redeemer of the world. In realizing that healing occurred at the very moment Jesus spoke, there was an augmenting of his faith. For our faith may be true, and yet most capable of increasing. At first, we are as he who cries out, 'Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief' (Mark 9:24), faith was indeed born in us, though at first, its acting’s were weak and feeble. But faith is strengthened as we see and experience Divine faithfulness in our lives; so many answered prayers; a never-ending bounty of blessing flows upon us; enjoying the Divine presence through word and sacrament; time and time again our repentance is met with mercy. The miracle of the Divine Life acting in and around us for our protection and for our good.
For the nobleman, Christ's miracle was so absolute and so immediate that there was no further room for doubt. A journey that began in tribulation and sorrow ended in peace. Through it all, he trusted the word of the Lord. And here, we are reminded that peace is intricately connected to faith as is our protection from the external enemies which plague us. Therefore, let us heed the Apostles exhortation and take up the shield of faith, "wherewith, you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."
On this twenty-first Sunday in Trinity-Tide, we learn that the blessing of peace flows first from the grace of pardon, from our having been reconciled to the Father through faith in Jesus Christ. Faith in him is the commencement and sustainer of real and lasting peace; the blessed peace and comfort are given to all who are in Christ; peace in troubles; peace in the most challenging and angst-ridden moments of our lives; the peace of God which passeth all understanding… which means this peace can only be apprehended and attained by faith. Beloved, trust in Christ, believe in him. For he truly is your present help in times of trouble. Amen+
