Saturday, September 24, 2022

 

Saturday, September 24, 2022


Psalms 56; 57

Joel 2:12-24

Ephesians 6:10-24


Put on the whole armour of God.


There is a dramatic scene in Percy Jackson's Lord of the Rings where the king of the horse-lords, Theoden, is putting on his armour in preparation for what everyone assumes is to be a losing battle. He recites a poem, which is in the original text by Tolkien, who himself adapted from a poem written in Old English called (by modern translators) “The Wanderer”. Lamenting the loss of former glory years, the author cries out:


“How the space of years has spread —
growing gloomy beneath the night-helm,
as if it never was!”


Curious that Tolkien would put this poem into the mouth of the king as he is about to march into battle. But as Theoden puts on his armour, we are reminded of our own battle that we march into daily, because the original Old English poem ends with the comforting words:


“It will be well for those who seek the favor,
the comfort from our Father in heaven,
where a battlement bulwarks us all.”


Just as Theoden can march into a losing battle with boldness by donning the armour of “the favour and the comfort from his Father in heaven”, we too are exhorted by Paul to put on the whole armour of God. There is, however, a difference between the fantastical imagination of Tolkien and the words of our Lord by the Holy Spirit through Paul, which we know from reading over the past days the maginificent build-up to this climactic point in the letter. Theoden puts on his own armour; we put on the armour of God. Not the armour from God, but of God, the very thing about God that makes God victorious in every situation: truth, righteousness, eagerness to proclaim the good news, faith (or, “trust”), salvation, and the word of God. We are not marching into battle against mindless hordes of green-skinned, drooling monsters, but against the evil that sent them: the spiritual forces of darkness that seeks to lie, hate, cheat, steal and kill. By giving us Himself, Christ has given us His armour and weaponry. A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing: Christ is not only on our side, but in us, fighting the battle. On the cross, He cried out: “It is finished”. We know how this battle ends. Come, Christian, put on the armour of God and march into battle: our God has won the victory.





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