Dressed to Slay: Sermon for Sunday 26 August 2018
Sermon
for Sunday 26 August 2018
Lutheran
Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem
The
Rev. Carrie Ballenger Smith
Grace
and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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| St. George, as depicted by artist Rebecca Coffey |
This summer, my dear friend Stacy gave me an amazing gift: the
icon featured on the front cover of your bulletin this morning. Stacy knows I have
a “thing” for St. George the Dragonslayer, patron saint of Palestine (I even
have him tattooed on my arm) but she thought he could use a little updating.
For this reason, she commissioned an artist to create an image of George—as a
woman.
This new George (or Georgette?) is both feminine and strong.
She appears to be multi-racial.
Her hair looks a little like Princess Leia from
Star Wars (the artist confirmed that was a tiny bit intentional).
And of course, as a warrior, she’s wearing armor. The dragon looks fierce,
and has her surrounded, but George’s look says “whatever”. She dressed and ready
to slay some dragons!
“Do you like it?” Stacy asked when I saw it.
“Like it? I may get her tattooed on my other arm!” I told her.
It’s a little strange, I suppose, that I’m such a fan of a warrior
saint, considering I’m essentially a pacifist! And yet there’s something about the
image of one man (or woman), bravely slaying a mighty dragon, that gives me courage
when I need it. In fact, George (and now Georgette) is who I often picture when
I read these words, written to the early church:
From Ephesians chapter 6:
“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put
on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles
of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but
against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this
present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore
take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that
evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and
fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.
As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the
gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you
will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet
of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Tradition holds that these instructions are an excerpt of a
letter written by the Apostle Paul while in prison and sent to the church at
Ephesus. However, newer scholarship suggests it was written a bit later, by a
disciple of Paul, and was actually sent to many different churches. In fact,
some believe that the beginning of the letter, which starts “To the church at Ephesus”
was originally left with a blank space, so it could be filled in with the name
of any city! In other words, these wardrobe instructions were for all
Christians. Paul (or his disciple) tells the early church:
“The Way of Jesus is not easy. Some will oppose us. Some will
even persecute us. It will feel like a battle! But if we are wearing the whole
armor of God, we can stand firm and proclaim the Gospel of peace.
It’s a great message, right? And pretty clear. What could go
wrong?”
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| St John (Crusader) Chapel Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem Photo by Carrie Ballenger Smith 26 August 2018 |
And it’s not like the church got it wrong just that once. The
author of Ephesians says clearly “our struggle is not against enemies of
blood and flesh”, but again and again, we’ve chosen to define ourselves in
opposition to other humans. We’ve been against the Jews, against the Turks, and
against heretics of every kind. We’ve been in battle against witches,
feminists, pagans, and liberals. Sometimes we even battle each other! Catholics
persecuted Protestants, Lutherans persecuted Anabaptists, Evangelicals still warn
against the dreaded “liturgical” churches, and Christians behave so badly in
Jerusalem that a Muslim family must hold the key to the Church of the
Resurrection.
It’s like we don’t know who we are if we don’t know who we’re
against.
Of course, this is a human problem, not exclusively a Christian
one. I just returned from two months in the United States, where these days it
seems everyone is ready for a fight. People have put on the armor of self-righteousness,
and picked up the weapons of cynicism, isolation, division, and judgment. Battle
lines have been drawn right through neighborhoods sometimes, where long-time
neighbors and friends have become enemies over politics, and especially over opinions
about the current president—all of it encouraged and instigated by social media,
television loudmouths and even, dare I say, the president himself.
It’s all so sad, really, because of course there is a battle
that needs to be waged, but it’s not against each other. The United States (and,
I would say, the world) is being held hostage by the empire, and by the powers
and principalities that have always been working against the Gospel of love.
Again, from Ephesians chapter 6: “For our struggle is not
against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” As followers of Jesus,
crucified and risen, we are called to join the fight, and to stand firm: but
never to stand in opposition to other people!
We stand firm against greed, hatred, prejudice, and division.
We stand firm against violence, apathy, and lies.
We stand firm against occupation, apartheid, and
anti-Semitism.
We stand firm against these and every other spiritual force which
threatens to kidnap our fellow humans away from the love of God!
So yes, there is a battle to be fought. And we should be
dressed appropriately. But notice that the whole armor of God as described in
Ephesians is meant primarily for defense. Breastplates, belts, shoes, shields,
and helmets are not weapons! We clothe ourselves in truth, faith, salvation,
peace, and righteousness so that we can stand strong, not so that we can take
others down.
In fact, the only part of the “whole armor of God” that may
be used for offense is the “sword of the Spirit”, which is the word of God. To be
clear, this is not a license to use the Bible as a weapon—too many have already
been hurt by such behavior. No, in this case the “word of God” refers to the Gospel
itself. The only weapon we need in the fight for the world—and for our own souls—is
the Good News that in Christ Jesus the Creator has already defeated the ultimate
enemy, which is sin and death.
Friends, this proclamation is how we will slay all the
dragons!
Indeed, this is how the occupation will end. This is how
fascism will be stopped in its tracks. This is how racism, greed, war, and
sexual violence will be defeated:
Not through bloodshed but through the blood of the lamb,
Not through violence but through vulnerability and truth,
Not through the defeat of the Other, but when we seek the
flourishing and well-being of every single human,
Not by winning every argument, but by boldly proclaiming the
Gospel of peace.
This is not the way the world fights. Love is not usually the
weapon of choice. But dressed in this whole armor of God, we can withstand the
evils from within us and from without, for the sake of God and our neighbor.
At the
beginning of this month, I was in Minnesota to preach at a church with 10,000
members. I was to preach five times over three days, and I admit I was pretty nervous
about it. That number was hard to ignore—10,000! That’s about a thousand times
more people than we can even fit in this chapel!
In light of this
fact, I stressed a bit not only about what to say, but about what to wear. A little funny, I suppose, since I essentially
wear the same thing all the time. But I wondered what to wear with the clergy collar: Pants? Skirt? Suit? And what
about shoes? I had brought my “nice” shoes – the ones that I save for special occasions.
They even have a little heel, which makes me a few inches taller. I thought:
10,000 people probably deserve a heel.
I put on
these fancy shoes and was just about to leave the hotel when I realized: This
feels…wrong. I went back to the room and slipped on my trusty Birkenstock
sandals. 10,000 people would just have to see my toes.
After the 3rd
service (or was it the 4th?) I was excited to see that two of our
former Young Adults in Global Mission were there. Samantha and Tyler served
here in Jerusalem and the West Bank, and it was a joy to see them again. After
some big hugs, Tyler pointed to my feet and said: “I love that you’re wearing
your sandals! Pastor Carrie, keeping it real, Jerusalem style.”
Of course,
that made me smile! Tyler gets it! As Paul wrote to the early church, Christians
are to wear on their feet whatever makes them ready to proclaim the Gospel of
peace. For me, they were my sandals—the shoes I wear every day. The shoes I
wear to walk these streets. The shoes that make me feel like myself. And walking
in truth is what makes us ready to proclaim the Gospel in word and in deed.
So what does
your armor look like, saints?
What shoes will
you wear this year?
Remember
that you don’t have to wear the armor others have provided.
You don’t
have to put on the cynicism and judgment of the world, or walk in the shoes of
the oppressor, for in your baptism, you have already put on Christ. You are clothed
in righteousness, and armed with the truth that you are a Child of God, marked
with the cross of Christ and sealed by the Holy Spirit, forever.
Therefore, be
brave. Be bold. Be not afraid! This love will slay every dragon.
May the
peace of God which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus. Amen.
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