Sermon for Sunday 22 August 2021
13th Sunday after Pentecost
Ephesians 6:10-20
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Jerusalem
The Rev. Carrie Ballenger
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The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love
of God, and the Communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Let
the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your
sight, O Lord my strength and my redeemer. Amen.
This
summer I had the opportunity (finally!) to travel to the United States and
visit my mom and dad, brother, son, nephews, and other chosen family. In
pre-COVID times I was a frequent traveler, very familiar with airports and
airport culture. My experience has been that airport workers are generally
stressed out and sometimes rude—because flyers are almost always stressed out
and almost always rude.
On
this trip, I found that COVID has not improved airport culture. In fact, the
added stress of tests and masks and social distancing and worry meant that on
my journey to the States in June, I just tried hard to stay away from everyone.
I outdid myself saying “please and thank you” to flight attendants and “pardon
me” to anyone who got into my personal space, all to avoid the wrath of grumpy
people. It mostly worked.
On my
way back to Jerusalem from Chicago in August, however, something strange
happened. I was entering the first of many security lines when Cosmo (the older
Greek gentleman arranging us into line) smiled broadly and said to me, “What
lovely religious tattoos, Miss.” The unexpected compliment stopped me in my
tracks, and I smiled back saying, “Why thank you!”
And then
on we went. At the end of the passport line, I approached the window and handed
over my documents. The woman in uniform behind the glass handed my passport
back and said, “I just love your haircut!” Again, the compliment surprised me.
It seemed so out of place in the context of streams of masked, grumpy people navigating
a maze of security protocols. I smiled again and said brightly, “Thank you!”
and moved on.
An
hour or so later, after my customary airport adult beverage, I was standing in
the special Israel security line. Passport check, visa check, vaccine check,
and then I was at the bag check. The man who was scanning my things and rifling
through my bag suddenly looked up and said to me, “Ma’am, that’s a lovely yellow
necklace you’re wearing. Have a good flight.”
Now at
this point, I was suspicious. Was this niceness some kind of new corporate mandate?
Did airport workers have a required number of compliments to give each day? I
had never experienced such a thing, in all my years of traveling to many
different countries. Cynically, I wondered if perhaps this was a strategic way
of coping with COVID grumpiness among travelers. Kill them with kindness, so to
speak.
Or
maybe, I thought, this wasn’t corporate intentional kindness, but just individual
intentional kindness. Humanity, at its best.
I
suppose in the end, it didn’t matter. Because it worked! I settled into my
airplane seat feeling less scared, less stressed, less angry, and far less
depressed about humanity and the world in general. Thanks be to God.
Dear
people, we are all in a massive battle against a nasty virus. And most of us
are doing our part—receiving vaccines, wearing masks, and following guidelines
about gathering in public. Even so, many months later, we are still in the
thick of the fight, and we don’t know when it might end.
But
the truth is, we are also in another ongoing battle. It’s the battle for our
souls and our shared humanity. In the Ephesians text we heard this morning the
Apostle Paul writes,
12For 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.
I
think if Paul were experiencing the world as it is today, he might add “For our
struggle is not against the virus, but against the discord, the vitriol, and
the poisonous forces of division invading our communities and our hearts.” This
is the ultimate struggle the world is engaged in, and sadly it didn’t begin
with COVID, and it didn’t begin with an election, either. We know from Holy
Scripture (and from world history) that humans have been fighting to remain
human ever since Adam and Eve left the garden. And just in case you think being
a Christian solves everything, read the letters of Paul. Or just read the news!
Yes,
we are in an epic battle—for our health, but also for our souls, and for the
future of the world. As I walked through the airport that day in Chicago, I saw
all kinds of protocols and protections, barriers and blockades in place to
fight the spread of the virus. It felt like a war zone. But those small acts of
kindness, those three unexpected comments from strangers, they also felt like
part of a war strategy. Can kindness kill COVID? No. But it can disrupt the
system. It can shift thinking. It can soften hearts. It can make someone smile.
It can change the world.
In his
letter to the Ephesians, Paul recommends that the Christian community put on
the “whole armor of God.” Now, at that time the church in Ephesus was
experiencing persecution from outside as well as turmoil from inside the
community. Furthermore, their teacher Paul was in prison.
(A
side note here: traditionally, this letter was thought to be written by Paul
himself around the year 62, while he was in prison. However, modern scholars
believe it may have been written by one of his students about 25 years later,
as a way to sum up Paul’s teachings, and that it was sent to many different
Christian communities, including Ephesus. In any case, for the purpose of this
sermon, we will assume they are the words of Paul himself.)
So,
the early Christian church in various places was being persecuted by the
Romans, which means they would have been familiar with the image of soldiers in
mighty armor, patrolling their communities and instilling fear. They may have even
been considering their own response to this threat. Should we arm ourselves? Should
we fight back? Should we go to war to protect our way of life?
But
Paul gives the early church an alternative. In the midst of a hostile world, he
tells them Christians are to engage in battle not with their neighbors, but
with the forces of evil which inspired the problem in the first place. This is
the Way of Christ, says Paul.
And for
this sort of battle, we need a different uniform.
13Therefore 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. 14Stand
therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the
breastplate of righteousness. 15As shoes for your feet put on
whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16With
all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench
all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of
salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Put on
the whole armor of God. I have to admit, this whole passage makes me think of
our new standard piece of armor: the face mask. It seems to me that this, too,
is part of the whole armor of God. Because when we read this description of the
pieces of armor God has chosen for us, they are mostly defensive. They are
protective. Not only that, they serve to make not only one’s own life better,
but others’ as well. Truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace—these make the
world a better place. The shield of faith, with which we are able to “quench
all the flaming arrows of the evil one”—well it, too serves the common good. And
for this reason, yes: a face mask is part of the whole armor of God for a
Christian. It is for us, and it is for others.
Now I
do want to say this: We should not spiritualize pain and struggle. The people
of Haiti are fighting for their lives. The women of Afghanistan are struggling
to remain free to work and to learn. Black people are pushing back against a
system that has kept them oppressed for hundreds of years. Palestinians are
engaged in the ongoing resistance to an illegal occupation. These battles are
real.
And
still, the words of Paul ring true. As Christians engage in protest, in
speaking truth to power, and in overturning unjust systems, we are called to
remember that ultimately our enemy is not our neighbor. Our enemy is never
flesh and blood. Our enemy is the sin and evil which lies at the root of all
injustice and hatred. And so we must dress, and act, accordingly for these
battles. We must clothe ourselves in Christ, crucified and risen—the Christ who
fed the hungry, ate with sinners, challenged empire, and then emptied himself
of divine power for the sake of the world. This is the Way we will win not only
the battle, but the war—the war for our souls and for the future of the world.
So
back to that airplane from Chicago to Jerusalem. Still basking in the kindness
shown to me earlier, I settled in for the long flight. The woman next to me
clearly wanted to talk. I did not! Nevertheless, in a few short minutes, she
told me about her life, her children, her vacation, and the date when she made
Aliyah. I told her I am a Christian pastor. She told me she didn’t know any
Christians. I told her I live and work with Palestinians. She told me she lived
in a settlement.
I
could feel myself bristle and harden, from the inside out. I just wanted to
watch a movie, not have a political or religious talk in close quarters. I knew
how these conversations usually developed. So, I put in my earphones and
scrolled through the movie options, trying to exhibit an air of “I’m not
available for this right now.”
But as
we took off into the air, the woman pulled two apples out of her bag. She leaned
over, tapped me on the arm, and handed me one of the apples, saying “Here you
go, neighbor. It might be a while until dinner, and I thought you might be
hungry.”
Lutheran
theologian, philosopher, musician and doctor Albert Schweitzer once wrote, “Constant
kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes
misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.”
And so,
my fellow Christians…we shall wear kindness on our sleeves. We shall put on the
belt of truth, and the breastplate of righteousness. We shall wear shoes that
help us be peacemakers. We shall carry our faith with us, that it can help us
resist evil from without and from within. And we shall pray always—for the
world, for our neighbors, for our enemies, and for ourselves, that we may stand
firm in the love of God in Christ Jesus, not letting our hearts be infected
with the virus of hatred or indifference.
May
the peace of Christ which passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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