In my quiet quest to exegete the lectionary for the day, I have discussed verses that offend the feminists and the churchians. Now for something that offends the pacifists.

Firstly, the spirit of this age is our enemy. It always has been. It will always be that way. And we better be prepared.

So Paul talks about what a trained soldier — a legionary — wore. This would have been familiar to all people in the Roman Empire. He sees nothing wrong in military language. Neither should we. To deny the battle is to be unprepared, and to lose.

Ephesians 6:10-24

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 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. 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.

¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. ¹⁹Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

²¹So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus will tell you everything. He is a dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord. ²²I am sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are, and to encourage your hearts.

²³Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Let’s reverse this for a second. If we are prepared, if we are armed, we can be at peace. Because we have sheepdogs at the door. Some of us have to be armed, some of us have to defend the faith. This is in part the role for the leaders within the church, the apologists, the missionaries and the shepherds.

But the sheep better also be armed. It is the role of the leadership to enable the laity to stand in the faith: for we cannot live in a mere holy huddle. We must be stating the truth and doing good. And to do that we need:

1. To Know the Truth. Now, I am a great advocate of spending time in the scripture. In the last few years I have used the lectionary — because my kirk preaches by that cycle. Before that I had a very simple bible reading system. It consisted of three bookmarks — one on the OT, one in the NT, and one in psalms. I read a chapter or more from each daily. I also think we can supplement this with good doctrinal teaching and reading — but we can rely on scripture, and not on the glosses of men: they have to be tested.
2. To practice righteousness. To be disciplined (and here the Orthodox and Catholics, who celebrate times and seasons, can teach the Reformed). It is not enough to know the truth, you must act it. You must obey it. Again — that which is not of the word should be tested, because the church has continually fallen into error, and the fashions of this decade will be seen as errors in the next.  But the practice  of honesty, faithfulness, hard work, purity and modesty have not be (yet) banned in our society. And, righteousness needs to be practiced — as a soldier practices his martial arts or a musician plays her scales — for if you do not, on the day of trial you will be found wanting.
3. Be grounded in the gospel. Make sure you have good footing. In Christ. Not in your status. The idea of the studded sandals was to ensure that you would not slip — which is exactly why hiking shoes have sticky rubber soles on them. You need to be grounded, Considering the real, not the abstract.
4. Be protected by the spirit. Our faith and salvation are not our own. They do not come from our effort. They — like your helmet and body armour — are issued to you by the army. (Yes, I know a shield was used as a weapon — and a helmet can deliver an effective Liverpool Kiss). But we are defended not by ourselves, but by the spirit.

If we are all practicing these things, we will be at peace. If we are not, we will fail. As individuals, and as congregations. So it is time to return to  the disciplines — which have been written of extensively.  We should not delude ourselves. The times are hard, and winter is not here. We need to work on these things while we have the freedom to do so.