13th Sunday After Trinity
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Readings: Joshua 24: 1-2 and 14-18; Ephesians 6: 10-20
What do you think about Paul’s talk in Ephesians of ‘spiritual forces of evil?’
I was listening to a radio programme this week, recounting the disappearance of Mrs Muriel McKay in 1970 – a notorious case, and an unusual one in that people were convicted of murder even though no body was ever discovered. The BBC journalist Tom Mangold recalled how he went to investigate the supposed scene of the murder of Mrs McKay – Rooks Farm, somewhere in Hertfordshire. When he entered the house he sensed the real presence of evil. He said that he wasn’t normally a person who feels these things, and he has never experienced anything similar before or since. But in that place there seemed to be a tremendous sense of evil that overwhelmed him – to use his words..
Some people are more inclined to emphasize the presence of evil forces; others dismiss them. Most of us are probably unconcerned most of the time, or sceptical. But, as Bishop Tom Wright says, “Just because the movie Jaws was over the top, that doesn’t mean sharks don’t eat people. Just because some people cherish ludicrous and caricatured fantasies about spiritual warfare, that doesn’t mean Paul is talking nonsense.”
In the passage from Ephesians, Paul helps us to see that we have armour enough with which “to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” It’s noteworthy that his warning is not about escaping from the ‘evil’ sphere into the ‘good’ spiritual sphere. The spiritual sphere is precisely where you meet the worst foes. St. Paul warns of spiritual forces of evil which may be difficult to spot or identify, but which work against us, often in hidden ways.
The armour he advocates that we put on is the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. He doesn’t spell out just what these other clothes are, but he does give us some clues.
He links the breastplate of righteousness with the belt of truth. Righteousness and truth go together. If we aren’t truthful we will never be right with God. Truthfulness is not simply avoiding telling lies, but it requires a deep integrity of character which must be present in every area of life, from our handling of money and the tax we pay, down to our honesty with each other. I think it also involves honesty with ourselves; being true to ourselves. Jesus showed such integrity of character that he accepted crucifixion rather than denying God. Maybe we shall be called on to show integrity by working out who we are and not being afraid to let people see that, rather than by covering-up or pretending to be someone else.
Faith is the deep conviction that God is there; that God cares about human beings, and that God was clearly seen in the person of Jesus Christ. Faith is the trust and the belief that whatever happens in life, God is there and on our side. That sort of faith doesn’t prevent bad things happening to us, but it does assist us in getting through them because we know that God will never let us down.
The writer of Hebrews says, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for: the conviction of things not seen.” He goes on to show how Abraham, for example, obeyed God by setting out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance, and he set out, not knowing where he was going. I don’t believe that faith is entirely static, or that it will never challenge us. Indeed, some would say that if faith was based on absolute certainty then it wouldn’t be faith. It won’t hurt any of us to have just the faintest nagging doubts about our beliefs, while at the same time believing that God will be there and will reveal himself in the end – or even before the end!
Then Paul talks of the helmet of salvation. Salvation – a churchy sort of word, but it is the acceptance that Jesus Christ is the way to health and happiness. The word ‘salvation’ implies both protection and health. Jesus protects us from the assaults of evil whatever form they may take, and brings us a real health of soul which often becomes health of body and mind. Sometimes if I’ve been worried about going into some dodgy situation in life – a place of questionable repute, perhaps, or a house of non-Christian reputation, or anywhere where ‘darkness’ might abound, I call to mind the salvation that has claimed me for Christ, and the belief that I will not be deserted.
The passage is full of metaphors of determination and protection. As long as we stand our ground neither real or symbolic evil forces will be able to shift us. G.K. Chesterton said, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”
In the short reading from the book of Joshua this morning, we find the Israelites’ leader Joshua challenging the people who were beginning to forget what God had done for them after the invasion and conquest of Canaan. They were starting to lose their cutting edge, and were flirting with idols and foreign gods. So Joshua reminds them how far they have come. He then throws out the challenge: Choose this day whom you will serve. Who is it going to be? The foreign gods or the one true God?
All the talk about the armour of God challenges us about where our allegiance lies. A soldier’s armour is only going to be of limited use if he goes into battle with a negative mindset; not willing to trust the aids he has, or with a defeatist attitude. So the ‘whole armour of God’ is ours for the wearing, but we need to build-up each piece so that it is used to full effect. And we do this by prayer, by worship, by immersing ourselves in the scriptures; by delighting in what is good and true, by journeying with our Christian community. To follow Christ is a conscious decision, and one that we’re challenged to renew from time to time, so that we say with Joshua, “As for me, I will serve the Lord.”