A Life With God
What we wear says a bit about who we are, where we are, and what we’re up to. When we go out to the lake we have appropriate swimwear, we pack a towel, and maybe some water shoes. When we go for a hike we have a backpack, bear spray, water, and shoes that will provide extra ankle support. When we go rock climbing we wear a harness that will keep us safe, a helmet, and those extremely uncomfortable shoes that help our feet grip the rock. As a Boy Scout our motto was to “Be Prepared.” This means that we had the training, the skills, the supplies, and the right clothing for whatever situation we could find ourselves in. This might mean we pack extra clothes, that we would have a buddy with us, and that we would have some knowledge of the task that was before us. As a Boy Scout, I became very familiar with that phrase.
What we have in this closing section of Ephesians sums up the entire letter. Ephesians describes the story of creation wherein Jesus the Messiah will become the head of the cosmos according to God’s claim. This mystery is progressively revealed to the nations, the church, and the individual. We see a cosmic task where Christ seeks to fill the cosmos and to be all in all. We see God who is reconciling all things to God’s self, but that this reconciliation encounters opposition. This closing section exhorts us to ready ourselves and be prepared for what we are to face in our task to spread the gospel of peace throughout the cosmos. We have talked about the opposition of those living in falsehood and lies, as well as that opposition that occurs continually today through Scriptural and theological interpretations that encourage domination, gender subordination, and hierarchies. It is revealed to us that Jesus as God’s head does not operate from a position of greater power or glory, but from his self-emptying of the divine nature in his humanity and from his humiliation on the cross. We can say that Jesus is our Lord and that we are in Jesus because he became like us, so that we might be glorified in God the Father. We see from Jesus and the relationship within the Godhead a way of being that enables us to be prepared for our task. And now, we see that putting on these holy garments prepares us for a life with God.
And let me say this, preparation matters. I recall one of my first campouts that took place in the bitter cold of November in Northern Michigan. We were to go rock climbing, exploring, and finish the day with a big Thanksgiving dinner! We arrived at D-Bar-A Scout Ranch and I had the realization that I was not prepared for the cold. My tentmate had to leave unexpectedly, so I struggled in the dark to put up my tent. I knew I was in trouble when I first stepped into that tent. To my alarm, the tent was poorly insulated. Lacking the body heat of my tent mate, I was concerned about the night to come. By the time I laid out my sleeping bag, arranged my pillow, and set out my clothes for the next day, far later than everyone I might add, I discovered that my sleeping bag was not rated for the 20-degree night that would ensue. My first attempt at sleep was short lived. I could not stop shivering. I put on every article of clothing that I packed. I wore three pairs of underwear, socks, shirts, and sweatshirts. I could not get warm. I woke up in the morning cold, miserable, and lacking sleep. That night was one of the hardest I would experience as a boy scout. I can still recognize the feeling of the biting cold creeping through my bones. I was ill-prepared for the circumstances that came my way, and for a while I swore off camping. I projected my miserable experience onto camping and onto Boy Scouts. All this because I was so ill-prepared.
As the people of God we are exhorted to put on these holy garments: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes fastened with the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. We are to take these things up because they are what will prepare us for what is to come. They are the items that are necessary if we are to successfully spread the gospel of peace. They are items that will guard us from opposition and provide the means to disarm conflict as it appears. These are the garments that are necessary to partake in our task because Jesus’ rule does not yet include the whole cosmos. God has invited us into this reconciling work that is present and ongoing through the church. Through the power of the ekklesia, that is, the church, the Holy Spirit continues to embolden God’s church to proclaim and witness to the work of God. The ekklesia, us, is the space and the people in which the power of Jesus has already been fully instilled, whereas the cosmos and world are still in the process of being “filled” with it. This means that we have a cosmic ministry. A ministry that is to our neighbor, to our valley, and to our world. The goal and purpose of raising up worship leaders, preachers, administrators, and all the witness of the saints is to engage in this task of filling the world with God’s reconciling grace. This is an ongoing task. It is a task that came before us and will continue long after us. It is the task of proclaiming who Jesus is for us today to the world. It is the process of becoming who we were created to be in Jesus. It is the process of becoming the church who joins in the Spirit’s work in our towns. It is the process of being Christians in our increasingly large world. It is the daily process of putting on our holy garments.
My story earlier focused on me as the person who didn’t have the right clothes and was sleeping in the cold, but I am not the only actor in the story. After that whole ordeal, I was afraid to talk to anyone. I was embarrassed that I didn’t pack the right gear and, as a younger scout, I didn’t want to get made fun of. I worked up the courage to tell my dad what happened. He listened with sympathetic eyes, patted me on the back and said, “Let’s see what we can do.” And then, my dad stepped up. He gave me some of the warmer clothes that he had. I fondly remember the warm grey sweatshirt he gave me. He went out and bought me and other campers hand warmers. He made sure that I was staying hydrated so that I wouldn’t get hypothermia. When I needed someone, my dad was there. I realize now that this is our role for us as the ekklesia. We are to look out for one another, to provide warmer clothes, to be a safe listening ear for those who are struggling to talk, and to sit with one another to make sure they’re alright.
Our task to fill the world is as much spiritual as it is political, social as it is personal, cosmic as it is human. Our cosmic task as Christians is huge and encompasses the whole of our lived experience. This has the practical implication that our actions matter, that our beliefs matter, and that our character matters. The ekklesia, us, we are called to be a commonwealth. We are to be a people where status distinctions between us fall away. Where we do not exist over one another, but with and for the good of all. We are all citizens in the Kingdom of God with equal status and given the same task to fill the world with the gospel of peace. Our distinctions are not in status from the rest of the world or each other, our distinctions are the individual gifts, callings, and experiences that shed light on the gospel. We are to be a people together girded with the armor of God. And we can use these gifts in powerful and amazing ways! Just this month we sponsored Haven House with 33 pounds of goods, and the last two weeks have faithfully collected school supplies for the folks at SAFE. Church, we are wearing holy garments and touching the lives of the people in our community.
This process of being Christian’s is continual- it is a daily commitment. We are to put on the garments of Christ as our action rather than our status. Us being Christians does not make us above all, but for all. The writer of Ephesians notes that the Christian is concerned with the proclaiming of the gospel of peace to all and in all and for all. While we are happy for the good work we have done today and yesterday, we incline our ears to the work of the Holy Spirit which is ongoing. This is the body of Christ, and this is who we are. We are a people proclaiming the good news through our love. The holy garments of the ekklesia are for those who share in discernment and the wise judgment found in Jesus. They are for those who have the courage to step out in faith and share the mercies of God with another. These garments consist in the truth, peace, and the spoken Word of God that we proclaim with our lives. The spiritual implications of the Word proclaimed become actualized and political. The edifying words that feed us, are the same words that catalyze our witness and our mission in our communities. We need these holy garments becomes they prepares us for our daily task to be witnesses of the gospel of peace. Taking in the Word, communing with God in prayer, and daily worship prepare us for a world that is sick and in need of the Great Physician. It prepares us to care for those the world has long left behind. These holy garments ready us for our task to be God’s ambassadors in our neighborhoods, in our town, in our county, and in our world. As citizens in the Kingdom of God we are all a part of the struggle against dehumanization and exploitation. We are a part of the struggle to make this world a better place and to bring God’s Kingdom here. Let’s buckle up, let’s prepare, and let’s meet the world with the kind of love, compassion, and mercy that my Dad showed me.
