Seminary Conclusions.

Last sermon at Salem.

Today was a sad day for me. It was the last day of my internship. This year has been a blessing, the people at Salem have been joyous, welcoming, and have taught me a great deal. They will forever be in my prayers and heart.

My last sermon for my internship was this....

Gospel: John 6: 56-69
main text: Ephesians 6:10-20

May the words of my lips and the mediations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord our Rock and Redeemer.

Let us pray,
Triumphant God, wrap us in your love, use us in your mission, draw us together in unity, so that we may declare your radical Gospel with boldness. Amen.


As I read the text from Ephesians for today, it reminded me of a field trip I took in Junior high School. We had been studying the Medieval times, and the teachers decided a great way to make history fun, as well as to allow us to see the practices in person, was to take us to a place called, Medieval times. There was to be jousting, and knights in full armor, a ‘king’ of the event, servants, and food that was served without silverware.

As the festival began, depending on where you were sitting you were given the color of a knight to cheer for. I had the green knight. I remember thinking how awesome it would be to try on a suit of armor, to walk around impenetrable, to fight gallantly for ones kingdom, to slay dragons like I’ve heard of in stories.

Like many of us, as a young person, I romanticized that period of history. Thinking about kings, queens, princes, princesses, noble knights set out on dangerous missions. Their armor began to define who they were, their job, their title, their soul. These pieces of intricately laced together metal pieces, began to become a person. Their armor began to define them on one side of a fight, and usually that side was the good side. The strong protective side.

Our obsession with armor has not ended. We think about and create it even today, from bullet proof vests, to the armor that we use and send out to our troops in foreign wars. We want to protect our selves as much as possible.

But this extends further then just physical protection as well. We as people who are hurt by words and actions, by choices, and emotions, we want to protect ourselves from people too. We want armor and shields to cover us, so that we don’t have to be hurt, feel pain or discomfort from the words and actions of others. We want to be protected from the mean insults that others can lob at us. We want protection from the pain of self-consciousness, from the demoralizing of acts of racism, sexism, ageism, or classism. We don’t want to be hurt by rejection.

We think about war in many forms, we express it in songs, we watch it in movies, cartoons show illustrations of heavily armed machines fighting one another, of fighting against evil. Fights of good versus evil are present in our literature, movies, songs, stories, minds, politics, social causes, language and lives.

We live in a culture now, that is dominated by the thought that to make change, we must wage a battle. We must fight strong handedly against others, in order to change our current situations.

We have created only two sides in our battle, the good side and the bad side. If it’s bad, we fight against it, and always believe that we are on the good side.

This Ephesians text is something radical, it’s not advocating war, it’s not preparing us to wage a war, it is not telling us to use faith as a weapon, as some may advocate. Instead it is referring us to put on the armor of God to stand up for justice. To strive for peace. This isn’t a physical fight, this isn’t a fight that is easily won, but this is the mission that God is striving for.

The section of Ephesians is drawing from a passage from Isaiah ch59. In the Isaiah text, God is the one putting on the armor, God is the one wearing the breastplate of righteousness, God is wielding the sword of the Word. God is the one who is striving for justice, alone.

But here, in this text, we are asked to join that mission. To put on the armor ourselves. To place upon our heads the helmet of salvation, to wrap around our waist the belt of truth, to hold the shield of faith tight, to grasp the sword of the Word of God, and to walk in shoes of peace. We are asked to suit up, and help in the mission of God.

We aren’t asked to help slaughter enemies. We aren’t asked to close ourselves off in our protective suits. We are instead asked to fight in an entirely new way. With our radical fashion, we are asked to walk in the Gospel of peace, to hold tight to our faith, to surround ourselves in truth and righteousness, to know that our minds are safe in the promises of salvation, and to keep the Word of God at our side. We are asked to open ourselves up to the Spirit, and to share ourselves with others. We are given an opportunity to help penetrate injustices’, to help invoke change in society, to help end pain and rejection. We are given an opportunity to show the love that God has offered to us with others.

It is love that we are putting on, it is love that we are wearing from God. God has wrapped us in it, and now we have the power to go out and share it with one another. While the world is calling for war, while people want to fight, God comes to conquer, triumphantly through the peace of Christ. He doesn’t slay his enemies like they were dragons, instead he loves them. He radically changes them. His enemies are not people, but instead are hatred and sin and fear. They are not our earthly brothers and sisters, but are injustice and pain. And these are conquered by the risen Christ.

But that’s difficult to understand for us. We have a hard time seeing love conquer evil without a real fight, without having to draw swords and strike the enemy down. We want God to punish our enemies, so it’s hard to understand a God that brings enemies into our family, and takes suffering upon himself. It’s hard to understand a God that would offer his body as a life-giving bread, to all those who listen. Even the disciples would agree, as we heard in the Gospel for today. They have heard the words of Jesus and say that his teaching is difficult, and ask who can accept it?

Because of hearing this message of ultimate love, of ultimate sacrifice, many of his disciples turned back, and no longer went with him. They couldn’t understand this radical approach to love, so they left. And so Jesus turned to the twelve, and asked, “Do you also wish to go?”
Peter answered him, “But Lord to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Peter and the twelve knew that these were difficult words that Jesus was offering, but they also knew that this was the only place they could receive the grace of God, the bread of life.

As difficult as it is to understand, Christ is the armor of God. Christ is the ultimate conqueror. For Christ is the one who conquers the power of death and the grave, Christ is the one that takes our sins, takes our pain, and gives us eternal life. Christ is the one that offers up his own body, to save us. Christ is the one that pierces our hearts and minds with the Gospel of peace, grace and life.

It is in unity that we put on Christ, the armor of God. It is in unity that we can strive for justice and peace through the Word of God. Christ will win this battle, for he has already given his life so that we may receive eternal life.

In the armor of Christ, we stand together, we gather side by side, as brothers and sisters, whether we agree or disagree, whether we are similar or different, whether we understand the gift of salvation or are just learning about it’s power. We stand together, united, and receive the body of Christ, we receive the words of love from God, we receive the gift of salvation. We stand together, in prayer, that we may understand the words of Christ, that we may help to spread his love to all the world, whether they be our enemies or our closest friends.

The letter to Ephesians is concluded with this passage. They are left with an encouragement to put on the armor of God, to stand firm, and to pray in the Spirit. Pray for the saints, and those gone before them, and to pray for the leaders of the church that they me deliver with boldness the Gospel.

This encouragement is just as appropriate for us today. As my last Sunday with you here at Salem, I encourage you to put on the armor of God, that is Christ. To wrap your selves in the love that is the Gospel. To stand together, unified, as brothers and sisters of faith.

Don’t allow small things to come between you, but remember the big things. Remember that the love of Christ is what conquers all, remember that you have been called to stand beside each other, to work together for the mission of God. And in doing so, never forget to pray for yourselves, your mission, your leaders, and those gone before you. For it is Christ who has the words of eternal life, and Christ who gives you them to you freely. Fill yourselves with the bread of life and cup of salvation, wrap yourselves in the armor that is Christ, and you will show others the love of Christ, you will make change, in the lives of others, in the world, and within yourselves.

Also pray for those who speak the words of God. Pray that they may declare the boldness of the Gospel, the radical and life changing Gospel of love and that the Spirit may empower them through this difficult task.

May we strive with boldness to spread the Gospel, to declare the words of God’s love, to share with others the radical life changing bread of salvation. And may we remember that the love of Christ conquers all. Amen.

Labels: armor, blessing, goodbyes, salem, sermon

posted by Dana @ 7:15 PM