Protective Gear

Who remembers the Army and Navy store down on Columbia Street?  The name is still on the side of the building, although is now the Purpose Society for Youth and Families and a shelter for the homeless.  From 1939 to 2020 Army and Navy was a part of the fabric of New Westminster.  The company started in 1919 selling military surplus from World War I, as well as stock from other closing or bankrupt stores.  It billed itself as Canada’s first discount department store, shifting from military to civilian goods.  As a child, I remember seeing hunting, fishing, and camping equipment as I wandered the aisles with my dad.  Everything you needed (and a lot of things you probably didn’t) to survive out in the wilds.  People recall the legendary shoe sales, a selection of footwear that neither the army or the navy would have found suitable as protective gear.  But right up until all the locations closed in 2020, you could fit yourself cheaply to face the world.

What you probably wouldn’t have found at Army and Navy, or a military outfitter today, is the protective gear that the writer of Ephesians, chapter 6, lists.  The whole armour of God is described in terms that first century people in the Roman empire would have recognized.  The items sound archaic to us today.  Unless we participate in cosplay or are going to a fancy dress party, we probably wouldn’t be shopping for martial belts, breastplates, shields, helmets, or swords.  (Then again, the apostle tells us “as shoes for your feet, put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace”, so maybe a pair of stilettos appeal?).  It is not the physical gear, however, that is important, but the principle.

This scripture is about being equipped to face what we come up against.  Not physical combat, but spiritual.  There is a problem with casting too much importance on the martial language.  We might get the impression that we are to seek out evil people and do hand to hand combat with them once we get fitted up.  Our human tendency is to see wrongdoing and label the person as a “force of evil” and an agent of the “darkness of this age”.  This is not about equipping us to attack, but to withstand.  The challenge is to respond to hatred, oppression, and lies without being dragged down into the pit of sin ourself.  We need protective gear to stand firm. 

The first readers of this letter in Ephesus were being challenged to live as Christians in a society that was largely pagan and hostile to Jesus Christ’s way.  They had to practice being in the world but not of the world.  The struggle then as now is against the powers that drive people into conflict with each other.  The evils are structural, institutional, and tied to the ability of rulers and authorities to impose their will in their own best interests.  I want to stress that the bible states that there is real evil in the world.  Humans are caught in a web of competing needs that lead to the harm of many.  And humans can say and do terrible things to each other in order to fight for their beliefs.  But it is the power of the systems that we are being called to fight against, not each other as fellow human beings.

Theologian Walter Wink expressed this in his trilogy named The Powers. Ephesians 6:12 states “For 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.”  He helps unpack how Christians are called to name the powers of our age, unmask them, and then engage them in order to bring about the kingdom.  If we seek to destroy individuals who are in a system that is evil, we will not change the system.  Even if we appoint or elect or bow down to a new leader, things will not change unless there is enough energy to also change the way the system is functioning.  And to do that, we need the courage to confront the wrong.

That is why individuals need to band together and help equip each other with God’s help.  In medieval times, a knight’s armour was so complicated and heavy that the warriors had a page who would lift and strap each piece into place.  And when we are learning a new sport or using a new piece of equipment, it is always a good idea to have a second person do a safety check.  Maybe in our present time we could benefit from some community organizing in order to be ready for the call to action.  When we practice wearing the gear, we not only get used to its importance, but we find that it protects from sin finding such an easy entrance into our hearts.  The church community gives us a practice arena where we can try, fail, learn, and be forgiven in the process. 

What are we being commanded to put on for God?  Truth, righteousness, the courage to proclaim the gospel, faith, the assurance of salvation.  These are all for our own benefit, to train us to respond rather than freeze or hide when we get into difficult situations.  They are our best defence against some of the complicated evils in our world.  The one offensive tool we have is not anything of ours: it is the Word of God.  It is described as a sword of the Spirit. But this is not a weapon to cut down your enemy and get rid of them.  It is to lay bare the truth.  Think of it as a divine fact-checker between what you and the other says and does in the midst of the powers of this world.  The Word of God gives us the wisdom of King Solomon-  yes, the wisdom of Christ- to engage the powers of this age. 

A lot of the time I don’t feel wise when I am trying to engage in conflict or hurts or people’s deep needs.  But I do ask for the help of the Spirit in trying to understand and engage.  It gives me the courage to ask others for help in banding together to uphold the values of God’s way.  For most days, we don’t need riot gear.  But we do well to arm ourselves in the sign of the cross, and commit to standing firm in the gospel truth. Amen.