Ephesians 6:10-20
In the past, I’ve avoided preaching this passage because of the militaristic imagery of “putting on the full armor of God.” We humans have proven ourselves too ready to pick up actual weapons, and the church is guilty of conspiring with empire, intentionally and unintentionally, in its use of non-metaphorical force. The language in this passage can be dangerous.
However, the writer intended it to be metaphorical. Early Christianity was so pacifist that some early clergy refused to baptize members of the military unless they renounced their profession. The writer of the letter to the Ephesians subversively adapts a rhetorical form called peroratio that would have been familiar to his readers. A perortorio was the speech a Roman general gave to stir his troops before battle. I’m picturing Aragorn’s speech at the Black Gate in “The Return of the King.”
The use of military equipment as a metaphor is also subversive. All the equipment named is used for protection, not attack, except for the sword of the Spirit. That sword is the word of God, or spoken proclamation, and at verse 15 we’re told that what is to be proclaimed is peace. Some commentators note that the specific pieces of armor mentioned here are likely taken directly from the book of Isaiah which refers to belt (11:5), breastplate (59:17), footwear (52:7), helmet (59:17), and sword (49:2). And of course, each piece of armor stands not for something violent or oppressive, but for or truth, righteousness (not self-righteousness, but commitment to what is right), faith, and salvation. If the word “salvation” bothers you, another word for “salvation” might be wholeness, healing, shalom.
This text is not a battle cry in which a militant church will bring about God’s kingdom by attacking all the forces that oppose God. Rather, the call is for the new Christians to stand firm, to withstand the attacks from the society and culture around them. It’s important to note that the Ephesian Christians were a small minority of the population. They were surrounded by a culture with values very different from those taught by Jesus. If a majority population used these military metaphors, it could sound very different.
I was reminded of the effectiveness of a perortorio toward the end of Tim Walz’ acceptance speech at the recently concluded Democratic National Convention. Walz, a former football coach, said…
You know, you might not know it, but I haven’t given a lot of big speeches like this. But I have given a lot of pep talks. So let me finish with this: Team, it’s the fourth quarter, we’re down a field goal, but we’re on offense and we’ve got the ball. We’re driving down the field. And, boy, do we have the right team. Kamala Harris is tough, Kamala Harris is experienced, and Kamala Harris is ready. Our job—our job for everyone watching—is to get in the trenches and do the blocking and tackling: one inch at a time. One yard at a time, one phone call at a time, one door knock at a time, one $5 donation at a time. Look, we got 76 days. That’s nothing. There’ll be time to sleep when you’re dead. We’re going to leave it on the field.
As it happens, I hate American football. I never liked football very much, but my brother-in-law’s slow deterioration and death because of CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) from his years of playing football gave me an excuse to hate it. Still, I don’t have to like football to understand the purpose of pep talks. I understand that Walz is using blocking and tackling as a metaphor for taking a stand, for doing something when there is a fight worth fighting, and when losing that fight could mean disaster for many people. In the same way I don’t have to approve of war to understand military imagery when it is used to encourage and inspire people to take action in the face of evil. All the pronouns for “you” in this passage are plural: standing firm is not something we can do alone.
The writer’s call to “stand firm” reminds me as well of the 1969 song “Stand” by Sly and the Family Stone:
“Stand! For the things you know are right. It’s the truth that the truth makes them so uptight.”
Do Christians need this pep talk now? As noted, the armor is designed to help folks stand fast: it is not armor for aggressive action. Standing fast does not require a person to hurt a neighbor in any way. Still, it’s dangerous to classify those with whom we disagree as agents of evil. It would be especially dangerous if done by a majority population. So perhaps the question for us is whether those of us who trust that God is love and trust that loving God and neighbor is what it means to follow Jesus are in the minority in our society today. Then again, perhaps the better question is whether we need encouragement to keep putting one foot in front of the other as we follow Jesus.
Perortorio, pep talks, protest music. All are calls to take a stand; all are intended to prepare, fortify, and motivate people to face the fight ahead of them with determination, courage, and perseverance.
© Joanne Whitt 2024 all rights reserved.
Resources
Sally A. Brown, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-21-2/commentary-on-ephesians-610-20-7
Richard Carlson, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-21-2/commentary-on-ephesians-610-20-6
Brian Peterson, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-21-2/commentary-on-ephesians-610-20-4
Sarah Henrich, https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-21-2/commentary-on-ephesians-610-20-5
Solvitur Ambulando 