The Armor of God

Homily for Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, we are told to put on the armor of God. A little later in the reading, we are told exactly what that armor looks like.

First of all, it is the armor of truth. One would have to be a hermit with no contact with any of the resources that surround us today to realize that truth is not a readily available reality. We are surrounded on all sides by those who are using lies to frighten people or to cause anxiety. To put on truth, therefore, we must embrace the fact that truth lies solely in God. Sadly, there are even those within the church who would sow dissension through their lies. We know this was a reality in St. Paul’s life as his preaching was constantly being contradicted by people who had different agendas.

The second part of our armor is righteousness. As I have said on many occasions before, righteousness simply means being in a right or correct relationship with God; namely, worshiping God as our Creator and realizing that we are the creatures. God is in control, and it is God’s will to which we must conform our lives. Only when in this kind of relationship will we be able to claim righteousness in the sight of God.

Another part of our armor is our readiness for the Gospel. This means opening our hearts and our ears to the Word of God on a daily basis. As Psalm 95 warns us, “Harden not your hearts.” Reading the Scriptures and letting God’s voice into our hearts also makes us able to discern God’s will in our life.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we wear the armor of faith. Faith helps us to believe in God and to live with the knowledge that God will prevail - that evil will lose in the end. Equipping ourselves with the armor of God helps us as we do battle with evil and serve as faithful Christian witnesses.

Finally, the Gospel reading for today shows us the kind of attitude we must have. Back in chapter nine of St. Luke’s Gospel, we were told that Jesus resolutely determined to make his way to Jerusalem. Today we hear that he is still possessed of this resolution and determination even though he knows that Herod and the elders of Israel are plotting to kill him. We must also live with such resolution and determination. According to the Gospel, Jesus walks with us in our daily struggle to live according to the commandments and to praise and glorify God through our lives.