In one of my favorite passages from Paul's letters, today's first reading from Ephesians 6:10-20, he uses military terms to describe our battle against the tactics of the Devil. It would be good to read these 10 verses, but if a Bible is not handy, here is a paraphrase. Paul first admonishes us to draw our strength from the Lord, not from ourselves or any weapons. It is God who gives us the power, but realistically, we need to put on the armor of God with our loins girded in truth, our bodies protected by the breastplate of righteousness, and our feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace. We are to use faith as a shield, wear the helmet of salvation. And carry the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Armed with these tools, we need to pray at every opportunity and be on the watch with perseverance. Let us support one another and pray for one another that we may have the courage to speak as we must in our time of confusion, anger, contradiction and desperation. We must be the ones with the positive message, with the confidence to overthrow the naysayers and boldly proclaim the victory of Jesus over the powers of darkness: the same task Paul and the early Christians faced 2,000 years ago.
Bro. Rene
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