Ephesians 6:10-20

Pentecost +12 – Year B

Ephesians 6:10-20

Remember what benefit sword and spear and armor were to Goliath and Achilles. Come to think of it do your remember feeling secure at some point and then you didn't. All these images of protecting life stumble over themselves.

Paul might also have said you have put the belt of power around your waist – take it off that truth might speak to power. You've covered your heart with money – remove it that you might experience again elemental righteousness. You've shod your feet with other people's moccasins and sweatshop socks – take them off that a peace that passes understanding might run free again. You've created a shield of insurance to return cash for life – put it down that faith again might blossom and grow and hold you in the palm of its hand. You've erected a tinfoil helmet of the latest talking points and memes that bring nothing but cognitive dissonance – lift it off, lighten your thoughts, bask again in decisions that lead to greater long-term wholeness.

Thus stripped of our usual manifestations of entitlement, prayer becomes our bread and breath.