Ephesians 6: 10-20, Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, August 26, 2018
The first century followers of Jesus in Ephesus were in a fight for their lives.
The Roman Empire lorded all the oppressive weight of its imperial power over them.
They were to be poor, compliant, tax-remitting subjects--or else.
When uprisings threatened anywhere in the far-flung empire, Rome did not hesitate to send in the troops.
The Ephesians experienced this system of domination/subjugation as pervasive and overwhelming, an embodiment of “spiritual forces of evil.”(6:12)
So it is not surprising that the author of the Ephesian epistle used military imagery to encourage this church-under-siege.
Take up the whole armor of God...fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet, put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace...take the shield of faith…Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (6:15-17)
This may be military imagery but the “armor of God” represents a reversal of all the weapons by which the Roman Empire maintained its power.
- In defending themselves, the Ephesians would wear the belt of truth, not lies:
- The breastplate of righteousness, not oppression.
- The gospel of peace, not violence.
- The shield of faith, not fear.
- The helmet of healing, not domination.
This Ephesian armor was designed for active non-violent resistors. A breastplate and shield protect only your front-side, not your backside. Retreat left you vulnerable. The Ephesians were to throw an in-your-face attitude at the Romans. Talk about holy chutzpah.
During the week our Ephesian text appeared in the lectionary, Aretha Franklin died. If ever there was one who clothed her people in the full armor of God it was Aretha.
The daughter of the great preacher C. L. Franklin of the New Bethel Baptist Church in Detroit, she started singing in church as a child. Her father welcomed Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahalia Jackson and other civil rights icons into their home while she was growing up.
She kept the faith and sang whenever her people and her country needed her, “Precious Lord“ at MLK‘s funeral, “My Country ‘Tis of Thee“ at President Obama‘s inauguration.
When her version of “Respect“ was released in 1967 it armored and empowered her people and all who were ever treated with discrimination and disrespect. Here are testimonies.
*“As a child who suffered from abuse, I believed her and her message that I deserved respect. Thank you, Ms. Franklin, for inspiring me to seek my own strength.”
*“There never was a moment in my life as a black women that Aretha Franklin didn‘t have something to say about it. Aretha demanded respect for us. Aretha talked about the beauty of sexual desire with someone you loved. Aretha helped us through the heartbreak. Aretha told us to keep moving on.“
Aretha showed respect for herself by famously demanding pay in advance for her shows–in cash. She kept the rolls of bills in her handbag.
The respect she demanded was both personal and political. When activist Angela Davis needed bail after being jailed for her outspokenness, Aretha said she‘d pay it: “Angela Davis must go free. Black people will be free. I’ve been locked up and I know you‘ve got to disturb the peace when you can‘t get no peace.“
May we honor Aretha by wearing the armor of God called RESPECT wherever people are treated as less than sacred–including those devastated by drone attacks in Yemen, herded into refugee camps in Syria and caged along the Mexican border.
Here‘s the postlude: Watch her slay “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Honors Ceremony in 2015.
Aretha
Aretha Franklin sings Carole King's "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" at the Kennedy Center Honors.
The Rev. Bill Steward assists the Rev. Bill Cotton in the preparation of the email resource, MEMO for Those Who Preach. To receive MEMO by email, contact Rev. Cotton at revcottonhill@hotmail.com.