Remembering the Past...
        Planning the Future

    Park Christian Church
                                                                    (Disciples of Christ)

August 23, 2009

Scripture:         Ephesians 6:10-20

Sermon:           “Helmets and Shoulder Pads”

            There was one man that came to believe in and follow Jesus after his crucifixion.  His name was Saul.  And before Saul had a life-changing experience that convinced him that Jesus was the Son of God, he was furious with people, his own people, Jews, who did believe this—that Jesus was the Son of God.  Saul approved of the ways in which some people treated these first believers in Jesus.  They persecuted some of them.  Especially their leaders.

            One of these leaders in Jesus’ following, a man named Stephen, was killed when a crowd of people picked up stones and hurled them at him until he died.  Saul stood by, I imagine with his arms crossed, and nodded his approval.

            This is the man who would become more responsible for the spread of Christianity than any other in history.  Saul.  We know him as Paul, the name he received after experiencing the risen Christ while he was traveling from Jerusalem to Damascus.

            Paul, it turns out, was not a great deal different in his passion and zeal than when people knew him as Saul.  And that passion and zeal allowed him to influence people all over the Mediterranean world as he established communities of faith in Jesus.  It also got him into trouble from time to time and likely cost him his life.

            Paul made several references in letters that he wrote to his time in prison or under house arrest.  And the book of Acts tells us that he was arrested, held in prison for two years, and then transported to Rome when the ship carrying him ran aground.  In the midst of all of these travels and trials, he wrote letters to various churches—sometimes even from prison.

            Now, picture this.  Paul is in prison, guarded by Roman centurions.  It turns out that he formed some good relationships with many of these guards over time.  But, they were not disposed towards letting him leave the jail cell.  So, there he was, guarded by well-trained military men wearing the armor of a soldier, carrying the weapon of a sword.  Picture that.  Between him and his physical freedom was an armed soldier.  Picture that, and listen to these words that he wrote to the church in Ephesus…

            Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power.  Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  Stand therefore, and 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.  With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

            Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication.  To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.  Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains.  Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

            I knew a kid when I was in high school.  He was kind of scrawny—had this funny haircut, sang in one of those punk rock bands, you know.  This was not the sort of guy you’d find working out in the weight room with all of the big jocks.  He wrote poems.  He drew pictures all over his notebooks, daydreaming in class.

            But, one thing he could do athletically.  He could play that lesser game known as soccer.  Soccer.  And because of that, the football coach came to him one day at the beginning of the school year and said, “Son, we need somebody that can kick that ball.”

            Now, this kid that I knew thought that would be funny.  It would be funny if he got all dressed up with those big, bulking boys, stuffing his funny haircut into a helmet, and played the roughest sport you can imagine.  So, he told the coach that he’d do it.

            Never mind all of the raised eyebrows in the locker room.  Never mind that this scrawny kid with a funny haircut couldn’t so much as hurt a house fly.  He quickly learned the ins and outs of kicking the football and got ready for the first game of the season.

            And there he was in the locker room with the whole team.  They were all getting dressed in their pads and uniforms and whatnot.  And the scrawny little art kid started getting dressed, too.  Hip pads.  Football pants.  Socks.  Cleats.  Shoulder pads.  Helmet.  The whole thing.

            A funny thing happened.

            As this one kid walked toward the door wearing all of that stuff, he passed by a mirror on the wall—the kind of mirror where you can see your whole body.  He stopped and looked.  And staring back at him was this…this…this football player.  Shoulders just as big and wide as one of those oversized linebackers.  Face scrunched up in that helmet so as to look mean as a lion.

            He suddenly forgot that there was a little number “2” on his jersey.  No, what he saw was a number “56”.  Kicker?  This couldn’t be a kicker, he thought.  Definitely a linebacker.

            And with all of those pads on his body and that helmet on his head, he went out there to do his job as the kicker, starting the game with the opening kickoff.  It was a glorious kick all the way down to the other goal line.  And the linebacker that had been trapped inside this scrawny little kid’s soul for all of these years suddenly emerged as he ran down the field just as fast as he could, determined to punish the poor soul carrying the football back the other way.

            Now, somewhere around the 30 yard line, reality set in.  This big, mean, ferocious boy from the back woods of Georgia blocked him with both elbows going right to the chest.  It was a hit so hard that the lowly little kicker spun around in the air and flopped lifeless to the ground.  It was the kind of hit that big ‘ole Georgia boys take great pride in delivering—so much so that this one in particular just stood over the kicker for a moment laughing.

            I then realized that I was not a linebacker after all.  I was just a scrawny little kid with a funny haircut.

            But, for a few moments…for a few moments in my life I believed that I could go and do something that I never, ever would have imagined.  Helmets and shoulder pads made a believer out of me.  And even if I overestimated my abilities just a little bit, I’ll never forget what it was like to believe and trust and throw all caution to the wind in order to live like I’d never lived before.

            It was one of the most freeing, liberating moments of my life.  And I don’t regret a second of it.

            Now, Paul said put on the whole armor of God.  I can’t help but think that he is inviting us to live like we’ve never lived before, throwing all caution to the wind.  Because if you put on something like armor, something like helmets and shoulder pads, you’ll begin to see yourself in a whole new light.  You just might step out of everything you’ve ever known and do what you never dreamed of.

            Mark Twain once said this:  “Dance like nobody’s watching.  Love like you’ve never been hurt.  Sing like nobody’s listening.  Live like it’s heaven on earth.”

            I have a feeling that is what our lives are meant to look like.  Abundant life.  Fearless life.  Dance like nobody’s watching.  Love like you’ve never been hurt.  Sing like nobody’s listening.  Live like it’s heaven on earth.

            The trouble is that we don’t always feel so free.  And maybe that is what Paul is suggesting here.  Put on the whole armor of God so that you won’t be so afraid of living out the life you’ve always wanted.

            It’s an amazing image, really—an amazing metaphor.  The whole armor of God.  Armor is meant to protect you in the midst of battle.  You might take a hit here or there, but armor allows you to keep on going by limiting the amount of damage to your body.  Kind of like helmets and shoulder pads, I think.

            This armor of God is for our spirits, our souls.  And that is where the real struggle takes place for us, isn’t it?  When we are afraid, it is because something inside feels vulnerable.  We have our hearts broken by betrayal and lost love, it is in our spirits where we are damaged.  Paul suggests that the life of faith keeps us from letting all of those pains and all of those fears from preventing us from going on and living as we were created by God to do!

            He said that honesty, truth—that’s like a belt around your waist keeping everything where it should be.  Righteousness, or appropriate behavior—that’s like a big metal breastplate that keeps your heart beating and your lungs breathing.  A willingness to share the love of God to a hurting world—that is like having shoes on your feet.  And then there is faith.  Ah, faith.  If you could just remember that God is holding you at all times, it would be like a shield to guide all of the evil away from your spirit.  And salvation?  It is like a helmet.  If you’d just trust that God’s grace for you is true and sufficient, that mind inside of your head would not so easily give in to fear.  No one can take it from you.  Nothing can separate you from the love of God in Jesus Christ.  If you just could trust it.  Go on and live, then.  Go on and live.  You’ve got on some pretty heavy armor.

            And then there is a sword, too.  Only one thing that your spirit that isn’t for protection, it is for fighting.  You’ve got the words in your mouth that speak of God’s love and grace.  Fight with that.  If you repay goodness for evil, it is like heaping burning coals on somebody’s head.  That’s what Paul said elsewhere.

            What he’s saying, then, is stand in front of a full length mirror.  Go ahead.  Stand there and look at yourself.  And see what God sees instead of what you usually see.  See what God sees.  You’ve got all of this armor on you to go out live like it’s heaven on earth, no matter what you’ve been through, what you’re facing, or what you’ve managed to mess up thus far.  Just look and see what God sees in you.

            See what God sees in you.

            You know what?  Those are not just words this morning.  I’m standing here with you as a pretty broken soul today.  And I can’t very well preach a sermon about abundant life, and fearless life, and forging ahead despite the hurt and challenges without telling you that I need to hear these words as much as anyone.

            This very afternoon I am going to go to a funeral home where some of my dearest friends are receiving guests as they say goodbye to their 8 month old daughter Sarah.  She died this week as I mentioned to you in our prayer concerns.  She was born with a neurological disorder that meant she would never develop properly.  And I am about as broken hearted and sad as I’ve ever been.  What I’ve watched my friends go through this week is beyond words.

            I say that knowing you’ve been there.  In some way or another you’ve been there.  Grief.  Divorce.  Lost jobs.  You’ve been there, too.  And I want to know if this armor of God is going to be enough, you know?  I want to know if the faith of my friends is going to be the very thing that someday carries them through to the other side where life is again to be a great mystery worth exploring with everything they have inside.

            Do you know what gives me hope right now?

            Paul wrote this when he was in prison.  It may have been shortly before his own death.  But, he wrote this while the evils of the world were piled high up against him.  And he wrote it to people who were facing some unbelievable stuff, too.  So, I’m going to trust it.  I’m going to trust that he knew what he was talking about.  And I’m going to look in a full length mirror until I see again what it is that God sees.

Rev. David James Brown

Park Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)