Armor up!

Did you know that the average slap shot today whizzes at about 160 kilometers per hour?  That’s enough to cause bruises, concussions and broken bones.  It’s a brave person who will step into the crease and be a goalie for a professional hockey team.  There’s a reason they wear so much padding; it can be a lifesaver.  Goalies are brave!

Christians are also called to be brave.  In Paul’s letter to Ephesians, he talked about the many risks he took as a Christian in a Roman world.  Christians were seen as atheists because the idea of believing in only one God was bizarre and novel to the Roman Empire, and the fact that they were encouraging people outside their faith to join them meant that the number of people worshiping the Emperor was slowly diminishing.  Your average citizen would almost certainly be shocked that Christians and also the Jews of course, did not worship the emperor with the same respect that Jupiter, Venus, Zeus, Athena, Osiris or Isis, or any of the other gods received.  Romans were very clever that way.  When they invaded, they didn’t subtract Gods and Goddesses, they just added to them.  So Christians, by taking away gods and refusing to pray to Caesar, were considered dangerously delusional.

No wonder Paul used such vivid imagery, then to talk about protecting yourself with the daily outfit of people he saw often, who lived dangerous lives of violence.  He used soldiers’ uniforms to teach his listeners how to cope with life’s challenges. When the Ephesians were feeling the pressure conform to the culture of the day, they were to visualize strapping on armor to keep them safe from the pressures that challenged them. 

But what ridiculous armor!  Truth doesn’t really stop arrows, peace is not something that will protect a foot from a hard rock, God’s salvation is not a hard hat, and the only weapon suggested is scripture.  Really?  The armor undermines the idea that we are dressing for war, when it is so, well, woke!  Talking about scripture isn’t going to stab anyone.  Any more than if we glued pages of a bible together to stop a slap shot from a hockey player. Ridiculous!

This isn’t meant for an offensive attack on other people.  It’s meant to remind us, ground us and centre us in what is truly important.

I was listening to an interview of a Canadian who talked about remembering what is truly important in our lives.  He and his brother are well-known fellows in certain circles, and he’s had a very diverse work history.  He graduated in 1969 from Cornell University with a B.A. degree in History.  His first job he wore a lot of protective padding, and interestingly enough, his brother also had the same job but in a different city.  That job took him to Russia in 1972 where he helped make history for Canada.  His next job was as a radio broadcaster, then the manager of a sports team. He became an author who wrote 7 books!  He and his brother went into federal politics and he even ran for the leadership of a National political party.  He served as the Minister of Social Development, cared about youth employment and social justice issues.

On a Sunday morning, he is regularly found in a United Church pew.  Maybe he’s even in church today.  Maybe he’s having communion and thinking about how his faith has strengthened his passion to work for daring justice.  Maybe he’s reflecting on Ephesians and how armor is very similar to hockey equipment.  Maybe he’s remembering the time his helmet protected his head from a stinging slapshot.  Maybe he’s imagining how skates could be like sandals of peace, and if he was 20 years younger, it would be fun to try out figure skates for the Battle of the Blades where burly hockey players team up with figure skaters to compete on CBC for charity.  Maybe he’s remembering when he was on Team Canada and went to Moscow in 1972 full of smug expectations, only to be shocked at how well Russians played.  He said in an interview 50 years later that it changed the way Canadians thought about hockey, and the assumption that there’s only one way to become a great hockey team. The Russians proved that wrong.  And maybe he’s thinking about the 3000 cheering Canadian fans that came to Moscow with them even though going behind the Iron Curtain was a dangerous and unheard of thing, and how those fans showed the power of teamwork, of focusing on the goal of representing Canada and democracy with honor. Maybe Ken Dryden is thinking about his children and grandchildren and how he hopes to build a better world for them, and that may be why he’s sitting in a pew in a United Church in Ontario.

Paul didn’t write about the power of teamwork like Dryden did, but it’s there, between the lines.  A sole Roman soldier was an easy target for an enemy.  The power of the Roman empire was in the discipline, training and focus that enabled soldiers to work and fight together as a team for a common cause.

We are not to be warriors and fighters with actual swords and shields.  We are to be goalies, protecting our team from the pucks and players that swirl around us hoping to score.  What’s in your goal that God calls you to protect?  Children from bullies? The environment from further damage? Towns and buildings from fires?  Civilians from wars that target them unfairly?  Workers and bosses from exploitive or selfish negotiations?  Voters from lies and scams?  Whatever God is calling you to, know that God gives you the team and the equipment you need to build peace and justice for all, and like Dryden and Paul, when you, when we put on the whole equipment of God, we will stand firm and strong against all evil.  Together, we can and do make a difference in this beautiful world. Thanks be to God, Amen!