Opening Reflections from College Hymn Sing

AUGUSTINE COLLEGE HYMN SING - October 13th, 2007

Soldiers of Christ Arise!

Reflections on the Whole Armour of God (Ephesians 6:10-1

 

Spiritual warfare is real.

St. Paul has been writing to the Ephesian Christians about the struggles which they face as believers living in the midst of a pagan culture— a culture that is very hostile to the Gospel. Yet it is the culture out of which they have come, and Paul points to the snares that are there, warning them about the danger of being drawn back into the sexual immorality, the drunkenness, the idolatry and dishonesty. “You did not so learn Christ.”, he admonishes them, rather “I beseech you, that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called…” “Walk as children of the light.“

Now, as he begins to wrap up in his final chapter, he emphasizes that our struggle is not a physical battle with a visible enemy, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” This is not a battle to be won by strength of arm, human cunning and strategic plans. No, we must, “be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.” It is spiritual warfare and we need to be equipped accordingly. “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”

The WHOLE… ARMOUR… OF GOD. Pay attention to each term.

It is the “WHOLE” armour — the full armour— the complete set. Every piece matters. Each one protects a vital part— and so, tonight we’ll reflect on each one in turn. God intends, not that we pick and choose which ones suit our fancy, but that we wear it all, that nothing be left exposed for the devil to sink his claws into.

Secondly, it is “ARMOUR”, that is: protection. This battle isn’t about acquiring the biggest gun available that we might blow away the enemy, nor is about seeking him out, looking for trouble. It’s about standing, enduring— disarming the enemy as he attacks, depriving him of his ammunition. “… That ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ” “… that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

To stand fast; to endure; to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel, our feet firmly set upon the Rock which is Christ.

Ultimately, this battle belongs to the Lord; and the “whole armour” we are to put on is the armour “OF GOD”. He alone can fashion it; He alone can supply it. There is no smith on earth who can forge such protection— and this is not the time to be pursuing the knock-off versions which are “just as good as the brand name item”. No, this armour has been forged in the consuming fire of Perfect Love, washed and anointed with the Precious Blood of the Lamb, and case-hardened by the fiery wind of the Holy Spirit. This is God’s armour. The brand name is JESUS CHRIST the ETERNAL WORD of GOD. In that Name we take up the armour and in that Name we wear it, that the power of the evil one might be disarmed, that the Light of the Gospel might shine in and through our lives.

Soldiers of Christ, Arise! “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand… “

*************************************************************

AND SO LET US BEGIN TO DRESS…

“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth” or, as we heard it read a few minutes ago, “Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist.”“Around your waist” — the middle— one thinks of the centre of gravity, of balance. This portion of the armour has to do with keeping things in place. In fact, in the ancient world, one did not wear a belt, a cincture, a rope or fabric girdle to keep up one’s pants— nobody wore pants in those days. It could be a means of girding on a sword, certainly, but more importantly, it was to hold things in place. It could keep a robe from flapping about, or a breastplate from shifting and exposing that which the armour was designed to protect.

I always remember girding on my “armour” to play goal in ice hockey when I was in College. It did leave much to be desired at the best of times, in terms of protection, but I recall one time in particular when I shifted up to block a high shot. As I raised my shoulder, the pads shifted, and the puck struck me where only a thin layer of felt remained. I wore a rather dark and painful bruise under my shirt for many days thereafter.

Fasten on the belt of Truth, that everything else might be kept in its proper place.

Jesus called the devil the “father of lies”, whereas He identified Himself as the Truth. Satan flourishes in the darkness, where sight is uncertain, sounds are distorted, fear is nurtured, and hidden things seem to grow. Jesus says, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.”

Satan rattles the bones of skeletons in the closet, and sometimes we begin to cower; But Jesus would have us throw open the doors to let the light and the air flood in. “For everyone practising evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

The devil would condemn us in our sins: “Hide them! Lie about them! No one else must know— no one could ever forgive!” But we are called to disarm him. Come into the Light. Call sin what it is. Confess it and Christ will take it away, emasculating the devil, depriving him of his power to accuse. If you always tell the truth, goes the old saying, then you never have to remember anything, there are no tracks to cover. “If we confess our sins,” St. John wrote, “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

To fasten on the belt of truth is to walk in the light of Christ, in humility confessing our sins, acknowledging our weakness, yet holding fast to the reality: the truth that we are forgiven, washed and made new by the One who sees us in our nakedness— loves us and died for us— that He may clothe us with His ineffable glory.

To fasten on the belt of truth— to so gird about the loins– is to put on Jesus Christ, the Way the Life and the TRUTH.

“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.”

JOSEPH

Joseph

©2006 D.J.Hayman

 

1. Alone in the pit— the colours are fading;

The memory’s dimming of my father’s love—

My brothers have left me rejected, forsaken;

They’ve stripped off my coat,

Smeared the sleeves with innocent blood.

Refrain:

O Joseph, Did you see in your dreams

This darkness— do you know what it means?

Have you trusted in fables?

Is the God whom you worship a lie?

* * * * * * * * * * * *

2. Hot dust from the camels is burning my nostrils,

My ears are assaulted by the market-place cries;

The towers and temples fill me with foreboding.

I’m sold.

The glare of the gold stings my eyes. O Joseph,…

* * * * * * * * * * * *

3. I rose in the household and kept my integrity,

Yet once more I’m bound and cast here to die.

O God, I have served Thee, why dost Thou forsake me?

My God,

Why art Thou so far off? Lord hear my cry! O Joseph,…

* * * * * * * * * * * *

4. The veil has been sundered and scenes are escaping,

As visions burst forth from the depths of the soul!

The key has been given to open their meaning;

Through this slave

Revealed is God’s purpose: He’s in control. O Joseph,…

* * * * * * * * * * * *

5. The towers and temples fill them with foreboding;

The glare off the grain is stinging their eyes;

As though resurrected I stand there before them;

They bow down in anguish

Like stars in the sky.

Final Refrain:

O Joseph, Dreamer of dreams,

This darkness is not what it seems.

The Lord keeps His promise:

His Word brings life from the dead

Jacob

JACOB

©1997 D .J. Hayman

Heel-grabber, supplanter, patriarch,

You wrestled with the angel,

Come, look at the stars!

Your grandfather’s promise now rests on your sons;

Through the line of their descendants comes God’s Anointed One.

ויצחק

Deceive your brother? You can fool a man,

But the hosts of heaven move faster than you can;

Take the wings of the morning, flee away on and on,

But in the darkest corner comes the rising of God’s sun.

ויצחק

Heel-grabber, supplanter, patriarch,

You wrestled with the angel,

Come, look at the stars!

Your grandfather’s promise now rests on your sons;

Through the line of their descendants comes God’s Anointed One.

ויצחק

BRIDGE:

Jacob, now you’re called “Israel”;

A people, your pilgrim head pillowed on a stone;

Ravaged by the nations, this people called “God’s own”.

O come, Messiah, and bring Your people home

To the Promised Land.

ויצחק

Heel-grabber, supplanter, patriarch,

You wrestled with the angel,

Come, look at the stars!

Your grandfather’s promise now rests on your sons;

Through the line of their descendants comes God’s Anointed One.

ויצחק

Angels ascending, descending on Him;

He cleanses with fire, enlivens with Wind.

Brothers, long parted, in Him reconciled,

Sins put to death, lives raised up undefiled!

ויצחק

Heel-grabber, supplanter, patriarch,

You wrestled with the angel,

Come, look at the stars!

Your grandfather’s promise now rests on your sons;

Through the line of their descendants comes God’s Anointed One.

ויצחק

Church of St. James Blues

The Church of Saint James Blues

(©1992 D.J.Hayman)

 

I walked into the Church of Saint James;

It was raining outside and it was cold.

The organ was playing and the choir was singing,

But the people were so unfriendly that I darn near froze!

They looked me up, they looked me down, stared at the patches on my clothes;

I heard somebody say, “What’s that smell? Ah, not another one of those!

Somebody give him a dollar and send him on his way.”

Then the backs turned, and at the front somebody started to pray.

* * * * * *

O tell me, God in heaven, why is it a sin

For a man to lose all that he has and try to start again?

Brother Jesus, tell Your people I’m sorry to be in their way,

But if there’s no room for me inside, then outside I must pray.

So I left and sat at the curb side and I watched the people pass,

Watched the rain ripple the puddles, waving reflections of stained glass;

And I joined my tears with the raindrops and dreamed it was all a dream:

That the ripples stopped, the lines were clear, and things were not as they’d seemed.

* * * * * * * * * *

I don’t know if I was in the body, or if the Spirit came

To transport me into visions; but I swear I heard my name;

And I know that I saw the Saviour, (you can’t mistake those eyes ),

He was standing there in tattered clothes, and I’m sure I heard Him sigh.

Brother, you know He could not be kept out by doors that were locked up tight.

Sister, you know that even the Tomb could not contain His light.

He said, “Wherever I’m welcomed, I love away all of their fears;

Now don’t feel bad that they kept you out, they’ve been keeping Me out for years.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I walked away from the Church of Saint James;

It was still raining outside and it was cold.

The organ was silent and the people were praying —

It was that part of the service where they were breaking the loaves.

“This is My Body.”, said the Saviour, (“Recognize it.” said Saint Paul).

“Meet Me here where My people are gathered.” Jesus invited, “Drink ye all.”

“Know that here you are forgiven, as you in your turn forgive.

Go out and care for the poorest, for in you now I live.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

O Jesus, I’m at the bottom — I don’t make any excuse —

But let me lose my life in You, that my life You might use;

And God, in all of Your heaven, save us from that sin,

That tries to lock up Your love in our hearts and won’t let it out again!

Look me up, look me down — I know You love me just as I am.

Let me see through Your eyes every woman and every man.

Don’t let the stained glass windows be as blinders to our eyes;

Let every eye be a window that’s opened to sunrise.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *