Dressed for Action - The Amor of God – LWML 2022 Luke 12:35-40
Briefer message …
Dressed for Action with the Armor of God… From Ephesians 6… Be strong in the Lord and His mighty power. Put on the whole armor of God.
And from our Gospel reading … Stay dressed for action!
Is anyone familiar with the Marvel Universe? Superheroes in Marvel movies and comics…
Ironman, Captain America, Captain Marvel, Spiderman, the Black Panther, Black Widow, the Hulk, Thor, and lots more…
They have some really cool equipment and some incredible powers…
Thor… hammer… power of lightening…
Ironman … metal, smart suit…
Captain America… shield, red, white and blue, has incredible power, because it’s made of vibranium…
Black Panther… necklace, touches it and it becomes his Black Panther suit…
Would have been nice to have the screen today…
The Black Panther is the king of Wakanda, which is the only place on earth where vibranium is found, a metal from an asteroid, (fictional), and it’s nearly indestructible, and it harnesses and releases huge amounts of energy and power.
Black Panther’s suit is from this vibranium, as is Captain America’s shield.
So, as the baptized children of God, what’s our vibranium? What’s our mighty armor and weapons? The Word of God and His Sacraments…
Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:17, Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Vibranium is amazing, but fictional. God’s Word is amazing, and real. Like the title of our skit: Wearing the armor of God – Really! For real…
And it’s the only thing that can match the devil’s power; in fact, supersede it.
Because the power of the Word is the power of God, the power of the Holy Spirit. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, our text says.
God’s Word is mighty in power because He is mighty, unlimited in power.
Armed with what He gives us, His grace and Word, we’re made strong for battle against the enemies of the Word; against all in this world, and all within us, our own sin and weakness and hostility toward God, all that would oppose the Word and the ways of God; we’re made strong to stand up to, and to overcome in the name God and of all that’s good.
We may not necessarily want the fight; but we have no choice; the fight has been brought to us.
Evil isn’t content to let godliness grow, or to even exist. The devil can’t bear to watch faith and grace and the Gospel spread.
All the holy things of God are the things Satan and the world abhor; and they’ll never stop trying to destroy and eliminate everything that is good and of God in this world; especially, His Gospel of salvation in Christ.
The devil, and the fallen angels, and the fallen world so passionately hate and resist the message of Christ.
Knowing this to be true, God arms us with a power that’s greater than any worldly or supernatural power that might oppose God and His Church, His people.
He gives us the incomparable power of His Word and His Spirit.
Armed with His Word, we’re dressed and ready for action…
In the Middle Ages, in Europe, lived the legendary knights in shining armor.
Their armor was so heavy that they had to be hoisted up on their horses for their jousting matches, or for battle.
Very strong, but restrictive.
But not the Word of God… Armed with the Word we’re “dressed for action”, as our Gospel says.
It doesn’t restrict us, but equips and mobilizes us.
With God’s Word and prayer, we’re both strong and nimble to take on the world’s temptations, to side-step and overcome the devil’s schemes.
Stronger than anything real, like sin and death, and the world’s allure and the devil’s lies; and stronger than anything fictional, like vibranium or magic or any of the technologies of science fiction, like being able to be transported to another place or dimension, like Star Trek, beam me up Scotty…
Greater than anything real or imagined is the power of God for you in His Word, His Gospel, His Sacraments, His grace, His forgiveness and righteousness, His gifts of faith and hope and love and joy; and His salvation.
So let us always be armed with the Word, and ready for action; ready and active to serve and bear witness to Christ in this world; and to do so with confidence in His power; and with gladness in His grace!
And as you serve Him with gladness, His peace, which passes understanding, will be powerful to guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, our Lord, whose Word is great and mighty! Amen.