The Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost

This Sunday we will conclude our journey through the letter of Ephesians, focusing our attention on selected verses from chapter six. Here Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against enemies of “blood and flesh.” Contrary to the divisive and dehumanizing rhetoric and behavior that occupies too much of our common life, we’re not at war with or seeking to defeat or destroy those individuals with whom we disagree or are in conflict. Rather, our struggle is with what Paul often terms the “principalities and powers”. The powers are known by various names - racism, toxic politics, sexism, unjust economies, and more. Paul affirms that Christ has defeated and is Lord of the powers. As such we have been set free to live differently. Part of this different way of living entails putting on the armor or truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and God’s word, and naming and resisting the “rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers” that seek to dominate and control individuals, institutions, and systems. This is, in part, what it means to be the body of Christ in the world.