Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, October 21, 2018

Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity, October 21st, 2018

I know it's been a hot Summer but it seems like it is finally moving on to the next season.  I say "it seems like" because in Indiana, as I like to say, "if you don't like the weather, stick around ten minutes, it will change."   But whether we want to think about it or not, pretty soon we will be pulling out the winter coats, the scarves, the hats, the gloves, the boots.  We try to protect ourselves from head to foot when it gets so brutally cold in the winter, don't we?  And rightfully so because it doesn't make any sense to go outside in 0 degree weather not protected from the elements.  When the temperature is 10 below Zero, you want to protect yourself as much as possible from the elements so you don't get cold and you don't get frostbite.  We protect ourselves.  

In a spiritual sense, St. Paul gives the same exact advice when he writes:  "Put on the whole armour of God!"   (Ephesians 6:10)  St. Paul gives sound advice for protecting ourselves from the devil.  In this sixth chapter, St. Paul uses the analogy of a soldier dressed for war.  He goes on to describe all the different items that a soldier either wears or uses to protect himself from the enemy.  And then St. Paul makes the point that we should be fully protected as well in the spiritual sense so that we are protected from attacks from the devil.  If we are going outside in the dead of winter and it is 10 below Zero, we wouldn't go outside just wearing a tee-shirt, shorts and flip-flops.  It we are going into battle, it would not be wise to be dressed in simply a tee-shirt, shorts and flip-flops on our feet.  If we are going to a job interview at a fancy corporation, again, would it really be wise to go there wearing a tee-shirt, shorts and flip-flops?   We need to be dressed appropriately for whatever task faces us.  Most of us know this.   It is just common sense to dress appropriately for the elements or based on the situation.  But that being said, in a spiritual sense, how many of us are caught severely lacking?  

According to St. Paul we need the following items if we are going to be fully prepared:  " . . . . your loins girt about with truth, . . .  the breastplate of righteousness; . .  . feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  . . . the shield of faith,  .  . .  the helmet of salvation,  . . .  and the sword of the Spirit,"  (Ephesians 6:14-17)  Are we fully prepared?  I'm speaking about in a spiritual sense.  Are we fully prepared to face the world and the traps we might find in our way?  St. Peter tells us that the devil is like a lion seeking to devour us:  "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."  (I St. Peter 5:8)   Surely, we wouldn't go on an African safari unprotected, would we?  And yet we go about the world unprotected and unprepared for the attacks of the devil against us.  Always have God close to you.  Pray often.  Read the Scriptures often.  Go to church on Sundays if you are able.  Do this for your own edification and in order to help edify your fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord.  Always be aware of traps along the way . . .  traps that will take us away from God, lure us away from being faithful to God.  

St. Margaret of Scotland Anglican Church gathers together each and every Sunday morning at 9:30 AM.  We worship at the beautiful Chapel at Marquette Manor, located at 8140 N. Township Line Road on the Northwest side of Indianapolis.

Join us as we listen to the Word of God found in the King James Version of the Bible and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer.  Join us as we gather together as God's family and worship Our Blessed Saviour.  And, at Communion time, we come forward to receive His Precious Body and Blood so that we can be nourished for the journey ahead.