Saturday after Theophany; Our Venerable Father Theodosius, Founder of the Cenoebitic Monastic Life;
Ephesians 6:10-17; 2 Corinthians 4:6-15; Matthew 4:1-11; Matthew 11:27-30.
Read Ephesians 6:10-17
One of the issues that is sometimes unpopular to mention is “spiritual warfare.” It’s a topic that people would prefer to ignore or downplay and can even make people uncomfortable. Yet we know from the Holy Scriptures that the Christian life is one of continual and intense spiritual warfare against the devil and his minions. Evil is not simply the “personification” of negative human choices or desires, but a personal entity who is working against the Lord, His gospel, and our salvation.
How do we wage this war? By putting on the armour of God! We can see in St. Paul’s list that what is envisioned is God Himself preparing for battle, dressed not in a typical Roman military attire, but in Hebrew battle armour. We put on this armour when we put on Christ Himself through our baptism. This is essential for us to understand. When we have been baptised into Christ, we have put on His life and death. This means that the darts of the evil one don’t fall on us but are deflected by Christ. It also means that our offensive advance for the gospel is not driven us our own fallible strength but rely on Christ who is the Victor in this cosmic battle.
As we leave the season of Nativity and Theophany and prepare for the upcoming Great Fast, let us strive to put on this armour more and more by living a life which more closely resembles that of Christ’s.