THE BISHOP'S CROZIER: Lent: Put on the Armor of God

By Bishop James R. Golka

We are once again journeying together in the season of Lent.  The liturgy of Ash Wednesday invited us to return to the Lord with all our hearts.  Now, on the First Sunday of Lent, we go with our Lord out into the desert.  

In all three of the synoptic gospels, Jesus is led by the Spirit after his baptism into the desert where he fasts and prays for forty days.  This is the setting for the season of Lent, to go into the desert with Jesus to pray and fast so that we can be strengthened for our mission of discipleship and bringing Christ into the world. 

However, there is another important aspect to Jesus going into the desert, and this is the main theme of our gospel for the First Sunday of Lent.  Jesus, at the end of his 40 days of prayer and fasting is tempted by the devil.  Jesus is hungry and has been in the desert for many days, and the devil seems to think that this will work to his advantage.  But Jesus three times resists the assault and temptations of Satan.  Contrast this with Adam in the Garden of Eden. Adam is in paradise; he is completely fulfilled and is in intimate communion with God.  But when Satan tempts Adam and Eve, they do not resist his temptation and choose to disobey God and they and all of creation fall away from God on the original sin.  Jesus, however, is the New Adam who faces the temptations of Satan in the desert and through his obedience to the Father, conquers the temptations of the devil, reverses the disobedience of Adam, and beings to inaugurate the Kingdom of God on earth. 

This gospel that begins the season of Lent is important for our Lenten journey because it reminds of two important spiritual realities.  First, the Kingdom of God comes not in vacuum but comes to conquer the kingdom of Satan and sin in a fallen world.  Jesus in the desert is revealed as the warrior King who comes to conquer the kingdom of Satan and establish the Kingdom of God.  As followers of Jesus, we are his warriors in this battle that is still raging between the kingdom of Satan and the Kingdom of God until Jesus comes again and completes his victory.  This is why St. Paul tells us to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.  Put on the whole armor of God that you might be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  (Eph 6:10-11)   This spiritual battle is real, and as we often hear prayed in the St. Michael prayer after Mass, Satan and all the evil sprits “prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.”   We need to be aware of this battle and the season of Lent is very much about strengthening ourselves and our families to courageously fight in this cosmic battle. 

The other spiritual reality that this gospel reveals is that the same Jesus who is the warrior king fighting and defeating Satan in the desert is our warrior king, and he equips us with his own strength and grace to help us win the victory.  This is precisely the armor of God that St. Paul referring to in his Letter to the Ephesians.  In fact, in describing the armor of God, St. Paul is portraying a Roman soldier’s uniform.  Keep in mind that the Roman soldier was the strongest and most feared soldier in the ancient world.  What St. Paul is telling us is that the armor that Christ gives us is even more powerful than the mightiest of all soldiers.  This is how St. Paul describes this armor of God: 

“Stand therefore, having fastened the belt of truth around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the equipment of the gospel of peace; besides all these, taking the shield of faith, with which you can quench all the flaming darts of the Evil One.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God.  Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.”  (Eph 6:14-18) 

The season of Lent is the time given to us by the Church strengthen this armor of God.  The belt of truth is knowing what Jesus has revealed to us about God and ourselves.  We need to renew our commitment to learning about our faith so we can also pass that on to others.  The shield of faith is trusting God in all things and daily surrendering our daily lives to him and his providential love.  The gospel of peace is allowing Christ to reign in our hearts and not allowing the noise and temptations of the world to take our gaze off of Christ so we can live in his peace.  The helmet of salvation is allowing Jesus to renew our minds so that we can follow him always on the path of salvation.  And finally, the sword of the Spirit, the only offensive weapon, is the word of God.  Taking time to pray daily with scripture allows us not only to resist the temptations of the devil but to become witnesses of hope in the world today. 

As we begin this journey of Lent, I invite you to prayerfully meditate upon this armor of God and ask Jesus how we need to strengthen this armor and especially fill any kinks in this armor that may be opening us up to the temptations of the evil one.  Then, through the grace of God, we can hope that in our own lives we can echo the victorious words of St. Paul: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  From now on there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that Day, and not only to me but to all who have loved his appearing.”  (2 Tm 4:7-8)