Draw your strength from the Lord and from his mighty power.
Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm
against the tactics of the Devil.
For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers,
with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.
Therefore, put on the armor of God....
Under the cruel regime of Covid 19, and seriously stressed by the 2020 election cycle, we hear Saint Paul's reassurance. We're not dealing with lying Republicans or hypocritical Democrats, our struggle is with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.
Nor should we suppose that next week's victories and defeats -- which will be scattered incoherently among fifty states and three thousand, one hundred and forty one counties -- will signal the triumph of good over evil, or evil over good. Democracies are not supposed to work that way. Victories are never final; defeated dissenters do not disappear. If the approach to an election feels apocalyptic, it will appear anticlimactic afterwards.
But, we are assured, voting does more good and less harm than warfare -- because wars also resolve nothing. Many former slaves discovered Jim Crow afforded them no more freedom than the most savage war in American history.
And that's why, before the elections we turn to prayer, and after the elections we again stand firm against the tactics of the Devil. The Powers that Be are not Biden or Trump, the Supreme Court or the Government and its bureaucrats.
Religion gives us hope and the weapons to fight, which are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Which might be translated in modern parlance as the practice of a specific religious faith, disciplined maintenance of one's health, and spirited citizenship. We can do something! If anyone is seriously disappointed by the elections they might take a few days to grieve before they get back to work. The victorious should do the same with their elation.
But those who refuse to practice any form of religion will go deeper into despair. The losers might go underground and use terror, the victors will try to shore up their successes with unethical and secret contrivances. Nones -- those who espouse no religion --can only become more cynical as their romantic futures disappear into the past.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth,
clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.