Thursday of the 30th week in ordinary time
Ephesians 6: 10-20 Luke 13: 31-35
Theme: The armour of God
In the 1st reading of today from St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he gives us some guidelines on how to prepare ourselves against the devises of the devil. He points out the fact that in the world in which we live, there are evil plots by Satan and his agents to bring down the children of God. Some of the things we need is the armour of God as presented by Paul, with which we can always protect ourselves and they are truth, righteousness, the word of God, prayer, perseverance, supplication and faith in God. These entirely make up the armour of God that St. Paul is proposing to us today. Interestingly, he talks about putting on the whole armour of God, which simply means that we need everything that he has enumerated in our daily life as children of God, to triumph over the devices of Satan and his agents.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, the good news is that we have being given an insight on what to do to be triumphant. It is now left for us as children of God to play our own role by making honest and sincere effort to ensure that we practice what Paul is presenting to us today in our daily life. Humanly speaking we may say it is almost impossible to practice what Paul is presenting to us today as the whole armour of God that we need, but the truth is that we can make it happen in our lives with the help of God, who said that my grace is sufficient for you. He is not man that he should lie, his words are tested and trusted; he is a reliable God, a covenant keeping God. The most important thing is our determination to work to make it happen in our life; God will always play his own role.
My brothers and sisters in Christ, all the things enumerated by St. Paul in today’s 1st reading is very important and will help us to stand against the challenges and difficulties confronting the children of God in our world today. To practice the word of God from the scriptures will guide us through the right path and protect us from the manipulations of the evil one. A life of prayer and righteousness, and all the other things enumerated, will make us a terror zone to Satan and all his agents. All we need to do is to pray for the grace of God to guide and strengthen us, while we do our best to make it happen in our life. May the Lord bless his words in our hearts, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.