By Rick Sarre, World Church Peace and Justice team

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Most children love dressing up. Our son Elliott, when aged about three years, was not averse to changing costumes two or three times in a day, depending upon his (sometimes exasperating) mood. As I age, I have not grown tired of receiving invitations to parties that require my wife and me to come dressed “as a song” or “from the 1970s.” I am not at all sure that this is why the Apostle Paul, in his Ephesian letter, used “dressing up” metaphors to evoke images of one’s feet “shod” for the gospel of peace, wearing the “helmet” of salvation, and carrying the “sword” of the spirit. However, I am sure that the use of such easily identifiable images can be a very effective way of reminding us how important it is for us to call for a world that denounces violence.

Having said that, I am not convinced that terms and items that were necessary and commonplace in the first century such as horses and armaments are useful in calling today’s world into a harmony of peace. I much prefer the idea of international mutuality expressed by Shridath Ramphal, the former Commonwealth Secretary-General (1975–1990), who, in 1986, said, “For better or worse all must share this planet, acknowledging our mutual needs and that in their fulfilment lies a mutual interest. I am not talking, of course, about world government; the world is not ready for that, and perhaps never will be; but that we have to acknowledge our inseparable humanity and the integrated community we have become… And that with such acknowledgement must come the means by which we manage an interdependent world, if only in the interest of mutual survival… We must now find in our minds the way to respond to it.”

Thousands of people have marched time and time again, and from place to place, calling for peaceful coexistence. Today, perhaps, one should rewrite the Apostle’s admonition as “stepping out” for the gospel of peace, wearing the “colors” of salvation, and carrying the “banner” of the spirit.

Prayer Phrase

“…the earth is the Lord’s, and all that is in it” (Psalm 24:1).

Spiritual Practice

Flowing Water

If possible, sit where you can hear water—a fountain, stream, the sea, (perhaps a recording of water sounds). Listen to the sound as you thank God for the life-giving, life-shaping power of water. Pray for God’s blessing on all the parched places of the Earth where there is injustice, oppression, violence, and disregard for life. Pray for God’s justice to be released and imagine it flowing over the Earth, restoring righteousness and wholeness. Now, get up and drink a glass of clear, cold water as you pray, “God, let your justice flow through me as a disciple of Christ Jesus.”

Today’s Prayer for Peace

Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.