The Helmet of Salvation
With the cross before us and gazing upward to the timbered ceiling of Oxnam Chapel, one may notice the stained-glass windows along the upper left wall. Across the multi-colored panes are symbols corresponding to excerpts from the famous exhortation to “be strong in the Lord and the strength of his power,” which can be found in what we call chapter six of the letter to the Ephesians. Our focus here is the third to last pane, which features the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit.
What does it mean to put on the helmet of salvation, and what did the Ephesian church interpret salvation to mean? Is salvation something that one “puts on”? More importantly, how should followers of Jesus interpret this military imagery today, in light of the appalling $1.7 trillion spent on arms in 2017 alone, the global refugee crisis stemming from armed conflicts and human rights abuses, and police brutality?
The Ephesians would have been familiar with military paraphernalia, say, a helmet, for example. They may have been all too aware of the military-industrialist complex that faced the growing church then, for oppressive militarization is almost as old as the world and certainly as old as organized regimes such as the Roman Empire.
However, the letter reminds the listeners that the battles the church faces are “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). Therefore, the “armor” of the militarized world – helmets, shields, and even comforts and the claim of ignorance, are futile against the real and pervasive ills of the world, including war. Even in light of the fact that many a war has been fought over access to wealth and power, neither the pursuit of wealth nor a lack of money is the issue in militarized zones – hardness of heart, greed, and the dehumanization of others are.
As such, we know that the flesh and blood battles for which military armor would be needed are an enfleshment of the powers and principalities that are at work in the world.
It is not the yoke of heavy metallic headgear that awaits those with ears to hear and eyes to see, but an active putting on of salvation, such that one can exist as a light among the masses of people who yearn for peace in spite of living in a world where the spirit of death is pervasive. No, we are not speaking here about the tossed aside helmets of those loved ones that we have lost to the colonists’, monarchs’, and elites’ wars, but of the efficacy of defense for the head and eyes – indeed, the windows of the soul - through the risen Christ.
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| Photo by Kelly Drury |
The Ephesians would have been familiar with military paraphernalia, say, a helmet, for example. They may have been all too aware of the military-industrialist complex that faced the growing church then, for oppressive militarization is almost as old as the world and certainly as old as organized regimes such as the Roman Empire.
However, the letter reminds the listeners that the battles the church faces are “not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12). Therefore, the “armor” of the militarized world – helmets, shields, and even comforts and the claim of ignorance, are futile against the real and pervasive ills of the world, including war. Even in light of the fact that many a war has been fought over access to wealth and power, neither the pursuit of wealth nor a lack of money is the issue in militarized zones – hardness of heart, greed, and the dehumanization of others are.
As such, we know that the flesh and blood battles for which military armor would be needed are an enfleshment of the powers and principalities that are at work in the world.
It is not the yoke of heavy metallic headgear that awaits those with ears to hear and eyes to see, but an active putting on of salvation, such that one can exist as a light among the masses of people who yearn for peace in spite of living in a world where the spirit of death is pervasive. No, we are not speaking here about the tossed aside helmets of those loved ones that we have lost to the colonists’, monarchs’, and elites’ wars, but of the efficacy of defense for the head and eyes – indeed, the windows of the soul - through the risen Christ.
In opposition to a military mentality that calls for a helmet and chainmail, the letter to the Ephesians suggests another kind of adornment for one’s head that is as salvific as it is protective. Let us put on our salvation and be prepared, at all times and in all places, to speak of the gospel of peace.
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| Nadia Fitzcharles is a student at Wesley and a member of the communications committee. |
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