Are You Ready?

The Rev. Kathi Johnson

B Lectionary 21 – 23 August 2015 – Back to School Blessing

Text: Ephesians 6:10-20, John 6:56-69

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

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It’s Back to School time!

By now, those of you with school-aged children have done what you can to prepare for the upcoming school year. You’ve checked and double-checked calendars. You’ve bought school supplies. You’ve met teachers, picked up schedules, bought school clothes, and figured out who’s picking up which child where and when. (Or maybe you haven’t done all this yet but you need to!)

Even those of us without school-aged children in our homes are surrounded by the buzz of Back to School – it’s in the stores, it’s etched onto the faces of parents and children we know and love, it’s even out in our Narthex, collecting little by little for Lutheran World Relief. It’s hard not to get caught up in this season of preparation.

It reminds me of all the stuff we do to get ready for a big holiday, like Christmas or Easter. There are lists and more lists – and when you are a pastor, there are more lists – and there can sometimes fall upon us this sense of despair, this feeling of wanting more hours in the day to make sure everything is covered. And then, when that Big Day comes – whether it’s the first day of school or a holiday – you get to find out what you forgot to do.

Sometimes, all of our preparations simply aren’t enough, because life happens.

This is why our New Testament reading from Ephesians 6 is so appropriate for today, the day we’ve set aside to bless students and parents, and teachers and other school employees before we launch into another academic year.

“Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power,” Paul says, as he’s wrapping up his letter to the Church in Ephesus. “Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power,” he writes, and then he must’ve looked up to see a Roman soldier standing there, because he begins naming all sorts of protective gear: armor and a belt, and a breastplate and shoes, and a shield and a helmet and, finally – the one offensive item – a sword.

In other words, he wants the Ephesians to be prepared, for he realizes that there is danger, and he wants them to be ready.

Except, he’s not talking about physical danger. He’s talking about being prepared for the spiritual challenges that they will face, and will face every single day. And in order to be ready, they’re going to need truth and righteousness and faith and salvation – because they are called to be bearers of the gospel of peace.

And this gospel of peace is what all of us are called to bear, too, my brothers and sisters. All of us, from the youngest in this room to the oldest – we are called to bear witness to the gospel of peace – the gospel of shalom – of wholeness – the wholeness that only comes from God.

The world constantly tries to tear apart our wholeness. Our schedules are crazily scattered so that we can barely keep a whole thought in our heads, let alone a whole day to be together, or to do one thing, or to have one focus. And just how are we to manage to keep Jesus in there at all?

Even the disciples of Jesus – the ones who were there, with Jesus, in the flesh – even they had a hard time following him. Jesus says he’s the living bread from heaven, and that those who eat of it will live forever, and some of his disciples begin to complain: “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” Jesus hears their complaints and continues to push back against their simplistic thinking and finally they just can’t take it anymore. John tells us that many of his disciples leave Jesus and stop following him.

So, how are we to keep Jesus in there at all?

Well, in the living out, it’ll look slightly different for each of us, but I’ll tell you what Paul has told us, and that is - it helps to be prepared. It helps if we strap on truth and righteousness and faith and salvation. It helps if we take up the word of God, not as a weapon against others, but as a way to learn and grow as the people of God.

And then, what is the final imperative verb that Paul uses again and again in verses 18-20? Pray. Pray. And pray some more.

Parents, pray for your children as they head off to school each day. Children, pray for your parents, who are working jobs which means that they can put a roof over your head and food in your mouth, and so they can buy you all those school supplies. Grandparents, pray for your children as they parent and for your grandchildren as they learn. All of us need to be praying for our schools: for teachers and administrators, for cleaning staff and secretaries, for all those people who make schools run.

And always remember that, whatever your role may be in life right now, you are called to proclaim the gospel of peace. Proclaim it with your words, of course, but also in how you treat others, how you respond to others, and how you help others. God loves you. Go, and love.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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