The Whole Armour of God

*** Revised Common Lectionary *** Lectionary Reading: Ephesians 6:10-20 CLASSIC POEM: The Whole Armour of God Charles Wesley Soldiers of Christ! arise, Now put your armor on, Strong in the strength which God supplies, Through his eternal Son; Strong in the Lord of Hosts, And in his mighty pow’r; He, who in his Redeemer trusts, Is more than conqueror. Stand, then, in his great might, With all his strength endued; Take ye, to arm you for the fight, The panoply of God. Then, when your work is done, And all your conflicts past, Ye shall o’ercome, through Christ alone, And stand entire at last. Stand, then, against your foes, In close and firm array; Legions of wily fiends oppose, Throughout the evil day: But meet the sons of night, Oppose their vain design, Arm’d in the arms of heav’nly light,— Of righteousness divine. Leave no unguarded place, No weakness of the soul; Take ev’ry virtue, ev’ry grace, And fortify the whole: Ever together join’d, To battle all proceed; Arm ye yourselves with all the mind, That was in Christ your Head. *** This poem is in the public domain, and may be read in a live-streamed worship service. CONTEMPORARY POEM: Diving into the Wreck Adrienne Rich SNIPPET: First having read the book of myths, and loaded the camera, and checked the edge of the knife-blade, I put on the body-armor of black rubber the absurd flippers the grave and awkward mask. … [ READ THE FULL POEM ]