St. Paul urges us: “Stand firm then … with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” (Ephesians 6:15)

What we wear on our feet determines our stability, and our mobility. What shoes we wear affects how far we can walk or run comfortably. The wrong choice of footwear can cripple us, slow us down, and make us drop out of the line of march. An army may march on its stomach but it also marches on its feet. That is why care of one’s feet, and one’s footwear is a priority for a soldier. A soldier who cannot deploy himself quickly on his feet is a sitting duck, asking for trouble.

When we get footsore we slow down and limp. The word we use for this condition is – lame. We also use this word lame to describe a person who is weak, inarticulate, or whose power is diminished by his position, e.g. lame duck. An argument that is weak and has no merit is called lame.

The enemy harasses the lame, and takes advantage of their weakness. A lame Christian limps along in life, subject to attack, unstable and almost immobile, getting nowhere in his spiritual journey. Because he is lagging behind, and not keeping up with his commanding officer, he is vulnerable to attack. He suffers from neglecting to pay attention to his basic form of locomotion – what shoes he wears on his feet.

Lameness is the result of wearing shoes that are inappropriate for the journey. Sore feet occur when we choose our footwear for appearance and for fashion rather than for comfort and utility. Can you imagine a soldier going into battle wearing dress shoes, or high heels? Yet we can walk through the hours of each day being more concerned for appearance, what looks cool, what blends in, than with substance and integrity.

When we choose appearance and current fashion in order to meet our needs of acceptance and self esteem, we are vulnerable to spiritual attack and injury. We are relying on our being able to impress others for our peace of mind. This is why clothes and footwear are so important to us from childhood on. They help demonstrate what identity we want to project to others.

A strong motivation in our lives is the desire to want to look good in the eyes of others. We want to impress our gang – our peers. Our peace is often dependent on that acceptance. Some people want to stand out and be different. Others want to blend in. Either way we are tempted to opt for inappropriate footwear – footwear that causes us to be unstable and immobile, sitting ducks for the enemy of our souls.

What is the appropriate footwear for the battle of life – for the time of testing that we experience in this life? It is the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. The gospel of peace prepares us to be ready to deal with what life throws at us. If we are clothed with the gospel of peace, we are ready for what life may bring. What is this gospel of peace?

First, it is the good news of peace with God. St. Paul argues that, as a result of being “justified by faith [i.e. having put on the breastplate of the righteousness of Christ], we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.” (Romans 5:1,2)

If we are to fight the enemy of our souls, and win the victory, we have to be clear about our relationship with God. We need to be clear about our sinfulness, our need for salvation, for forgiveness, for acceptance before God. We need the stability of a harmonious relationship with God if we are to stand firm. There should be nothing that comes between us and God. We are to keep short accounts with God – confessing our sins and accepting his cleansing each day. It is what Jesus did for us on the Cross that purchased our peace with God. As we appropriate that peace by faith in Christ, we gain access into a relationship that ends our alienation from God.

The gospel of peace is also peace within. We need peace within ourselves if we are to win the victory. Our stability comes from confidence about God being able to take care of us in daily life. If we are guilty, anxious, and worried about the issues that can distress us, we cannot defeat fear and despair.

St. Paul urges, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6,7)

A person who is shod with the gospel of peace will not be worried, anxious, troubled or frantic. Fear defeats us even before we start to run the race. Over the door of the mess at Virginia Military Academy are the words, “Never take counsel of your fears.”

When Jesus stilled the storm on the sea of Galilee he said to the disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 5:40) His feet were shod with the gospel of peace. He could sleep in the midst of the storm. He could do so because he knew that his life was in the hand of God, and he trusted him. He could let go the need to be in control. He could be willing to suffer rather to trying to devise ways of avoiding suffering or making others suffer instead of himself. He found that inner peace in sacrificing, in caring for others more than himself. That resignation gave him peace within. We do well to follow his example.

The gospel of peace is also peace with others. St. Paul gives his instruction on how to live in harmony with one another. He tells us not to be defensive. “Do not repay evil with evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans 12:17,18)

How hard this is to do. We are so sensitive that we are quick to take offence. Our egoes are so fragile, our pride is so pervasive, that any slight, any implied criticism, any unconscious omission can inflame us and provoke us to retaliate. Again, the example of Christ is critical. If we claim to be Christians we will follow in his steps, shod with the shoes of the gospel of his peace. “When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead he trusted himself to him who judges justly.” (1 Peter 2:23) He did not feel that he had to defend himself. It is God who judges justly, and we must trust him. Defensiveness just makes matters worse. The gospel of peace is the call to reconciliation, to living at peace with one another. The soldiers of the army of Christ are not meant to be fighting one another, but employing all their combined energy of the Spirit to fight the true enemy and conquer. The gospel of peace enables us to find the humility to do what it takes to live at peace with everyone.

The gospel of peace has to be put on, just as shoes need to be put on and laced up. It requires us being willing to wear it every day. We put on these shoes of the gospel of peace through prayer.

St. Francis of Assisi gave us this prayer:

“Lord, make us instruments of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.” Amen.

Eric Milner-White gave us this prayer:

“Grant me, O God, the great gift of your peace,
throughout the day and in the night season:
using in quietness all the faculties you have given.
Bestow a tranquility of mind and soul
out of a faith settled and lively,
secure from the world’s fevers,
Serene in the knowledge of your nearness,
and of your perfect, unchanging will;
dwelling in the light eternal
and the truth invisible
drawing from the wells of your wisdom.

In the world we may have tribulation;
in you we shall have peace.

But let this peace be never a flight or escape
from issues of difficulty
from right decision,
from open war against wrong;
never passive, but aglow with Christ’s Spirit,
and Christ’s love.

END