Fight the good fight... but with whom?

Sermon for the feast of Christ the King

"Soldiers of Christ arise,

and put your armour on .."

Thus begins the old hymn.

What pictures

are conjured up 

in your mind

when you think 

of being a soldier for Christ?

[PAUSE]

Perhaps,

you think of chain mail,

swords and shields and chivalry

all for a king

sat in bejewelled crown

golden armour and purple robe,

astride a beautiful white charger.

Rather a medieval view,

isn't it?

Perhaps you would prefer

something more up-to-date?

A soldier in camouflage,

bearing a rifle

and helmet

driving in a jeep

all for a king in a smart suit

and surrounded by

an entourage

of bodyguards.

Neither seem

to be the right model

for King Jesus 

and His soldiers.

It is possible for 

Our Lord to dress as

a medieval monarch,

a besuited king,

a tribal chieftain,

an enrobed emperor

but none seem to fit

the image of 

a man from Galilee

riding into Jerusalem

on a donkey.

We do get a glimpse

of Christ the conqueror

sitting on a white horse,

dazzling all with the brightness

of His being

with a two-edged sword 

proceeding out of His mouth

according to what St John sees.

Christ is the King

unlike any other.

[PAUSE]

This means that 

we have to be His soldiers

unlike any other.

It means that 

we have to fight

in a war unlike any other.

Let's not pretend

that we are supposed 

to sit down and let 

St Michael and His angels

fight for us.

We have to fight.

It seems odd

because

Christ has already won

the victory.

Why do we have to fight?

[PAUSE]

Our battle 

is with darkness,

seductive spirits

and doctrines of devils.

In a last gasp of rebellion,

the Devil and his apostate angels

want to convince us 

of anything but the truth.

Our fight 

is to be ourselves

as the image of God

and it is something that 

we have to do

because God wants us

to have a say in who we are.

This is our battle

and our victory

is Christ's victory

freely chosen

and freely given.

In struggling for Christ

the more we demonstrate

our love for Him,

the more we appreciate

His love for us,

the more we worship Him,

by showing that He is worth our struggle

even as He showed us 

that we are worth His.

[PAUSE]

"The King of Love my shepherd is

Whose goodness faileth never.

I nothing lack of I am His,

and He is mine forever."

There is no depth 

to a love without

a fight against hatred.

This is the king that we fight for,

however He may be dressed.