Weekly Lectionary takes a look (sometimes brief, sometimes longer, sometimes odd) at one of the lectionary passages for the upcoming Sunday. This one falls into the "odd" category as it is literally me talking to myself. This week we'll look at the New Testament passage of Ephesians 6:10-20.

Chris: So I'll just skip the small talk. This week's NT passage is the Full Armor of God.

Christopher: Yeah. Well known passage.

Chris: Right? It's a strong visual; pretty popular to use with kids too.

Christopher: Well, when you get the chance to mix Jesus and weapons, you've got to take it.

Chris: That's part of my trouble. I'm not really comfortable with war imagery in Christianity.

Christopher: Well, that's nothing new.

Chris: True, it goes back to at least that project we did on the Crusades.

Christopher: Oh yeah. What was that? Ninth grade?

Chris: Yep. Of course it's not just restricted to the Crusades. War imagery always seems to be popular. People love taking out the bad guys. The problem is it seems to run contrary to how Jesus instructed his followers to treat their enemies.

Christopher: Blessed are the peacemakers. Love your enemies. Pray for them. Turn the other cheek. Bake them cookies.

Chris: Technically not the last one, but it's the right idea. Yet people take things like this Ephesians passage, the Book of Revelation, or the Canaan conquest in Joshua and they project it. The Christian life becomes a war.