My grandma, my dad’s mother, was everything a grandma should be. She would spoil my brothers and me, cater to our needs as only a grandma can, and make us generally insufferable for my mom and dad after spending a week with her. One of the things that she did was make costumes for us. That’s right; when Halloween rolled around, we didn’t have those store-bought costumes with the cheap plastic masks; no, she would hand-make our costumes. Perhaps not every year, but often enough. Now, one of the perks of a quality-made costume from grandma was that it would last. It wasn’t just for the one night of trick or treating; we ended up in a toy box full of blocks and G.I. Joe’s and some pretty awesome costumes that could be worn at any time. And they were. Now, there were some odd ones in there, to be sure, but the one that became a favorite, worn with great regularity, was Batman.

That’s right, Batman. The one superhero with no superpowers who battled against the gritty underbelly of Gotham by putting on the cape and cowl and stepping into the fray. Sure, he had all the cool toys, but it was the outfit, the costume, that made the hero. To be Batman, to fight evil, was to put on the garments. And as a young boy with an active imagination, I loved dressing up as Batman. Putting on the gloves and mask and securing the cape with the carefully sown Velcro closures filled me with a sense of power and unshakable bravery. I, too, was ready to join the fight; I, too, could envision the destruction of my enemies and the enemies of those around me. To put on the costume and the garment of Batman was to become Batman. And I loved it.

Now, sure, that was all fun and child’s play; to watch a kid dress up would put a smile on anyone’s face. But it felt real to me. We tend to forget that as we grow older. To put on those garments was to be ready for anything; they instilled a confidence that defies reason. At the end of his masterful letter to the church in Ephesus, a letter which speaks of our reconciliation to God through the works of Christ and the unity we have as the church, Paul then calls his readers to dress for the battle to be ready for the fight, not a fight that might come or that he fears is around the corner if we don’t right the course, no, a fight that is already here, a fight that you cannot escape. So, he says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

Put on the whole armor of God. Strap on the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness. Step into the shoes of peace, raise the shield of faith and secure the helmet of salvation. Take up your sword, which is the Word of God. Fully dressed in this spiritual armor, you are ready to battle and stand against the schemes of the devil. The enemies with which you do battle are not of flesh and blood; they are not the simple physical blockades to the faith. Paul warns you to get dressed for a spiritual battle because it is a spiritual war. A war against “the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” These are the enemies of truth, enemies of salvation, enemies of your assurance of eternal life. Such enemies fill you with doubts and leave you second-guessing the promises of Christ. They launch their attacks from within your own hearts. They work hard in your suffering and heartache to create a wedge between what you’ve faithfully confessed and your fears and longings in this age. These enemies want to rob you of your peace, belittle your salvation, and crush your faith. So get dressed for the battle!

And I tell you what, when the war is raging, when the unseen enemies are doing their worst, there are times when you can actually see those dressed for the fight. Many of you, I’m sure, remember fondly Jeanne Hecksel. This woman taught me a lot about the faith, a faith that wasn’t just articulated with clever doctrinal statements or argued eloquently between confessions. But a faith that was lived. The last time I visited her was in the midst of the Covid pandemic. I pulled up in front of this small convalescent care home in Santa Paula. I’ve been to many of those places throughout my career, and I knew that this one wasn’t exactly on the upper end of the spectrum. The afterthought of a ramp built over deteriorating wooden stairs was a dead giveaway. I sat in my car for a few moments, gathering my thoughts and preparing for the inevitable smells that come with places where people are sick and dying. I wanted to put on my best face, for I loved Jeanne; I wanted to bring her hope, joy, and comfort in such a place.

When I made it to her room, she was asleep. It was hard to see her, this skeletal figure stripped of that calm vitality she always carried with her. She could no longer get out of bed, so I pulled up a metal folding chair alongside her and placed my hand on her frail shoulder to gently wake her. After all, she needed what I had to give. She was nearing the end, and she needed to be ready. When she opened her eyes, she smiled to see me. We talked for a bit, we went through the liturgy, confessed the faith together, she received absolution, and managed to swallow Holy Communion for the final time. And through it all, she maintained that sweet smile we all remember. And then she told me that she wanted me to bring back to the people of this church an encouragement to love, to forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us, and to find strength in our life together right here in this place. That’s right, there from what would be her death bed, stripped of all the comforts of this age, she wanted to hand on one final word, one final proclamation of the Good News.

Thinking back, what I witnessed was one dressed for the battle. Jeanne was, as Paul says, “strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” This frail and weak saint of God was a superhero, not because she had superpowers but because she wore the garments of salvation. Doubt and suffering were all around, haunting her and nipping at her heels, but she stood firm. She stood firm because she was dressed for the battle. And the last great enemy, death itself, was charging at her, and she smiled.

And so Paul calls you today to be strong, to put on the armor of God, to stand firm, to be ready for the battle is here; the war is all around us. And what is that armor? He says it comprises truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the Word of God. Well, such things are beyond your ability to conjure, beyond your skill to forge. No, these are the gifts of God, the garments placed upon you through the works of Christ for you. As Paul says elsewhere, “as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” That washing of water and Word, that gift of being born again in Christ’s death and resurrection, is the armor; that is the garment you need to stand firm against the schemes of the Devil. To put it on is the humility to confess that you cannot do it yourself but rather hold to what has been given. Jeanne didn’t stand firm because she knew what great things she had done. She stood firm because she knew that Christ held her in his promises. After all, while she was weak, he remained strong. Clothed in Christ, she was dressed for the battle.

When my family and I moved to Ventura, we lived with my parents for several months. This situation allowed my kids to play with some of the same toys my brothers and I grew up playing with. As we found our own home and moved in, one of the many items that migrated over with us was that well-worn Batman costume. Grandma’s craftmanship held up. Sure, it needed some new Velcro, and my wife fixed a few torn seams, but I found an incredible amount of joy in seeing my son over the next few years wear that costume again and again. At one point, he wore it so much that any trip outside of the house was an excellent cause to wear it. Which makes sense; after all, who knows what dangers lurked outside our home? Why not be ready? Why not put on the garments to do the battle?

And so it is with you. You head out into this world into an ongoing battle with no end in sight. So go with the whole armor of God. Go dressed for battle. Repent and believe the Good News, and you will be well-dressed for whatever comes your way. Repent and believe in the promises of Christ, and you will find that we are a mighty army of superheroes unafraid to step into the fray.