For many of us, it feels wrong to celebrate anything with all that is going on, and going wrong, in the world. News of hungry and disappearing siblings saturate the media airwaves on a daily basis; who can decorate at a time like this?

Indeed, the Christmas season almost feels like a distraction from addressing the evil that is abundant in the world.

Almost.

In Ephesians 6:10-20, Paul introduces us to the evil, conniving ways of the enemy. The Apostle tells us that battle is imminent, that the “struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh” - not against humans, but “against the spiritual forces of evil”. Paul, who is imprisoned in Rome at the time of this letter, tells followers of Jesus to put on the full armor of God in order "to stand the wiles of the devil”.

The parallels between physical battle and this spiritual battle are significant. Of all of the activities that Paul describes in this passage, the one that raises the hairs on the back of my neck and causes me to stand at attention, is the flaming arrows. We are told that the enemy hurls these fiery weapons in battle, and the shield of faith can quench them, extinguishing the fire.

These flaming arrows speak to the character, and the strategy, of the enemy. History reflects that they were often used to distract the opponents in battle. Throwers would purposely aim at objects beside their target, near their target, at things that are valuable to their target - like their homes, their arsenal...so that when the arrow hit the object, it would burst into flames. Their opponent would then shift their focus away from the battle at hand, and turn their attention toward the area that was on fire. When their heads were turned and their guards were down, the enemy would advance and penetrate their target area, winning the battle.

Today, the battle continues. But, celebrating our Redeemer’s holy birth is not a distraction; rather, it is the flaming arrows of Empire’s persistent pummeling of our most vulnerable neighbors. Our battle opponent wants us to lose sight of the Good News, focusing on the abundance of storms that are in our midst.

Jesus never promised that storms and adversity would cease to exist with our Baptism; rather, picking up our cross to follow Jesus means the hardships will increase. In Luke 21:9-17, Jesus prepares us well:

“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified, for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.” ¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom; ¹¹ there will be great earthquakes and in various places famines and plagues…

“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name…You will be betrayed even by parents and siblings, by relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name.”

Indeed, storms will come. Flaming arrows are strategically being thrown.

But, Jesus promises that in their midst “not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.” (Luke 21:18-19 NRSVUE) By keeping our eyes - and our faith - focused on Jesus, we have all the armor we need to persevere, and remain victorious.

Did you know we are already victorious?

It is in this holy light that we celebrate the resistance that is Christmas - the Truth that with God, we will not be moved or swayed from loving our neighbors and ourselves - all of us intentionally created in the image of our Designer.

Together, or individually, we can joyfully deck the halls and step into our happiest getups - because the Savior of the World has already overcome the world!