Readings for the Ninth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 14 – Year C – Track 2)
This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on August 10, 2025.
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord our shield and our very great reward. Amen.
In our Hebrew Scripture reading today, God speaks to Abram saying, “Do not be afraid for I am your shield” (Gen 15:1). And in our psalm, the poet writes, “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield” (Ps 33:20). And then in our Gospel, Jesus reiterates God’s words, saying, “Do not be afraid, little flock…be dressed for action, be dressed in apparel that does not wear out and light your lamps” (Luke 12: 32, 35). Our readings invite us to clothe ourselves in God’s protective shield of light…
And how do we do that? Our reading from the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us how: by faith, which is the blessed assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1). I invite you right now to visualize yourself being clothed by a shield of light, a shield that surrounds you, that is in front of you, behind you, above you, below you; a spherical shield of God’s protective light.
This last Wednesday was the Feast of the Transfiguration, a major feast in which the disciples saw Jesus clothed in dazzling light, white and glistening, exuding a shield of divine light. This image pervades our scriptures as well as our church tradition. I want to share with you two stories about two different saints who experienced this shield of divine light.
First, a story of that British teenager who was kidnapped by Irish pirates from whom he later escaped only to return to Ireland as a missionary bishop. St. Patrick wrote a prayer known as the Breastplate Prayer or the Lorica prayer,[1] which he and his followers would pray during their travels, and, for extra protection, they would sometimes sow this prayer into their tunics. This prayer would help them activate their faith in the unseen shield of divine light that surrounded them. The Breastplate prayer has also been called The Deer’s Cry because according to a legend, when a violent band of brigands was hired to kill St. Patrick and his followers on a forest path, they failed to do so because the prayer shielded them with a mysterious light. When they passed by on the forest path, the prayer made them appear to the brigands as a herd of deer. So, Patrick crossed the path unscathed, thanks to the powerful prayer which we will pray together later this morning when we sing/say together the words of Hymn 370 in your Hymnal.
The other story of God’s protective shield of light occurs in the life of an Italian teenager named St. Clare of Assisi, whose feast day is tomorrow (August 11). While she is often overshadowed by the beloved St. Francis, we know that Clare was a powerhouse on her own, influencing and inspiring Francis and the early Franciscan movement in profound ways. In 1240, the city of Assisi was under attack by a Saracen army. Determined to protect her convent and her city, St. Clare asked a priest to give her the consecrated bread and wine of the Eucharist, which she then held out through a window in the city walls. With faith in things unseen, she believed that somehow the Body of Christ would protect her and her city. As the Saracens approached the city walls they were repelled and blinded by a bright shield of light that could not be penetrated, a bright shield of light that radiated from the Body and Blood of Christ, which was upheld by St. Clare, whose name in Italian (Chiara) means “clear light.”[2] The Body and Blood of Christ of which we will soon partake radiates with the same shield of divine light for those of us who see with the eyes of faith. It is through our participation in the Eucharist that we can keep our lamps lit. It is through our participation in the Eucharist that we become shielded in God’s light, a light that not only protects us but also heals others who come within our heart spheres. Scientific studies have shown that our hearts emit an electromagnetic field that can extend up to three feet beyond the body and interact with other people’s energy fields. May God’s shield of light not only protect our hearts but also heal those who come within our heart’s energy field.
There’s a wonderful Breastplate Prayer from the Jewish tradition, written by Rabbi Irwin Keller. It’s called the Prayer to Pray Before Reading the News. It goes like this: “My God the soul you have placed in me is pure and vulnerable. I am afraid that looking in today’s news will be painful. Encircle me in a robe of light so that I can witness the wounds of the world without being wounded myself. Let me learn what I need to know in order to be of my greatest use, without being overwhelmed by despair. I feel your protective light now as I open myself to the world’s suffering and the world’s joys.”
Every Sunday, when we gather for prayers for birthdays, anniversaries, and travel blessings and our collective final blessing, God is surrounding us with his loving care and God is covering us in that shield of divine light, which is Godself. That breastplate of light not only protects us but can also heal and transform those around us. May we experience this gift as we receive the bread and wine made holy. May we receive the gift Abram received when God said to him, “I am your shield.” And as we hold fast to God’s promise, our faith and our blessed assurance will help us to heed St. Patrick’s words to his followers, St. Clare’s words to her sisters, God’s words to Abram, Christ words to his disciples: Do not be afraid.
During these next few moments of silence, I invite you to visualize the bright shield of divine light surrounding you… and then growing to encircle those around you and then to keep growing to encircle all those within a mile radius of this church, so that all those walking by and driving by can feel the healing impact of that divine light. Amen.
Blessing of St. Clare of Assisi
“Live without fear:
Your creator has made you holy,
Has always protected you,
And loves you as a mother.
Go in peace to follow the good road
And may the blessing of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be with you always.”
[1] Lorica is Latin for Body Armor.
[2] “When the Saracens entered the cloister of the monastery, the Lady made them bring her to the entrance of the refectory and bring a small box where there was the Blessed Sacrament of the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ. Throwing herself prostrate on the ground in prayer, she begged with tears, saying among other things: ‘Lord, look upon these servants of yours, because I cannot protect them.’ Then the witness heard a voice of wonderful sweetness: ‘I will always defend you!’ The Lady then prayed for the city, saying: ‘Lord, please defend the city as well!’ The same voice resounded and said: ‘The city will endure many dangers, but it will be defended.’ Then the Lady turned to the sisters and told them: ‘Do not be afraid, because I am a hostage for you so that you will not suffer any harm now nor any other time as long as you wish to obey God’s commandments.’ Then the Saracens left in such a way that they did not do any harm or damage.” Clare of Assisi, “The Acts of the Process of Canonization,” 9.2., Early Documents, 165, as quoted in Ila Delio, OSF, Clare of Assisi: A Heart Full of Love (Cincinnati OH: Franciscan Media, 1999), 81.
DANIEL DeFOREST LONDON 