Feast of St. Martin of Tours (Year B)

St. Martin was an army officer before he became a Christian. He attained this rank not by military successes but by birth right. So, he had to work harder in order to earn the respect from other soldiers. However, he chose the way of humility. He pursued monasticism and was much sought after. He became a bishop and performed his pastoral duties with dedication. The Catholic Church celebrates his feast day today.

Paul made use of various vivid images to press home his points. We can immediately call to mind military and sports images. For example:
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith (2 Timothy 4:7).
Consider the hostile environment Paul was working in, it is understandable that he had a rather combative mindset. In one breath, Paul spells out his two favourite images.
In the Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul left us with a famous passage about the full armour of a Christian. In Romans, he had already mentioned the armour of light.
the night is far gone, the day is at hand. Let us then cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light (Romans 13:12).
But two verses later, Paul talks about putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. After all, the armour of light is Jesus Christ. The military image is not yet forceful. InEphesians, he developed this armour image more fully. Six pieces of equipment were mentioned. Yet, it is interesting to read and find in Wisdom a rather primitive prototype of armour image. Check out the following comparison table.

Equipment	Wisdom 5:18-20	Ephesians 6:14-17
breastplate	righteousness
shield	holiness	faith
helmet	impartial justice	salvation
sword	stern wrath	the word of God
belt		truth
shoe		gospel of peace

What would you say about this? The situations were different. 
The author of Wisdom was probably fighting against the Hellenization of Judaism. Therefore, attaining holiness by the strict observance of Torah was probably the only shield that protected them from the onslaught of Greek culture. They had been conquered and become a Greek province. Therefore, God's wrath was the only sword to punish the corrupt Greek-sympathizers.
Paul was writing in the first century and the message he preached, i.e. Christianity, is not exclusively Jewish. It is open to the whole world. It is Catholic. Therefore, Christians were not fighting against one particular culture. Rather, they had to fight against heresies. Faith in the Lord and the teachings of the apostles was their weapon to fight against schisms. They were not fighting against Roman or Greek sympathizers. Rather, Christians have been fight against Satan and its evils. Therefore, God's punishment is not appropriate. Rather, Paul suggests using Biblical teachings to combat against evil. To quote Paul, "Let all things be done for edification." (1 Corinthians 14:21)

Dear Lord, the world we are living in is indifferent rather hostile towards Christianity. Send forth Your Spirit so that Your Creation may be renewed. Amen.