What Does This Mean?

Based on Acts 2:1-21
First delivered May 31, 2020
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            It was a sound like the rush of a violent wind. Flames of fire rested on the heads of each of the disciples gathered there. They all rush out of the building they were hiding in, proclaiming with boldness about the mighty deeds of God in the languages of all the nations of the world. And as this spectacle erupted in the city of Jerusalem, a crowd of devout Jews from every nation on earth was drawn to the disciples, listening to what they were saying. Amazed and perplexed, the people in the crowd ask each other, “What does this mean?” But there were a few scoffers who sneered and said, “they are filled with new wine.”

            The disciples knew that the Spirit would be coming. Jesus had told them. Before he ascended to heaven, we read in Acts 1:4-5, Jesus ordered them to stay in Jerusalem and wait there for the promise of the Father. “You will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now”, Jesus said. But they did not know when exactly the Spirit would come. And they did not know how the Spirit would come. When the Spirit did come, it wasn’t subtle! The Spirit whooshed in out of nowhere, knocking the disciples for a loop and immediately transforming them from a place of anxiety and uncertainty about their future to bold proclaimers of the powerful deeds of God. Their baptism of the Holy Spirit changed them immediately. It was a powerful experience of transformation that got the world’s attention, so to speak. And the crowd, baffled and perplexed at what they were witnessing, what they were hearing, asked the question, “What does this mean?”

            We knew a global pandemic would be coming. The World Health Organization has been talking about it for a long time. We all knew that the flu pandemic we often talk about that ravaged the world in 1918 would not be the last one. Hollywood made movies about a global pandemic, including the popular movie Outbreak back in 1995. But we didn’t know when a pandemic would hit or how it would impact the world. And here we are. The impact is ongoing. The pandemic has the attention of the whole world. And many people are asking, “What does this mean?” Christian folk ask each other, “What is God trying to tell us about this pandemic?” Meanwhile, there are some people who scoff and say, “This is a plandemic.”

            We have seen this played out so many times for literally hundreds of years: black people being assaulted and killed by agents of the state or white vigilantes, with little or no accountability. I still remember the uprising in Los Angeles in the aftermath of the acquittal of the police officers who mercilessly beat up Rodney King. Those of us who have lived awhile, if given some time, could come up with a long list of names of unarmed and defenseless black people who have been brutalized by law enforcement or by white vigilantes. And now, in the midst of a global pandemic, we have in the past several weeks the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and Tony McDade. The protests, some violent, are rippling throughout our nation just as we move into the unofficial start of summer. And we hear the questions, “Why is this still happening?” “What does this mean?” Meanwhile, others scoff and say the protestors are thugs tearing up their community and ought to be shot.

            When the crowd asked the apostles “what does this mean?”, Peter was ready with an answer. With boldness, he stood before the crowd, dismissing the scoffers by quickly pointing out the fallacy of their statement, “We are not drunk, it’s only 9 in the morning.” Peter goes straight to the prophets to explain what is happening. He quotes from the prophet Joel and then interprets it for the crowd in a way that cut them to the heart which led to the next question they asked, in 2:37, “What should we do?” And Peter tells them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” That day, about 3,000 people were added to the number of believers. There were more than 3,000 there. Not everybody repented. Not everybody accepted what the disciples said. But, my goodness. Who on that morning woke up and knew what would unfold in Jerusalem that day? A dramatic and perplexing event, accompanied by someone who could boldly and convincingly explain what it meant and what everyone needs to do to respond to what they have seen and heard.

            But what about today? Who is standing up to give us an answer to the meaning of the pandemic that is ravaging our world? There are many people boldly giving their answers, their explanations of what this means and what we need to do. They are sounding off on TV, on social media, in the newspapers. We hear many voices. There is no single voice. And the message we get is confusing and contradictory. On the economic front alone, some say there will be a v shaped recovery. Others say there will be a u shaped recovery. I read a new one recently where the writer boldly proclaimed an upside down checkmark so-called recovery. There is no one clear voice pointing to the word of God and explaining to us what all this means in a way that cuts to the heart and stirs us to repentance as we are confronted with what this pandemic is revealing to us about our society.

            Who is standing up and boldly giving an answer to why in 2020 we still have police officers and white vigilantes killing unarmed black people? Again, the voices of those boldly giving answers are many. And the answers are contradictory. Some say the answer is found at the very heart of American society that was established as a white colonial settler society dependent on the forced labor of black bodies and the systemic removal and genocide of the indigenous people who stewarded this land thousands of years before Europeans arrived. The answers of others are that this is just another example of a bad cop failing in his training and having a bad day, or someone who truly feared for his life as the victim reached to push away the gun pointed at him after being chased down by these strangers while he is going for a jog. Race has nothing to do with it, some boldly proclaim. There is no single voice standing up, pointing to the word of God and explaining to us what all this means in a way that cuts to the heart and stirs us to repentance as we are confronted again with what these murders of black people is revealing to us about our society. So many voices.

            One of my favorite scriptures is John 16:12-13: “[Jesus said] I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” Jesus didn’t say everything that needed to be said. The revelation of God is ongoing. The Spirit is still revealing truth to us, even to this very day. As we face these perilous times and we ask ourselves and one another “what does this mean?”, those of us who are baptized have the Spirit abiding within us. The Spirit is guiding us into all the truth, one faithful step at a time. The Spirit does not rest on one person. The Spirit rests on all kinds of people, Joel says: sons and daughters, young men and old men, even female slaves, God says through Joel. The Spirit rests on many of us. The Spirit is guiding many of us. There is not one Spirit guided voice. There are many. And one of those Spirit guided voices is yours.

            As we collectively confront the reality of a global pandemic and of systemic racism, my question is, “What is the Spirit saying to you?” In those moments, when you pause and reflect on all that is happening right now, mulling it over, lifting it all up to God in prayer, what word from God are you hearing, what vision or dream is forming in your mind?

            This is some of what I sense the Spirit is saying to me. We cannot always impose our will on nature. As a society we need to rethink and rebalance our relationship with the living systems of this planet. As a society we also need to rebalance our economy to minimize the inequality and assure the protection of our most vulnerable among us. We need a society that is more resilient. We need to continue to come to terms with the virus of racism in our culture and reimagine a culture that celebrates the richness of all ethnic heritages. We need to rethink how we do policing in our society. I envision a society where each person is valued as a fellow human being, where competition is replaced with cooperation, where systems are in place to assure the flourishing of all of life. Utopian? Yes. Just a dream? It is. But that is the vision I believe the Spirit is giving me because it is a vision that aligns with the God of creation, of love, of life. It is a vision that in my gut feels right, that gives me energy, that gives me some clarity about where in my life I need to repent, how I need to live my life, what kind of culture I want to create.

            I am not pretending to possess the voice of someone like Peter and speak with the boldness and authority that we read in the second chapter of Acts on that Pentecost morning a few thousand years ago. I am not saying that my dream is the only one sanctioned by God. But I am sharing with you some of what I sense the Spirit is saying to me. I want to know…what is the Spirit saying to you? What is your divinely inspired vision of a world where God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven? Take the authority you have as a child of God, baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, and speak your vision.

Lifted Up in Glory

Based on John 17:1-11
First delivered May 24, 2020
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            One of my favorite cartoon characters growing up was Yosemite Sam, the rootinist, tootinist, shootinist, bobtailed wildcat in the west with the fastest gun north, south, east and west of the Pecos! When he would finally catch up to Bugs Bunny he would aim his shotgun and he would bellow out, “Say your prayers, you long-eared galoot!” That’s a standard trope in old westerns, that just before somebody is killed, the executioner tells them, “Say your prayers.”

            Jesus wasn’t about to face the executioner. But in the unfolding of the narrative in the gospel of John, Jesus was about to begin that journey when he gets arrested. He knew his hour had come. So, he gathered his disciples together for a last supper and gave them his farewell address, all the things they need to know, a pep talk to encourage them as he prepares to finish his ministry and return to his Father in heaven. Between his farewell address and his arrest, Jesus shifts his gaze from his disciples to heaven and he says his prayers, putting his future into the hands of his Father, as we read in verse 5: “So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.” In other words, he is saying, “my work is done. Bring me back to you.” Just before Jesus’ arrest, we get to overhear Jesus’ prayer to his Father. As Jesus faces his coming death, he entrusts himself to God. No fear. No pleading for the cup to pass from him. No, in John’s version, Jesus is cleareyed about what lays before him. He knows that his hour has come. He is about to finish his work, the purpose for which he was sent. So, he simply prays. He prays for himself and he prays for his disciples…for us.

            Something that jumps out at us when we hear this prayer is the word “glory.” “Glorify your son,” “I glorified you”, “glorify me with the glory that I had”, “I have been glorified in them.” I find the word “glory” or “glorified” six times in these eleven verses. Just before his arrest and death, Jesus is focused on glory, his glory and the Father’s glory. At this major turning point in Jesus’ life, when the hour has finally come for his arrest and crucifixion, and then his resurrection and ascension, no fretting, no anxiety, no sadness, only glory.

            What does glory mean? When I think of glory, I think of lifting someone up, giving them praise. For example, when we give glory to God, we are giving God praise. We are lifting God up. But we don’t just give glory to God. Any of us who have been blessed to be parents have surely given our kids glory every now and then. There have been several times in my life where I have watched one of my boys do something great and, yes, I’m the dad that shouts out in the crowd, “That’s my boy!” That’s giving glory. To receive glory is to receive praise and adoration.

            I don’t know about you but when I am given praise, when I am lifted up, when I am glorified by others, that is a real shot in the arm. It turns a grey day into a day with a bit more color. It gets the juices flowing. To be praised just does wonders to our energy level. It is a powerful motivator. I wonder if that is what Jesus is getting at in vs. 1, where he asks his Father to glorify him, to give him praise, to lift him up so that he has added energy to fulfill the work ahead of him, so that he may glorify, lift up, his Father. It’s a give and take. When we receive praise, it gives us energy to keep going, and it prompts us to return the praise. I am thinking of when musicians receive lots of praise from their fans when a new record comes out. Not only is that affirming for the musician, but they will express their praise to their fans. They will say things like, “I have the best fans in the world.” Of course, fans eat that stuff up. It just makes them appreciate their favorite musician even more. It’s a virtuous cycle of mutual praise. Not a bad thing.

            So, the first thing Jesus prays for is for God to give him glory, to praise and lift him up, so that he can have the energy and motivation to face the hour ahead of him, to see it through, so that he can give his Father all the glory for what God has accomplished through him. The second thing Jesus says in his prayer is that he is completing his work. We read in verse 6, “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me.” That was Jesus’ work in a nutshell, to reveal to the world who God is. By making known God’s name, Jesus is not talking about God’s literal name. He is talking about God’s character and identity. Jesus reveals the character of God, which is love and life and truth. He has made God’s name known to those God gave Jesus to proclaim it to. Jesus has formed a community of believers, of people who have come to believe Jesus is who he says he is, a community that loves each other. Look at verse 10: “All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.” How have they glorified Jesus? We find the answer in 13:34-35: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” It is their love for one another that caused people to know that they are disciples of Jesus. “See how they love one another,” the people say. “Who are they?” “Those are disciples of Jesus.” “Wow. Jesus must have been a great teacher.” Their love for each other led to Jesus getting the glory. Jesus’ work is done. He has demonstrated the character of God and assembled a community of believers who will continue this work of demonstrating the character of God when he leaves and returns to the Father. And in so doing, the community of Jesus followers continue to glorify Jesus, to give praise to God.

            Jesus asks the Father to give him glory. He has reported to the Father that he is completing the work the Father sent him to do. Last, Jesus places this community into the hands of the Father for safe keeping. Verse 11: “Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.” “Holy Father, protect them.” Is there anyone who can protect us more than God? Nothing can separate us from the love of God. When Jesus left them and ascended back to heaven, he did not leave them to fend for themselves. He did not tell them to figure it out and hope for the best. He did not tell them that now it’s all on them, and they better not mess it up because God is counting on them. No, Jesus placed the community into the hands of God. There is no more secure situation than that.

            And that’s the good news for us. In these uncertain times where it seems we are trying to take one step forward in a thick fog, there is one thing that we can be certain of. We are securely in the hands of God. See, when Jesus prayed this prayer 2,000 years ago, he wasn’t praying only for the community that he had personally brought together. He is praying for the community of Jesus followers that extends across time. When he prayed that prayer, he was thinking of you and me.  He was including us in his prayer. So, our future is secure in the hands of God, no matter what happens in the days ahead. Not only that, we can keep loving one another, which reveals to the world the character of God. Not only that, we can ask God to glorify us, to lift us up so that we can keep doing what we are called to do and, in return, give God all the glory. We don’t know all we need to know and all we need to do in these crazy times. But we do know that love is always the right thing to do. We do know that when we love, God is saying “That’s my boy! That’s my girl!” We do know that our future with God is secure, no…matter…what.

            When we were children, and we found ourselves in a crowd, with people walking this way and that, it would have been pretty easy to get separated from our parents and maybe even get lost. So, what did our parents do? They reached down to grab our hands. They would say, “Hold my hand.” And then, hand in hand, we make our way through the crowd. It made us feel safe that mom or dad were holding our hands as we made our way through that confusing crowd.

            God’s hand has ahold of us. As we make our way through this confusing time, we can’t always hold hands. Physical separation won’t let us. But we can hold each other in our hearts. We can hold each other in prayer. And we can be certain that God holds us, carries us, each one of us, with God’s hand. Glory to God.

Guidance from Peter

Based on 1 Peter 3:13-22
First delivered May 17, 2020
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            We are living in a time filled with suffering and anxiety. I don’t want to overwhelm you with a long list. But just over the past couple days I have been reminded of some of the suffering people are having to endure. I am thinking of young families with toddlers who are also trying to work from home. Think about trying to get stuff done and maintain the house while having your two toddlers coming at you constantly for something. I remember when my boys were toddlers, I looked forward to going to work just so I could have time away from their constant demands. But when you can’t go to work, or really anywhere for a long period of time…Imagine the stress that family with toddlers is under. I am thinking of people who are passing away without their family being by their side due to health protocols. Having experienced the grief of not being by my mom’s side when she died, I know the heaviness of grief, of not being able to say that last word and to witness the drawing of that last breath.

            And then I think of the anxiety that this pandemic is causing. Especially, I am thinking of those who are making decisions on how best to re-open our economy. As a pastor of two churches, the leadership teams and myself are stressed about making the right decisions on how to re-start public worship. But then I think of administrators of public school systems or universities who are having to decide how to make education happen in the fall. All the moving parts and all the people that are impacted. My youngest son, who will be starting at Case Western in the fall, still doesn’t know if he will be moving there in August or if it will be online classes only. It was a stressful decision to cancel public worship and cancel school for the rest of the semester. But deciding how to restart is infinitely more stressful. And that’s just one of many stresses we are all going through. Suffering and anxiety is something all of us are familiar with right now in all kinds of ways.

            Peter wrote this letter we have in the Bible to a church that was experiencing suffering and anxiety as a persecuted religious group. They were a small group. Perhaps many of them were slaves. They represented a new faith tradition which some in their day would have characterized as a personality cult around a crucified criminal named Jesus. They were disrespected, harassed, sometimes threatened. They lived in a society that did not understand them, a society where they did not fit in.

            The intention of Peter’s letter was to give instructions to this group of Christians on how to survive in a hostile society. His focus was not on providing a plan to evangelize. Nor was it an admonition for proper moral behavior. There is not a lot of theology or doctrinal instruction. No, the purpose of this letter is to help these Christians to be able to stay together as a community, to live their lives in the way of Christ, and minimize the threat to their lives. Peter wanted these Christians to be able to maintain their integrity without losing their heads…literally. This passage we heard this morning gives a few pointers on how to live out their way of life in a hostile society that brought on them a good deal of suffering and anxiety.

            His first word of advice is to check your conscience. Verse 16, “Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame.” Peter is urging the Christians to be diligent in the actions they take that they are coming from a right place. He urges them to always do the right thing, understanding that what they do is a refection of their witness as followers of Jesus. They need to walk the line. They need to keep their conscience clear.

            Next, he tells them to be ready to give a defense of how they live but to give it with humility and gentleness. Vs. 15, “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.” Sometimes people are going to ask them questions about the way they are living, the things they do or the things they refuse to do. Or their attitude toward life will cause people to be curious as they wonder why these Christians are so full of hope for the future, so generous, humble, and loving. When those times come, Peter tells them to not be obnoxious or self-righteous. Instead, be humble. Be gentle. Don’t come across as off-putting or arrogant.

            What else? Peter tells them to place the allegiance of their hearts with Jesus as their Lord. They acknowledge and respect Caesar. Slaves recognize and respect the authority of their masters. But they save their heart for Jesus. The one to whom they submit their ultimate allegiance and loyalty to is Jesus and not Caesar, their master or anyone else. They must not abdicate their loyalty to Jesus even though at times they will be tempted and even pressured to forsake Jesus and get on board with the powers that be. Again, Peter is not calling these Christians to be revolutionaries or plot some kind of insurrection. But he is saying that their ultimate loyalty is not to the state or their human masters, but to Jesus. They are followers of the way of Jesus. They must not sacrifice their identity as children of God.

            One more thing. When they experience persecution for their way of life, unjust suffering, they should draw inspiration by the suffering that Jesus had to endure. Jesus did the righteous thing. He suffered and died for the sins of the world. He put his own body on the line so that he could defeat the power of death and make it possible for all of us who believe to join Jesus in the resurrection. He did not deserve the suffering he endured. So, when we suffer unjustly, we have a friend in Jesus who also knows what it is like. Peter wants the church to remember that and receive solace when they are on the receiving end of abuse just because of the way they live.

            How can we use these guidelines as we continue to navigate through this difficult time? The suffering and anxiety we face these days is quite different than the suffering and anxiety endured by the church that Peter wrote this letter to. But we can still gain some wisdom from this passage of scripture that can help us navigate through this time. Let’s take a look one by one.

            First, is your conscience clear? Every day we are having to make decisions on what actions we will take and what things we will say in response to what comes at us. When you go to the store, will you wear a mask or leave it at home or in your car? When you see someone post something ridiculous on Facebook, will you respond? What will you say? What if you feel pressured to go back to work around a bunch of co-workers and a large number of customers but in your gut you feel like it’s too soon? One of my friends who is a pastor confessed that he heard from one of his parishioners that if they don’t restart public worship soon that he and his family would consider leaving the church and going elsewhere. Let me tell you, pastors occasionally get this kind of pressure thrown at them and in our bravado we say to ourselves, “Can I hold the door for you as you leave?” But, honestly, that does apply some pressure to pastors who tend to have a sensitive heart and don’t feel good about people leaving. If he opened the church up earlier than he feels is right just to appease this one church member, wouldn’t his conscience not be clear? And what if he did it and then an outbreak of Covid-19 swept through his church? At that point, saying “I told you so” would not be helpful. Whatever you decide to do, whether to respond or how, is your conscience clear? Are you doing what you believe is right even if it may not be popular or you may get pushback?

            Of course, oftentimes we aren’t clear what we should do or say. We are all trying to figure this out. We get guidance from health experts. Government officials give us direction. But applying the guidance is not always clear cut. Thinking about the guidance we received from our bishop about what to consider when reopening the church, he says that this guidance is not a one size fits all approach. In other words, here’s some guidance of best practices but you get to decide how to abide. That means weighing, discerning, stewing, risking, figuring it out as you go along. We are all figuring this out as we go along. So, when you do decide on a course of action, be ready to give a defense for the actions you choose to take. But do so with humility and gentleness. I read this article a friend suggested to me in which the author pointed out that these days we hear so many people who are so certain of what they believe and know. There is a lot of shouting. And, to be honest, a great deal of shaming and bullying. Look, these are not easy times for any of us. Stress has to be released. And that stress release is not always pretty. But when people question the choices you and I make about how we are going to move forward in the weeks and months ahead, we need to act thoughtfully. We need to think it through and be deliberate. And then, if asked, give the explanation with some humility. Acknowledge that you are trying to do what you think is right with the information you have. But others can come to different conclusions. We are all trying to figure this out. Humility. And explain yourself gently. No shouting. No shaming. Gently explain where you are coming from. Give your defense without being defensive. I know, easier said than done. But that is the wisdom that we are receiving from Peter.

            What else? This pandemic has been politicized terribly. And this politicization has manifested itself in ugly ways. We see armed protestors storming state capitol buildings carrying signs that say things like “tyrants get the rope.” Absolutely chilling. We hear partisans who continuously bash the Trump administration for the haphazard and weak federal response. We are, by the way, in the runup to a national election in November. The politics of this pandemic will only get louder. I saw some meme on social media that said something like “Christians need to vote or they will take our country from us.” We are all left to wonder who “they” are. I have my suspicions who the creator of this meme thinks “they” are.

            I get it. Right now, we are looking for direction from government leaders on how to move forward as a society in the midst of this pandemic. That means looking to political leaders. Governors, for example, are elected by the people. This necessarily puts politics in the mix, no matter how hard governors try to weigh the pressures of what they are hearing from public health officials, business groups, other interest groups, editorial writers, and ordinary citizens. These decisions on how to re-open the economy are fundamentally political decisions. Let’s remember that Christians are found in just about every political persuasion that exists. In the thick of things, we may find ourselves drawn into the politics of this and dig in our heals with whatever partisan team we are on.

            But if we look at this verse in 1 Peter, we find a word of wisdom. “Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord,” verses 14-15. News flash: our political leaders will disappoint us. Political parties, although important, are not sacrosanct. You have probably heard this saying, “There is no such thing as permanent friends or permanent enemies, only permanent interests.” I can take this in all kinds of directions but the point I want to make here is that as Christians our hearts belong to Jesus. Dare I say it, our ultimate allegiance is not to country or party but to Jesus Christ who is our Lord. Our politics are an extension of our allegiance to the way of Jesus. Our political situation is very different from these Christians Peter was writing to. We are not making the choice between Jesus and Caesar. But we are confronted with political choices. Where does your ultimate allegiance lie? Does Jesus hold the center of your heart?

            That leads to the last point of wisdom we can receive from Peter. Recognize that the suffering we are enduring is for the sake of others, just as Jesus suffered and died for our salvation. Jesus suffered and died for our sins. Have I sometimes acted against my conscience? Yes. Have I sometimes acted without thinking things through or been defensive and a bit self-righteous when my actions are challenged? Yes. Have I sometimes thrown my heart into a political party or candidate and blurred the line between that party and my commitment to Jesus? Yes. We all miss the mark. Life is hard. We all struggle with what is the right thing to do, especially in these times. We all mess up. But, because of Jesus, we are forgiven. With Jesus we have hope. With Jesus there is always redemption. With Jesus we can accept the promise that our failures are not the end of the story for us. We have been brought to God because of Jesus in spite of ourselves. He suffered, sacrificing himself, so that this can be true for us.

            Right now, we are having to endure suffering for the sake of others. Wearing a mask and experiencing economic pain is not the same as crucifixion. But it is suffering none-the-less. It is real. And it should not be minimized. There is real pain we are experiencing in this effort to try to keep each other healthy. Let’s acknowledge that we are all sacrificing for the good of the whole. As Christians, who follow the one who sacrificed himself for the sake of the whole world, we should get what it means to sacrifice on behalf of others. For all of you who are not putting your own wants and comforts ahead of the general welfare, I thank you. I am grateful that you are willing to sacrifice in ways great and small so that the people I love are less likely to get sick and perhaps even die. I honor your sacrifice.

            Keep your conscience clear. Explain yourself with humility and gentleness. Keep Jesus first in the order of your allegiance. Allow yourself to suffer for the sake of the well being of others. Do these things and we as a society will survive. We will get through this. The floodwaters of this pandemic will recede. All things will be made new. Do not be afraid. Trust in God.

Living Stones

Based on 1 Peter 2:2-10
First delivered May 10, 2020
Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

            The last book of the Bible is often called the Book of Revelation. But sometimes you will see it titled as “The Apocalypse according to John.” Most of us have heard the word “apocalypse.” Apocalypse is a word that comes from the Greek language that means “to reveal.” An apocalyptic event is something that happens which reveals something that was hidden. When we think of the apocalypse or something being apocalyptic, we often think of some event that was very disruptive, something that shakes society to its core. It shouldn’t be hard for us, then, to think about the pandemic we are living through right now as apocalyptic. It has disrupted our way of life significantly. And it is also an event that is revealing things about our society.

            One of the things the pandemic has revealed is who gets classified as essential workers, those who are not able to stay at home but must risk their health to keep things going. I am thinking of truck drivers, warehouse workers, bus drivers, delivery drivers, health care workers, food suppliers, those who work in meat processing plants. We are seeing how they are not as well compensated as those non-essential workers who have the privilege to stay at home and work from there. So, the pandemic is revealing some things about the divisions in our workforce.

            Something else the pandemic has revealed is how important public health is and how our preparations for a pandemic have not been as robust as they should have been. We are seeing how when public health is not taken more seriously that the impact on our society can be quite serious. We also see what happens when we have effective governance and when we do not.

            The pandemic has also been revealing that church is more than meeting in a building on Sunday morning for worship. Let’s face it, for most of us church is about gathering for worship on Sunday morning. Speaking for myself, I spend a great deal of my work week, then and now, preparing for worship on Sunday. Our music leadership focus their energy on preparing for Sunday worship. A lot of the time used by the secretaries of our churches is devoted to preparing for Sunday worship. Of course, this is not the only thing we do at our buildings. Before the pandemic we had all kinds of things happening in our buildings. But things have changed. And we are having to look at what it means to be a church when the primary thing we used to do, gather for worship on Sunday morning, is not happening. The pandemic is creating an opportunity to reveal to us what church is truly all about.

            When Peter wrote this letter to this small community of Christians, they did not have a building to gather in themselves, at least not in the large sanctuaries we occupy. When they gathered together, it would have been in homes. Or, perhaps, they would gather outside somewhere. But the point is they would not have gathered in a church building with pews and an altar and a choir loft. No stained glass or organ or piano. Their gatherings were different from how we used to gather. Actually, now that we are gathering for worship in our homes, it may be more like how Christians gathered back then when Peter wrote this letter.

            Since they did not gather for public worship on Sunday morning, what did church look like for them? In the passage we heard today, Peter speaks about how we as Christians are living stones that are being built up into a spiritual house. In this building, Jesus is the cornerstone. The cornerstone is the most important stone in the building. It is the point upon which the building is built. It is the first stone that is laid, in which the rest of the blocks are built around.

            I wonder what this image meant for these Christians as they struggled to live out their faith in a society that mostly ignored them but otherwise harassed or exploited them. Clearly Peter is not talking about an actual building. He is speaking of a structure of some kind that is strong and stable…a stone structure. In this structure, we, as followers of Jesus, are the stones that are being built up, forming this structure. We are living stones, not dead stones. We are animated. We move around. We are in motion. Yet, we are part of something that is stable, what Peter calls a spiritual house. And this house is anchored by Jesus who is the cornerstone, the one that each living stone is built from. Without Jesus, there would be no structure, no spiritual house.

            What happens in this spiritual house built up with living stones? Whatever the Spirit makes happen. The Spirit dwells within this spiritual house, this community of believers. And Peter says that the community of believers, who are living stones, are also a holy priesthood. Every person is a priest in this vision. Every person, through the empowerment of the Spirit, is able to offer spiritual sacrifices. What’s that?

            Obviously, it is not animal sacrifices like what used to be done at the Temple in Jerusalem. I say “used to” because it is probable that when this letter was written the Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Romans. Ritual sacrifices of animals were no longer happening. There was no temple in which to gather. The center of worship for the people of Israel was flattened and removed. You think we are going through crazy times when it comes to worship. This was a whole new world for these early Jesus followers that we can only get a glimpse of, even as we are going through our own transformation.

            So, what are these spiritual sacrifices Peter is talking about? We may get a clue if we look at chapter 2, verse 1, which reads: rid yourselves of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy and all slander. What I understand these spiritual sacrifices to be has to do with day to day living. It has to do with ethics. It has to do with doing the right thing in the face of hardship and anxiety. Malice, guile, insincerity, envy, slander, these are all ways of being in community that destroy community, that push people apart. Peter is calling us to not be like that but to make different choices about how we relate to each other. Instead of malice, kindness. Instead of guile, honesty. Instead of insincerity, genuineness. Instead of envy, gratitude. Instead of slander, praise. What do you have to sacrifice to live like this? What would it cost you to live a way of life marked by kindness, honesty, genuineness, gratitude, and praise? Especially in times of stress that we are all going through, to live like this requires something of us. It isn’t always easy. When you are stressed out, tired, and anxious, it becomes more challenging to be kind and grateful. It may also be a challenge to be honest with yourself when you are stressed out. Maybe you suck it up and stuff down what you are feeling. Or you avoid what you are feeling by numbing it. Stress and anxiety do all kinds of things to us emotionally and physically. To keep being our best selves, to offer up these spiritual sacrifices that Peter calls us to, does take effort. It takes a community of support. It takes the power of the Spirit.

            All I have said so far is to make this point. The pandemic has revealed to us what is church. It is not limited to gathering in a building on Sunday morning for worship. No, the church is a spiritual house, built up by living stones, built around the cornerstone, which is Jesus. The church is a community of priests who offer spiritual sacrifices. We do church, empowered by the Spirit, as we live out our lives as a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices in the way we live with each other and make our way in the world. This pandemic is helping us reflect on what being the church is really about.

            The pandemic is also revealing to us what is available to us to sustain our faith, and even to grow in our faith, when we can’t meet together for worship on Sunday. When we don’t have that Sunday morning worship experience, what other resources do we have to stay connected with God? How do we sustain our faith when we can’t be together? I guess what I am getting at is that now we can’t gather for worship, for us to continue to nourish our faith we have to get back to basics. We have to make use of the resources provided for us so that we can gain nourishment. Peter may even be thinking of this when he writes about longing for the pure, spiritual milk. What is that pure, spiritual milk available for us so that we can grow in our salvation?

            I believe the answer lies in devotional practices. What devotional or spiritual practices are you using these days to keep you connected with God? There are so many to choose from.

            The first that comes to my mind is prayer, having a conversation with God. Remember, a conversation is a dialogue, not a monologue. Prayer involves talking to God and listening to what God may have to say. It is a rhythm of speaking and silence. You can pray written prayers or just say what’s on your mind. Then you listen to your heart. Pay attention to what comes to your mind. Simply be still and know the presence of God. All of that goes into the spiritual milk of prayer.

            Scripture reading is another resource we have to keep us connected with God. What should you read? The Psalms are always a great place to go. Every day just take a few minutes to read a psalm or two. You may be surprised that the psalm you read puts into words what you are feeling. Or read through the gospels, maybe a chapter a day. If you want to be even more disciplined, look for a reading schedule that helps you read through the whole Bible in one year. Reading the Bible daily is spiritual milk for us.

            I have heard a number of people say that they have been listening to music a lot more than usual. Music can be a powerful way to connect us with God. Martin Luther famously said that music is like praying twice. Sometimes we don’t know how to put our feelings into words. But music can help us get in touch with what we are feeling. Music can lift our spirits. Music can open us up to the presence of God. Can you give yourself some time to listen to some gospel music and even sing along? If you have the skill to play an instrument, how might playing help you sense a connection with God? Music can be a source of spiritual milk for us.

            What are other sources of spiritual milk? There is the practice of journaling. You can write down what you are thinking or about what is happening. Imagine the gift that would be for future generations who can read the thoughts of an ancestor who lived through the great pandemic of 2020. You could have a prayer journal, writing down your prayer requests or the answers to prayer you haver received. There is the practice of walking. You could multi-task and pray while you walk. I have especially found that helpful when I needed to clear my head or work off some stress. And, while you are at it, pay attention to your surroundings while you walk. What does the air smell like? How does the breeze feel against your skin? Look around at the flowers and the budding trees, the puffy white clouds against a dark blue sky. Listen to the birdsong. Take your time as you walk and pray so you can pay attention. Journaling, walking, paying attention to your surroundings, these are sources of spiritual milk that can nourish our connection with God.

            What about a breath prayer? As you inhale, say in your mind “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God” and as you exhale say “have mercy on me.” Or make up your own phrase that you repeat as you breathe in and breathe out. A breath prayer can be a simple way to draw our attention back to God and nourish the connection, to grow in faith. Spiritual milk.

            Prayer, scripture reading, music, journaling, walking, breath prayer, these are just some of the resources, the spiritual milk, that is available to us so that we can continue to nourish our faith in these times when we can’t gather for worship on Sunday morning. They help anchor us in our faith when life has gotten all topsy-turvy. This apocalyptic pandemic has revealed to us that the church is about much more than meeting in a building on Sunday morning. And it has revealed to us that we have a lot more resources to grow in our faith than Sunday morning worship.

            How are you doing with the offering of your spiritual sacrifices? Consider what you need to do in the midst of this time of anxiety and stress to live your life marked by kindness, honesty, genuineness, gratitude, and praise. How are you doing accessing the spiritual milk that is available to us, like prayer, scripture reading, music, journaling, walking, paying attention? If you are nourishing your spirit with these resources, keep doing it. If you haven’t, consider taking up one or two of these spiritual practices. By partaking in this spiritual milk that nourishes our faith, we will have the strength required to offer the spiritual sacrifices asked of us as we make our way in the world.

            I encourage you to allow this pandemic to be revelatory. Let this experience reveal to you what church is really all about and what resources you have to keep yourself spiritually nourished, connected with God and one another. The corona virus cannot stop the church from being the church. We all just have to be church differently in the days ahead. The Spirit, who dwells with us, will show us the way.

Enduring Unjust Suffering

Based on 1 Peter 2:18-25

First delivered May 3, 2020

Rev. Dr. Kevin Orr 

I have to admit, the first time I read this passage from 1 Peter, one of the assigned texts for this Sunday, my first thought was to give it a hard pass. Why in the world would I spend time talking about a passage of scripture that seems to condone slavery and encourages slaves to suffer nobly at the hands of cruel masters? It made me think of how this passage must have been the go to passage for Christians who used the Bible to show that slavery was biblical. How many master sanctioned church services for their slaves had this passage as the text for the sermon for their slaves to hear? If I had my way, this would be one of the passages that would end up on the cutting room floor.

But then, as I thought about it, there may be a message here that we can receive even though we live in a completely different context, where slavery is banned and where physical violence can lead to assault charges. The times we live in are so different from the times in which these Christians Peter wrote to were living. But there are things about the human experience that are timeless. And one of those experiences is unjust suffering. Maybe it was a bully that picked on you constantly when you were a kid. Or you have been falsely accused of something that caused people to treat you unfairly. Or a random stranger mugged you as you were walking down the street. Or you were followed around in a store because of the color of your skin. Unjust suffering is something we all can relate to. At some point, all of us have to endure unjust suffering, which is at the root of what this passage is about. So, maybe there is something we can get from this passage, even though a surface hearing of it really turns us off.

Let’s get some context so we have a better idea of what Peter was dealing with when he wrote these words to these Christians. The community of Jesus followers was small and they existed on the margins of society. A lot of people looked on them as some weird cult who worshipped a crucified god. They were all picked on and harassed. They had no political power and could not turn to the courts for reliable mediation of justice. They were powerless and vulnerable. And Christian slaves even more so. No one was going to look on them with understanding. No one would give them a break. They were all outcasts.

With this given context, Peter is concerned for their survival as a community. They were all having to pay a big price just being Christian. They had sacrificed their standing in the community. They had jeopardized their well-being. It probably wouldn’t take much for a mob to push them out of the community all together. At the same time, Peter wanted the community to maximize the potential for them to draw others to the faith. They still needed to be salt and light in a society that looked down on them and threatened their existence. This was a difficult situation that Peter was writing in to. How to protect this community and encourage them to offer a faithful witness of the kingdom of God?

First, I think it is significant that Peter is giving space in his letter to address slaves. That in itself lifts up their dignity. It may also be the case that a large number, maybe even the majority of Christians in that community were slaves. He doesn’t give any advice to slave masters. Maybe because there were no slave masters who were Christians?

Peter does not call the Christians who were slaves to run away from their cruel masters. He did not call the church to organize a resistance to the institution of slavery. He did not call the slaves to rise up in revolt. In this context, in that time, slavery as an institution wasn’t going anywhere and the Christians, being small, powerless and vulnerable, were in no position to end this scourge. It was the situation in which they all had to live and bear witness to the love of God.

So, Peter encourages the slaves to suffer from the hand of their cruel masters in the same way Jesus suffered unjustly: by not returning abuse, by not threatening, and by entrusting themselves to God who judges justly. Peter called on them to endure the pain of unjust suffering with the knowledge that God will notice and give them credit for their noble behavior. It will not be forgotten. They will be rewarded for their noble dignity when all are judged on the last day.

It really is something, how Peter says to the slaves that when they endure unjust suffering, they are sharing in what Jesus suffered. Of all the people who can most relate to the suffering of Jesus, it is Christian slaves who are beaten by cruel masters. I think Peter is trying to communicate to them that in a weird way it is a privilege for them to endure this kind of suffering because through it they can more fully relate to what Jesus experienced on their behalf.

See, Peter writes in vs. 21 that Christ suffered for them. It was because of their sin that Jesus suffered and died. Vs. 24, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness.” He’s telling the slaves that they are complicit in Jesus’ unjust suffering. But this is not meant to be a guilt trip. It is meant to be a word of liberation. They have been set free from the punishment of sin. Jesus took the punishment unjustly on their behalf. So, they don’t have to worry about that anymore. All they need to focus on now is to do the right thing, to live a righteous life. It was to their benefit that Jesus did this. And, having endured unjust suffering themselves, they can more fully appreciate the price that was paid for their liberation from the punishment of sin. They can take the suffering they endure into a larger perspective that gives them the strength to endure and even find affirmation of their worth because of the privilege they have to share in the suffering of Jesus. In this suffering they must endure they can find personal dignity and power to rise above and stay committed to the way of Jesus.

We obviously live in a completely different time, where human trafficking is outlawed. When we experience injustice, we have ways to address that injustice through the justice system. We can call the police. We can file a lawsuit. We can organize or participate in a boycott. We can write letters to our representatives in congress. We can vote in people that commit to address the injustices we identify in society. There are a lot of ways we can respond proactively to address injustice in the world. We don’t have to just lay down and take it. We don’t have to endure nobly like Peter is encouraging these slaves to do.

Still, is there wisdom here? I wonder if in this passage of scripture there are some directions on how to respond to unjust suffering that can be helpful for us in our day and age. Let’s take a look.

Again, look how Peter directs slaves to respond to unjust suffering the way Jesus responded. In vs. 23, Peter writes that when Jesus suffered unjustly he did not respond with abuse when he was abused. Jesus did not threaten the people that were abusing him. He entrusted himself to God. Jesus gave an example of how to endure unjust suffering with dignity and nobility. He suffered like a true king should suffer. No hitting back. No running of the mouth. No calling in his posse. Jesus just let it happen. He took it, entrusting that somehow God would work it all out.

Is this example Jesus left us helpful for how we deal with our experiences of unjust suffering? Think for a minute an experience you have had in which you were being treated unfairly. Or maybe you were engaged in some struggle to address an unjust situation. I heard someone say recently that in his family he was taught not to start a fight, but he was allowed to finish it. That sounds reasonable. Does finishing the fight include hitting back? Making threats? Calling in backup? Maybe it depends on the situation. It’s one thing to be facing down a bully. But you can’t beat up an unjust system or a faceless and nameless bureaucrat who rejects your insurance claim for no good reason.

Just think for a second. What comes to your mind when you think of a time when you were unfairly treated? How did you respond? Think about how Jesus responded to his unjust suffering. He didn’t hit back. He didn’t threaten. He didn’t call in reinforcements. He let it happen, entrusting his life to the care of God. Is that how you responded? What might have happened if you responded the way Jesus did?

Now, there is one thing I want to stress here. When Peter is writing to these slaves and given them some guidance on how to respond to instances of unjust suffering the way Jesus responded to his, this does not mean that Peter is condoning slavery. Nor, obviously, is Peter condoning unjust suffering. When Christians in the past used this scripture as biblical support for the institution of slavery or to tell slaves to keep their place when they are beaten, that is a misreading of the scripture. Here, slavery and unjust suffering provides the context for these Christians to demonstrate their capacity to endure, to remain faithful in hard times. This passage condones endurance, not injustice. But, it should be no surprise to us. The scriptures have often been misinterpreted in order to prop up power and privilege that hurts people. Another sermon.

When I think about the guidance Peter is giving to these slaves, I think about the method of non-violent resistance adopted by civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. and his colleague Joseph Lowery, a United Methodist minister who once led the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who died this year, Mar. 27, at the age of 98. In their struggle against segregation, a system that was supported biblically by some racist Christians, they urged non-violence as an effective tactic in their struggle. By not hitting back and not threatening, but suffering with dignity, trusting in the God who judges justly, they believed that their noble suffering would shame those who perpetrated the harm, that eventually God would change the hearts of people. They believed that the eradication of racist policies ultimately is not a matter of changed laws but of changed hearts. Malcom X, Stokley Carmichael, they chose a more aggressive resistance against a racist system. We can debate over which tactics are more effective in the dismantling of the unjust system of racism. But the point I’m making here is that when we consider what Peter is writing in this letter and how he refers to the example that Jesus left us, it is a method to resist injustice in a non-violent way that at least leaves open the possibility of change in the hearts of people.

I also keep thinking of health care workers and public health officials who are today being harassed by people for doing their jobs to help protect our health. There is a lot of fear in our society right now. People are reaching the end of their ropes. The economic damage occurring right now is real. I understand earlier in our response to the pandemic, it was easy to say that people’s lives are more important than the economy. But shutting down our economy like we have is causing a great deal of stress. It’s enough to cause some people to get aggressive, targeting their frustrations at the very people who are trying to keep us all healthy. These health care workers and public health officials have to be patient, keep doing their jobs, doing the right thing, even when they receive unfair abuse from people. There is this new phrase you hear a lot lately that goes, “Not all heroes wear capes.” When I see what some of these health workers have to deal with when they are the recipients of unfair abuse, it just makes what they are doing even more heroic to me. One would hope that with time for reflection, some of those who are aggressively protesting all that we are doing as a society to try to save lives will rethink what they have done. I, for one, am even more inspired and grateful for those who are working so hard to help keep us healthy. They are heroes.

There is something else we can take from what Peter wrote to these slaves. It is the understanding that Jesus is in solidarity with those who are victims of unjust suffering and abuse. When we are treated unfairly, when we get punished for doing the right thing, we can know that Jesus understands. He also knows what it is like to receive abuse for doing what God had called him to do. We talked about this last week, that Jesus was destined before the foundation of the world to go to the cross, to suffer and die, for our sins. He was innocent and suffered more than any of us ever will. So, when we experience unjust suffering in our own lives, we can know that Jesus knows what we are going through. He’s been there.

And that’s the other thing that is helpful to remember: Jesus suffered unjustly on behalf of all of us. None of us are innocent and pure. As the scriptures say, we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. What Peter writes here, in vs. 24, Jesus bore our sins on the cross. We are all complicit in Jesus’ suffering. Now we can feel about this in a lot of different ways. You can feel defensive. You can feel guilty, or maybe feel ashamed. I want to encourage us to take in what Peter is saying with a sense of freedom. Freedom? Yes. There is freedom in acknowledging that you are not innocent and pure. There is freedom in acknowledging your complicity in Jesus’ suffering. You are now free from having to stress about trying to protect your moral purity, what sometimes is derided as virtue signaling. Other people call it being self-righteous, or holier-than-thou. Let all that go. Just acknowledge the truth: you and I are not innocent and we shouldn’t pretend to be. Don’t even stress over that.

If we can acknowledge what Jesus has done for us, dying on the cross to free us from our sins, as Peter writes, it’s like getting a monkey off your back. It’s like taking chains off your arms. You can focus your energies on doing what’s right. Don’t make excuses. Don’t worry about what people might think about you. Don’t stress over trying to protect your reputation. You are already clear about who you are: someone who has done bad things in your life, but Jesus died on the cross to release you of that, and nothing can separate you from God’s love. So, let that go and instead, as Peter writes, live for righteousness. Do the right thing, even if you get blowback from some.

You have heard the old saying, “No good deed is left unpunished.” This is painfully true sometimes. Please hear me, as we have reflected on this passage of scripture, this is not meant to diminish the pain of being treated unfairly. The pain is real. This is suffering, after all. It hurts. And, like so much of scripture, what Peter is doing as he points to the example of Jesus is to frame it as just that, an example, something to aspire to. Of course, we won’t always get it right. Of course, we will often push back. We might hit back. We might threaten a lawsuit. When we are victims of unjust suffering, entrusting our lives to God may not seem to be enough. When we are hurting, we are not always our best selves. We do and say things all the time in the moment that in hindsight we wish we could take back. That’s being human.

Still, the example of Jesus remains for us. He has walked the path of unjust suffering and we can follow in his steps. We can choose to refrain from hitting back. We can choose to not make threats. We can choose to console ourselves with the knowledge that God knows what is true. We do have the capacity to endure unfair treatment by trusting in God, the one who loves us no matter what. By trusting in that love which comes from God, we have all we need to keep loving. We can focus on doing the right thing, no matter what.