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.