1 Peter 2 19 – 25
I expect you heard the about the businesses in town which have installed sprinkler systems in
their doorways to flush away the rough sleepers who doss down in their semi shelter overnight.
As it says in the ad, just spray and walk away.
We are constantly faced with difficult situations – because I’m not saying there is an easy
solution to rough sleepers, let alone the problems of artificial intelligence, artificial birth
technologies, genetic engineering, anthropogenic climate change (that means we’re
responsible for it), and so on and on – and on. The words artificial, anthropogenic, engineering
point to the fact that all these problems are consequences of human actions. Huge problems –
and the church often says, why don’t the Bishops say something about this?
Well they do – but Bishops aren’t reported much unless they say something about you know
what. And in any case these issues are of enormous technical complexity. Not many Bishops
are specialists in these areas.
Now there are individuals who have a special calling from God to engage with these public
debates. In the 1970s E F Schumacher, a great economist and planner, wrote a very influential
book, Small is Beautiful, which laid out how humanity is recklessly wasting our finite natural
resources and depriving future generations ; Schumacher, a strong catholic helped initiate the
environmental movement which continues to grow in strength..
But we are not great economists or planners; indeed as St Paul says (I Cor 1:26 - 7) not many of
you when you were called by God were wise by human standards, nor influential nor of noble
birth – but God chose the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, the weak things to
shame the strong.
And so we should not mind our ignorance and ineffectiveness and unimportance in society but
rather rejoice that, by the mercy of God, Jesus Christ is our wisdom.
For Paul says that we do have a message – a message of wisdom – not worldly or scientific
wisdom, not political wisdom, but God’s secret wisdom(1 Cor2:7)
So what could that be – this wisdom of God;
– what could Paul be talking about – what is this hidden wisdom - this special knowledge that
Jesus Christ has for us to speak out into the world –
Saint Paul says, it is the mind of Christ (1Cor 2:16 )
it is the knowledge of humility, service, love and suffering, the personal knowledge of these
things as Jesus Christ himself, risen from the dead, communicates them to us. We may not be
academic experts in anything. But we Christian should be specialists, experts in the knowledge
of humility – and service – love and humility; – for these are the things that especially mark
Jesus Christ.
And if they mark him out, shouldn’t we bend all our efforts to understand them, grow into
them, as he revealed them. And they are in fact the things that God’s spirit is working into our
hearts and lives – the Spirit like yeast working in the dough of our lives – and aren’t we in
ourselves pretty awkward sticky resistant shapeless unlovely doughy lumps – and hasn’t God
got a lot of work to do to turn us into a new fresh light loaf. But the Spirit of God is working in
us.
So we should be specialists in love, in service, in humility and in suffering –and we should be
able to say something positive and helpful about these graces and works of the spirit of God,
these characteristics of the mind of Christ which God is forming in us.
Our reading from the letter to Peter addresses the matter of suffering in Jesus service.
For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly (1
Peter2:19)
Actually Peter is talking to a specific ancient situation - he is talking to members of the church
who are slaves – and he is telling them how to respond if their owners punish them unjustly
The astounding situation of the church in classical society was that a body of people joined in
the deepest unity actually contained slave owners and slaves. That is breaking down the
barriers! Peter speaks to Christian slaves with non-Christian owners. What if you are beaten
unjustly?
I find that people remember the unfair punishments they received at school very vividly –
imagine as being unjustly punished, flogged, as an adult.
But Peter says to them, if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's
approval
God’s approval bears you up when the human injustice tries to tear you down. God knows your
innocence – God assigns you the infinite value of one for whom his son Jesus Christ died. To
endure – to keep on doing right – in the midst of unjust pain – this brings God’s approval.
Because what enables this is faith in God, trust in God’s wisdom and purpose.
Modern whistleblowers tame great risks and often receive great injustice for the truth.
Recently Herve Falciani, an IT expert, exposed financial wrongdoing at HSBC’s Swiss bank. His
evidence sent out to national govenments revealed that the bank had turned a blind eye to
arms dealers, criminals and wealthy tax evaders. The heir to the Nina Ricci perfume empire and
the chairman of Spain’s Santander bank were both successfully prosecuted for huge tax evasion
as were many others For this public spirited act the Swiss courts sentenced him to 5 years jail –
fortunately in his absence! but he can never return to Switzerland.
This is unjust - but at least Falciani achieved something. The flogged slave had no such comfort.
It was just unjust. But he or she did have a clear conscience. They knew they were not guilty.
And because God knew they did not have to become embittered and revengeful. They knew
God forgave the wrongs they had committed – and they knew to forgive.
And really this specific situation speaks to all sorts of suffering. For most of our suffering –
physical suffering – is not directly the result of our actions. Why does one have cancer and
another not; one lose a child and another not; one die young and another die old. It is not a
matter of justice on the whole.
How do we meet unexplained suffering? Peter says “to this you have been called” (21).
When suffering comes it comes with a call to God to meet it in Christ’s way. For Peter says, if
without deserving it being aware of God, you endure pain – you have God’s approval.
Endurance – bearing up with faith, hoping and trusting in the living God, not becoming
embittered but demonstrating in your life he keeping grace of God - this is a great testimony to
God, your witness to God.
In a more obvious way this idea of the suffering witness is clear in what Jesus says about those
who go through active persecution for their faith. In Luke 21:13 Jesus says, they will arrest you
and persecute you; they will hand you over and you will be brought before kings and governors
because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify.
But what is true in special situations of unjust suffering is also true of suffering in general
And so Peter says in our reading “to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for
you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps”. (21). Suffering - pain,
stress, misery, grief, loss, - when it occurs – is a calling – or rather the faithful steadfast
enduring of it for Jesus glory is a calling. And suffering is a way – the way of following Jesus
steps.
Now we are not to seek suffering, not to look for martyrdom; but when it comes we are to
meet it with Jesus as our companion. One of the worst trials of suffering is the sense of
meaningless that comes – this suffering is for nothing. The Christian says, no, here I have been
called to follow Jesus into his suffering. He suffered innocently above all.
Peter says "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth."(22)
And he met suffering innocently
When he was abused, he did not return abuse; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges
justly.(23)
Jesus death on the cross looked like the cruel victory of worldly powers, like the triumph of
crude violence and hatred – it looked like utter defeat
But Peter says, with all the New Testament
He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for
righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.
Who then knows the spiritual power released by your faithfulness in the midst of suffering?
And so to conclude.
Am I saying that we should do nothing about suffering - not at all!
Christians have always been in the forefront of the battle against suffering – against blindness,
leprosy, poverty – we follow Christ who came to restore sight to the blind, to make the lame
walk, the deaf to hear.
But when suffering does come – then in the words of the old hymn – take what he gives – and
praise him still through good and ill, who ever lives.
We Christians are to follow Christ – to be experts in humility – following Christ, the Messiah,
who gave up the glory of heaven to take the humble place of a poor carpenter in country
village; to be experts in service – as Christ served, helping, healing, labouring, gathering,
teaching – as Christ loved – forgiving, reconciling, encouraging, tenderly leading, restoring – and
suffering – as Christ’s love, service and humility were gathered into one, offering himself to die
on the cross in its torture and shame for us – suffering – and entering into his glory, the glory of
the salvation of the world. Let us at least be expert in these things.