Today begins a skip and shuffle through the letter given the name 1 Peter. It will be a reflective walk and will not hit upon every word and sentence.
Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen and destined by God the Father and sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ and to be sprinkled with his blood: May grace and peace be yours in abundance.
The letter begins with powerful images. When one is an exile, it can be in one's own backyard. When one begins to view life through a lens that is not being used by others, we literally see things - ordinary and everyday things - quite differently. To those who have been, as the text suggests: chosen...destined...sanctified...sprinkled, they are out there in the world living on the edge. The edge is on the frontier. The edge is away from the center where it is easier to be connected. Out there in those communities of the faithful followers of Jesus who are probably in the minority and living contrary to the prevailing life within these regions of what is now Turkey, there can be a great sense of being disconnected - forgotten. When one begins to trust this story of God for us - to the depths of Jesus' story - some of the ordinary ways of running our lives will be changed. Those changes can leave us at arm's length from family and neighbors and our enemies. We become strange...out of place...skipping to another beat - Aliens. When we are aliens and we live within a context in which our minority status will make us stand out, it can be an awful place to be. It is awful because I don't think anyone likes to be looked at as strange or out-of-step or walking out of line. The followers of Jesus who are receiving this letter from Peter are being connected. Yes, they are aliens and yes they are out on the edge...but they are actually quite connected. The God who brings all things into being is the God who has grasped those who live now in this strange situation. That purposeful connection to God is the beginning of the power that is able to sustain us whenever we look around and find ourselves utterly alone. For each of us in those places, the greeting is direct: May grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Connection: We may enter this day as aliens but we are to be reminded that we are anchored to a foundation that will be available to us no matter what storms hit or what life situations come whipping in to turn us over. I would suggest that we need to let others into our lives in order to experience that peace and grace that is so promised to all of us.
Lord of the Outsider and those who are Strangers within this day, be present with us to hold us up and encourage us when we are in those many places within our lives when we feel as though we are left out to dry...maybe abandoned...maybe simply forgotten...and alone. Come and be for us the peace that will quite our anxious hearts and give us space to see how your word comes alive for us no matter what the day brings. Amen.
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