I thought I'd spend some time with 1 Peter and use some of the images in that letter to look at the radical life meant to be ours as followers of Jesus.
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 your in abundance. When one is an exile, you are away from your homeland. The Jews in Babylon were once in Exile. They were living in a foreign land. In those days, it even meant that the land had a different 'god' from you. Being an exile placed one in a life situation that was thoroughly alien - from cultural events to religious expectations. The writer of 1 Peter is not addressing a group that has been ripped away from their homeland - like in the case of the Jews and Babylon. The writer is addressing the people who lived in their own towns throughout what is now Turkey. So, they were people in their homeland. And yet - they are exiles - strangers - aliens. We must remember that this letter is to ones who have been chosen and shaped by the Holy Spirit to be followers of Jesus. "Obedient to Jesus" is to be a follower of the way of Jesus life. Jesus 'life' was and always will be an alien life within the cultures of the day. From previous devotions on 'Satan' remember that this would mean living in a way contrary to the mimetic violence of the prevailing culture or winds of the day. Followers of Jesus will mimic the non-violence of the Reign of God. That - makes us and the folks in the days of 1 Peter - exiles. Tomorrow I'd like to comment on the sprinkling of blood. Connection: It is easy to walk along and with the culture in which we live. In so many ways, we are expected to be people who 'fit in' even when that means we reflect the violence of the culture. This violence fits on a spectrum that may begin with anxiety that causes us to point fingers, blame, or simply withdraw from other - and move all the way to out right acts of brutality and murder. So we must be ones who are constantly testing the winds blowing around us. Are we being swept up into the ongoing violence that has been around since the beginning of time - or are we being swept up by the creative wind of the Spirit? In the middle of what is so common, O God, you begin to shape us and make us into a people who reflect the image of your Beloved Jesus. Remind us to mark our lives with the cross of Christ and then step out into this day with that mark serving to empower our lives. Amen. |
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