Now onto something other than wives and husbands - 1 Peter 3:8-12 Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing. This is only the open lines of the passage I cited above. I think it is bountiful. The 'contrary' way - that is to 'repay with a blessing' - is the power of life that transforms the world. Rather than retaliation or retribution or tribal 'eye for an eye', the followers of Jesus bless those who are perpetrators of evil and abuse. I know, that doesn't sound right and it would be easy to argue that too many people are abused because they do nothing back or they love rather than hate. Yes, that is true. At the same time, the Christ of God still calls us into a contrary life that does not put on the life of the world but rather the life of the radical Reigning power of God - love. The risk in being a part of this power of love is that the world will not abide by it. We all know what happens when love is rejected. There is humiliation and rejection and even death. But - the Reigning power of our God is persistent - never-ending - eternal - beyond our control. The way sounds simple: a unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Each one of these qualities is enough to break the cycle of violence. Each one of these qualities is enough to get a person rejected and put out. In the face of such different ways to go, we are encouraged to be those contrary people - those followers of Jesus - those blessed one who become for the world a blessing. Connection: The question always walking with us as followers of Jesus is simple - Is there a contrary way to be here in this place and time? We may be disrupter - but it is as people who heal and make whole. To act in such a way does disrupt the fabric of the world. We are the blessed disrupters. In the middle of what is so common, O God, we are gifted to Amen. |
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