Today we will continue with 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.
For "Those who desire life and desire to see good days, let them keep their tongues from evil and their lips from speaking deceit; let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
The way of this peaceable Reign is older than the stories of Jesus and Jesus' followers. It is the way of the God who call all God's beloved into a new life. We are invited, along with Jesus, into this 'contrary' life that has a history of turning people's heads - not just to see it, but to also turn around and go along this 'contrary' path. From the beginning, God's loving creative power was building into all of humankind the face of God's loving self. It is not only a possible life into which we can live, it is also a life that we know is manifest in Jesus - the truly human one. The face of the Lord is the life that comes as this unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another....
It is no pipe-dream. It is a part of the life that is handed to us. This is where we throw water in our faces to remind us - again - whose we are and what face is now our face before all the powers of the world.
Connection: Toto often - even among religious folk - we live for differences rather than within a spirit of unity. Divisiveness is the agent of 'the way things are' and it must always be shown to be a part of what is evil among us. We are to be people of a contrary peacefulness that will at times cause division as the world's ways try to run away from us or attempt to put us away.
In the middle of what is so common, O God, you are already making us into an uncommon people. That makes us a blessing in and through all our days. Amen.
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