After skipping a brief section about elders, we move into today's text. This will be the final devotion from 1 Peter.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of sufferings. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.
We are never out of the range of our God who is present to swoop us up even though we are experiencing the worst of time. The call to faithfulness is one that is not determined by what is going on around us. That is, we are called to remain faithful no matter what is happening around us. It is so easy to be pulled away from the path of grace. In fact, the 'roaring lion' is not simply frightening. Rather, it often has its way with us - to has the ability to control us simply by its roar. When that is the condition of our lives, we become convinced that the way of our Lord, Jesus, is not really the way for us. Therefore, we turn and live according to the roars of the world. Here we are simply being told to resist such a voice - a threat - a beast as this. In the middle of all things we are told of this God who will make things new and bring us life - just as is promised. This is the strength of our days.
Connection: There can be quite a bit of roaring going on in our world. It often does a good job at limiting our lives. Remember, today we are encouraged to go on living along the way of our Lord even when the room rumbles with threat.
We give you thanks, gracious Lord, for being alongside us through all things. It can be so easy to trust other power and other sounds of greatness - but you alone love us and remain with us in and through all things. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Friday, December 29, 2006
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
28 December 2006
Today we will continue in chapter four of 1 Peter.
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? (4:12-17)
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that is taking place among you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory which is the Spirit of God, is resting on you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, a criminal, or even as a mischief maker. Yet if any of you suffers as a Christian, do not consider it a disgrace, but glorify God because you bear this name. For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God; if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? (4:12-17)
It is quite important to make sure we are dealing with the right reason for the suffering that may come. It is because we follow the way of Jesus. It is because the vision of the Reign of God become flesh among us. It is because we risk loving beyond any barrier - no matter where we find a basis for the barrier. Today in our country, it doesn't take long to hear Christians talking about the suffering they must undergo. Unfortunately, it is what I would call middle-class comfort suffering. It takes place when someone at a department store doesn't say 'Merry Christmas' but rather substitutes 'Happy Holidays.' It is when a song is pulled off of a choral program list at a public school. It is when no time is offered for teacher led prayers or there can be no posting of the ten commandments in public buildings. None of this is the suffer referred to in this letter. In fact, if we think it is suffering, that thinking may be one of the greatest threats to the faith - trivialization! Today's text considers what might happen if the Christians followed the way of Jesus. It might not fly. It may be rejected. Those who would be persecuting would do so because of an intolerance for the way we demonstrate the life within God's Reign - already.
Connection: Some people try not to get caught up in the holiday rush of things. It would be just as good to not get caught up in the 'poor us' mentality that too often is heard from Christians today.
Lord, remind us of your loving ways and how we are each invited to take that love as the foundation upon which we can live and then to live from that love as though we are the ones who demonstrate this love in the world today. As you have promised, be with us when this love is not a welcome guest in the places we seek to stay. Amen.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
27 December 2006
With the Christmas weekend over and an extra day for a break, we go back into 1 Peter and pick up in the fourth chapter.
The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. (4:7-11)
Back in the days of the writer, folks probably thought the end was near. Yes, there were notions of Jesus coming back within the early life of the church. But then again, the end of life is always just moments away - who knows. To live as though we trust that the Lord will be with us and it is near to the end, is not to be a position of fear. It is an opportunity to live without fear. In fact, we are invited to live within the unending hospitality of the one we follow - now! This is not in order to get a reward nor is it in order to forgo some punishment. Rather, it is a reminder of what we have now and what kind of opportunity we are given for life that is usually forgotten or ignored. If we are near the end of all things, it is quite appropriate for stewards of the grace of the God to let the graciousness of the Reign of the Christ show through us. I would suggest that we are at the end of all things....every day. With that in mind - and just as much in our heart - the life that was demonstrated by Jesus is ours to share for it has been handed over to us and for us. Of course it isn't something we readily take on into this day. but this life of grace is there and...the serving...the love...the conversations of hope and care...the support for others...the strength to go beyond the limits we put on ourselves, awaits our participation. Do not fear!! Live!
Connection: The babble about end times that so often does nothing within our culture but cause fear...put lots of money in a few preachers pockets...turn mediocre writers into the writers of many books...and make people view others as mere things to conquer with faith. Well, it is the end of time with the special intent that we each become free form such lies and free for one another in an arena of love that has no conditions. What a way to go...what a way to begin.
This is your day, O God, you take our hands and you walk with us into the unknown and yet it is that which we face even now. Be our encouragement so that as we step off into your eternal Reign, it will already be the source of new life and hope. Amen.
The end of all things is near; therefore be serious and discipline yourselves for the sake of your prayers. Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without complaining. Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. (4:7-11)
Back in the days of the writer, folks probably thought the end was near. Yes, there were notions of Jesus coming back within the early life of the church. But then again, the end of life is always just moments away - who knows. To live as though we trust that the Lord will be with us and it is near to the end, is not to be a position of fear. It is an opportunity to live without fear. In fact, we are invited to live within the unending hospitality of the one we follow - now! This is not in order to get a reward nor is it in order to forgo some punishment. Rather, it is a reminder of what we have now and what kind of opportunity we are given for life that is usually forgotten or ignored. If we are near the end of all things, it is quite appropriate for stewards of the grace of the God to let the graciousness of the Reign of the Christ show through us. I would suggest that we are at the end of all things....every day. With that in mind - and just as much in our heart - the life that was demonstrated by Jesus is ours to share for it has been handed over to us and for us. Of course it isn't something we readily take on into this day. but this life of grace is there and...the serving...the love...the conversations of hope and care...the support for others...the strength to go beyond the limits we put on ourselves, awaits our participation. Do not fear!! Live!
Connection: The babble about end times that so often does nothing within our culture but cause fear...put lots of money in a few preachers pockets...turn mediocre writers into the writers of many books...and make people view others as mere things to conquer with faith. Well, it is the end of time with the special intent that we each become free form such lies and free for one another in an arena of love that has no conditions. What a way to go...what a way to begin.
This is your day, O God, you take our hands and you walk with us into the unknown and yet it is that which we face even now. Be our encouragement so that as we step off into your eternal Reign, it will already be the source of new life and hope. Amen.
Friday, December 22, 2006
22 December 2006
The week ends with more from 1 Peter.
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin), so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God. You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry. They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme. But they will have to given an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.
This is one of the passages I thought I would skip over. Alas, here we are. There is much about conduct here and some of it is directed to the separation that is being urged from what was the pattern of life that was once the Christian's and is still around them. Some of that had to do with the various guilds and clubs and the banquets and feasts associated with them. One thing is clear, there seems to be a separation from that kind of lifestyle and the Christians are going about things differently in life. But...I want to comment about that. Today, a number of Christians are trying to separate themselves from the general population by setting up systems of alternate education and social groups. It is as though there is a need for some today to live in a world of the "clean" and the "unclean" so as to protect themselves. One of my concerns about this is that they buy into the huge materialistic aspect of the culture and yet think nothing of that. Listen some time to the very "well known" preachers of the day. Very often, it is all about money. Yes, there are words about Jesus and the grace of God, but the lead message is how trusting God will make your rich...will give you all that you ask for in your life. That...is just as much the blaspheme as is that life that is addressed in the text. But today, thrown into the hopper is how Jesus wills riches for us. This is a delusion. Wealth has nothing to do with the Reign of God...unless it is all used for the welfare of others. You won't hear that today. Too many churches fall into the same "me first" spirituality that makes feel people good...but it produces the same values as the culture.
Connection: Yes, there is a life that is contrary to the way of the world. And yet, it is much more broad than what we sometimes want to accept.
Come, Lord God, and strengthen us for the life of love and mercy and hope that turns us to one another and make us a community unlike any other - one ruled by your grace. Amen.
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin), so as to live for the rest of your earthly life no longer by human desires but by the will of God. You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry. They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme. But they will have to given an accounting to him who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was proclaimed even to the dead so that, though they had been judged in the flesh as everyone is judged, they might live in the spirit as God does.
This is one of the passages I thought I would skip over. Alas, here we are. There is much about conduct here and some of it is directed to the separation that is being urged from what was the pattern of life that was once the Christian's and is still around them. Some of that had to do with the various guilds and clubs and the banquets and feasts associated with them. One thing is clear, there seems to be a separation from that kind of lifestyle and the Christians are going about things differently in life. But...I want to comment about that. Today, a number of Christians are trying to separate themselves from the general population by setting up systems of alternate education and social groups. It is as though there is a need for some today to live in a world of the "clean" and the "unclean" so as to protect themselves. One of my concerns about this is that they buy into the huge materialistic aspect of the culture and yet think nothing of that. Listen some time to the very "well known" preachers of the day. Very often, it is all about money. Yes, there are words about Jesus and the grace of God, but the lead message is how trusting God will make your rich...will give you all that you ask for in your life. That...is just as much the blaspheme as is that life that is addressed in the text. But today, thrown into the hopper is how Jesus wills riches for us. This is a delusion. Wealth has nothing to do with the Reign of God...unless it is all used for the welfare of others. You won't hear that today. Too many churches fall into the same "me first" spirituality that makes feel people good...but it produces the same values as the culture.
Connection: Yes, there is a life that is contrary to the way of the world. And yet, it is much more broad than what we sometimes want to accept.
Come, Lord God, and strengthen us for the life of love and mercy and hope that turns us to one another and make us a community unlike any other - one ruled by your grace. Amen.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
21 December 2006
Yesterday 1 Peter worked on our suffering, today we pick up with Christ's suffering.
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which is prefigured, now saves you - not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. (3:18-22)
So suffering for someone who we would never think we should suffer - one of them...one of the bad ones...one of the dirty ones...one of the unrighteous. What a dynamic picture to remember. Once and for all. In that movement of suffering, we hear a whole new story for the world. It is not all about me or us or my people or a chosen few...it is about all. Baptism doesn't safe guard us and it doesn't make us clean. Baptism brings new life that has its beginning and end in the way of Jesus - suffering for all and nothing less. We are brought into the new light and this new way of taking part in the life of the world. We announce -with the living of our lives- what God has done through Jesus and now continues to do through us. This is not so much about story telling as it is about story living...and the living...the standing with and for all of "those"...tells the story as it unfolds in ordinary lives in to the way of Jesus. We now live within the domain of the one who has lived contrary to the patterns of life and suffered for do that. That domain is not able to be controlled by any power and so we go on following our Lord through water and into new life.
Connection: This saving story is not all about me or you...it is about all. And yet, this means it is most definitely about me...and you - all. Assured by such a word, how does that begin to shape things?!?
By your power, O Lord, you entered into our suffering humanity and endured all things as you unveiled your living Reign of Peace among us and for us. With the simple trickle of water, we are reminded of our welcome into this walk with you. Thanks be to God. Amen.
For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit, in which also he went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison, who in former times did not obey, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. And baptism, which is prefigured, now saves you - not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him. (3:18-22)
So suffering for someone who we would never think we should suffer - one of them...one of the bad ones...one of the dirty ones...one of the unrighteous. What a dynamic picture to remember. Once and for all. In that movement of suffering, we hear a whole new story for the world. It is not all about me or us or my people or a chosen few...it is about all. Baptism doesn't safe guard us and it doesn't make us clean. Baptism brings new life that has its beginning and end in the way of Jesus - suffering for all and nothing less. We are brought into the new light and this new way of taking part in the life of the world. We announce -with the living of our lives- what God has done through Jesus and now continues to do through us. This is not so much about story telling as it is about story living...and the living...the standing with and for all of "those"...tells the story as it unfolds in ordinary lives in to the way of Jesus. We now live within the domain of the one who has lived contrary to the patterns of life and suffered for do that. That domain is not able to be controlled by any power and so we go on following our Lord through water and into new life.
Connection: This saving story is not all about me or you...it is about all. And yet, this means it is most definitely about me...and you - all. Assured by such a word, how does that begin to shape things?!?
By your power, O Lord, you entered into our suffering humanity and endured all things as you unveiled your living Reign of Peace among us and for us. With the simple trickle of water, we are reminded of our welcome into this walk with you. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
20 December 2006
Today we will continue with the theme of suffering in 1 Peter.
Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that , when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil. (3:13-15)
We do what we are called to do - be the beloved of God as we know that life as it is made holy before our eyes in the life of Jesus. In knowing that life and being baptized into that life and then walking into that life - we will not always be greeted with open arms. Following our Lord does not mean that we will be spared suffering. Doing "what is good" - or living with the holy ways of our Lord, does not mean that we are trying to earn something. Rather, doing what is good is what happens when we prayerfully consider the way of Jesus. I'm amused by the phrase "an accounting for the hope that is in you." The hope of our God that comes to life already among us is a life that is not always appreciated. Remember justice and mercy and loving kindness and peace are not qualities that are always accepted and warmly greeted. It is actually quite the contrary in our world. But when we are rejected for loving beyond the bounds of what is considered acceptable we need only stay focused on the promise - on the hope of what can be done and will be done by our God. The hope that is in us is the story of promise. The story of promise pulls us into a life that will witness to the one who calls us and it will be the life that will get us into hot water whenever it is not a part of the status quo within our day.
Connection: Know that this day is filled with hope. In the middle of this hope, live as though it is a foundational piece to all that you do. Not many people live according to hope...they want the money...or something concrete or something immediate. But...go ahead and live within the promise.
Lord of Life, there are so many times when we hesitate or do not act within the domain of your blessed Reign. Instead we hold back and become anxious about how we might be received. In this day, encourage us so that we step along your way and follow again. Amen.
Now who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated, but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that , when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your conduct in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if suffering should be God's will, than to suffer for doing evil. (3:13-15)
We do what we are called to do - be the beloved of God as we know that life as it is made holy before our eyes in the life of Jesus. In knowing that life and being baptized into that life and then walking into that life - we will not always be greeted with open arms. Following our Lord does not mean that we will be spared suffering. Doing "what is good" - or living with the holy ways of our Lord, does not mean that we are trying to earn something. Rather, doing what is good is what happens when we prayerfully consider the way of Jesus. I'm amused by the phrase "an accounting for the hope that is in you." The hope of our God that comes to life already among us is a life that is not always appreciated. Remember justice and mercy and loving kindness and peace are not qualities that are always accepted and warmly greeted. It is actually quite the contrary in our world. But when we are rejected for loving beyond the bounds of what is considered acceptable we need only stay focused on the promise - on the hope of what can be done and will be done by our God. The hope that is in us is the story of promise. The story of promise pulls us into a life that will witness to the one who calls us and it will be the life that will get us into hot water whenever it is not a part of the status quo within our day.
Connection: Know that this day is filled with hope. In the middle of this hope, live as though it is a foundational piece to all that you do. Not many people live according to hope...they want the money...or something concrete or something immediate. But...go ahead and live within the promise.
Lord of Life, there are so many times when we hesitate or do not act within the domain of your blessed Reign. Instead we hold back and become anxious about how we might be received. In this day, encourage us so that we step along your way and follow again. Amen.
Monday, December 18, 2006
19 December 2006
More direction for life from 1 Peter.
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. It is for this that you were called - that you might inherit a blessing. (3:8-9)
This is what makes us the transformative community of the followers of Jesus. Above all else, we repay with a blessing. That is the revolutionary word. That is the word that is hard to swallow. That is the word that separates us from all who would want to repay with violence and retribution and war. And yet...it is hard to swallow because it is a hard word. We are called into such a contrary life that we do not fit into its dressing. That is why the Holy Spirit is continually called upon to shape us and lead us and equip us for the journey of life that is quite beyond what everyone in the world expects. How can we be a blessing to others if our lives are not filled with that sense of blessing in all we do? We become a light to all by being the light. I think this was the call presented to Israel and it is the same one presented to us. In Christ, Jesus, we are not given a magic wand...we are given a life that is concrete and demonstrated by the one we call Lord.
Connection: This hard word is hard because we are invited into its life everyday - everyday...and with everyone - everyone. It takes devotion...daily devotion.
You have called us into a life full of the grace of your Reign, O God. Within that life, we entertain one another with with love and compassion, humility and loving kindness. Inspire us to live in the light of your Christ in all of our days. Amen
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. It is for this that you were called - that you might inherit a blessing. (3:8-9)
This is what makes us the transformative community of the followers of Jesus. Above all else, we repay with a blessing. That is the revolutionary word. That is the word that is hard to swallow. That is the word that separates us from all who would want to repay with violence and retribution and war. And yet...it is hard to swallow because it is a hard word. We are called into such a contrary life that we do not fit into its dressing. That is why the Holy Spirit is continually called upon to shape us and lead us and equip us for the journey of life that is quite beyond what everyone in the world expects. How can we be a blessing to others if our lives are not filled with that sense of blessing in all we do? We become a light to all by being the light. I think this was the call presented to Israel and it is the same one presented to us. In Christ, Jesus, we are not given a magic wand...we are given a life that is concrete and demonstrated by the one we call Lord.
Connection: This hard word is hard because we are invited into its life everyday - everyday...and with everyone - everyone. It takes devotion...daily devotion.
You have called us into a life full of the grace of your Reign, O God. Within that life, we entertain one another with with love and compassion, humility and loving kindness. Inspire us to live in the light of your Christ in all of our days. Amen
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