| | | | Adventures... in Hope - Redeemer Devotions | | | | | | Today's piece from 1 Peter deals with slaves. I often have trouble making sense of this. I cannot promise I will. 2:18- Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. If you endure when you are beating for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God's approval. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls This may take a few days to unpack. So here we go. Yes, there were slaves in those days. And yes, many lived within households where the 'masters' were followers of Jesus. And, yes, these 'slaves' would also be Christians. I cannot explain why followers of Jesus would continue to have slaves. And yet, that is a 21st century perspective. So how do we see some sense of transformation into new life in the middle of an ancient system that was not as we would like. Well, for one, it could be we do not let this say that slavery is good - for any time - for any place. Then we have to look again at what is the character that is being held up for those who would be reading this letter - way back then (or even now). I might go with the fact that all are to walk in the way of Jesus. No matter what position we hold in life and no matter what position has been laid upon us, we have been graced with a life that has the power to transform (sanctify) the world.WE live as the righteous - the beloved - the holy ones - no matter what is our status. It will not go unnoticed. This is especially the case when it is noticed that we live not like the imprisoned or enslaved but as ones somehow free. That freedom to be shaped by the Christ whose love is unbounded may result in being one who suffers. And yet, as we are told, Jesus walked within the freedom of God's Reign even though he stuck out and took hits for his action. Connection: No matter what our 'position' is, we live as the Christ of God in the midst of all things. That means we change all characters - all positions - all expectations. Here, even the 'masters' must be called into a new being that will also result in abuse and ridicule. The new being is what leaves the image of grace in the room after the violent ones have had their way. In the middle of what is so common, O God, transform us into your beloved children so the world around us will see your loving Reign alive and present for all to experience. Amen. |
| | | | Adventures... in Hope - Redeemer Devotions | | | | | | A few more comments on 1 Peter to 2:13-17 For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by hi to punish those who do wrong and to raise those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor. I may have this all wrong, but the thing that caught my eye at the end of these verses on how to deal with the 'authorities' was the use of Honor. We are to honor everyone and the emperor. It is quite like what you would expect in any society. We honor the lives of others. We do not ride over them and abuse them and tear them down. We honor them. They are not us - and - we are not them. In some ways I think of the President of the U.S. It is easy to moan and groan at who that person is and what that person does, but that is a heavy position to fill. Yes, some people are in that position and do not seem to be worthy of it. And yet, we honor them. In some ways it is as though we are hoping for the best - and the best would be the best for everyone. I suppose the same would be for everyone. Honor our neighbors and we may just see the best come out of them. And yet, when it comes to God, we pause. We consider the vision of God's Reign and how we are now people who claim to be within the living manifestation of that Reign - we Stand in awe (fear) of the expansiveness of this Reign and the qualities that far surpass anything of any power in the world. In some ways, I think we become better citizens when we understand the vision of God's Reign and that we (including the emperor) fall short and yet we are all invited into God's Reigning power within the day to day life around us. Connection: Knowing the vision of the Reign of God will and does put us in direct opposition to much of the ways of the powers of this world. Walking in that vision will mean that we will walk in a way contrary to the powers that be - and yet, we honor the role they play even when then will reject our ways - sometimes at great cost to us. I really don't think it is our work to turn a power of the world into us. We are meant to be a witness to another way of life. In the middle of what is so common, O God, give us eyes to see you Reigning ways even as we live within the rule of all the powers around us. Keep our hearts turned to your way alone. Amen. |
| | | | Adventures... in Hope - Redeemer Devotions | | | | | | Let's move on in 1 Peter to 2:13-17 For the Lord's sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by hi to punish those who do wrong and to raise those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing right you should silence the ignorance of the foolish. As servants of God, live as free people, yet do not use your freedom as a pretext for evil. Honor everyone. Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honor the emperor. This one is kind of tough to get through. It is this kind of passage from scripture that has led some to insist that people obey the powers of the day. The emperor, was no Mr. Nice Guy. He was the emperor - he was a god - people had to pay homage to the emperor. Like any imperial master, it would always be the way of the emperor and no other way. Maybe in this area of Asia Minor, the folks were simply left alone for the most part. Therefore, when the empire did do a bit of its flexing of its demands, the advice for those who wanted to go about life as they saw fit was to give a bit. It may also be a bit of wisdom. It may be saying stand up for what is good within the powers of the day. In that way, you will be seen as being supportive and not a subverting power. In that way, though you are a follower of Jesus - aliens and strangers - you will also be ones who are seen as peace-bearers. That is a quality any power would like to see - especially as the empire grows and faces decline. There must be the other side of this situation. If the powers are evil and act in a way that is quite contrary to the peaceable Reign of God - do we partake in being supportive of that evil power? Well it is not that we go along with their actions and make them our own. Rather we persistently love one another and never give up that life. That love extends to those around us and we will be known by our fruits - even when the environment around us becomes brutal and violent. Connection: Persistently love one another - and then again - even in the worst cases in which we live. That is the witness of the church. In the middle of what is so common, O God, continue to make us a living witness to the welfare of all and available to bring that life to light no matter what the powers of the day may be doing. Amen. |
| | | | Adventures... in Hope - Redeemer Devotions | | | | | | I'd like to end the week with this same passage from 1 Peter, chapter 2 verses 11-12 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge. We are called into a life. That life is to be one that is recognizable. Out on the street, it will be noted as being as 'different' as being an alien and an exile. We will stand out - and should. Our lives are a constant stretching out into the realm of God's graciousness and love. In that way, others will notice something about us that is sincere and real and -at times - odd. The people in the time of the writing of 1 Peter expected 'the end' to be near - in their life time - any day. Under such a timeline, I suppose we can all 'behave' in a fashion that is contrary to the rest of the world around us. But we are well past the time of the expectation of the followers of Jesus and his coming again. So how do we deal with God coming to judge? I would suggest everyday. I would also suggest that we look at how God has already judged us - beloved. Everyday this is the judgment - Beloved. The world around us will look at us and shake their heads and wonder how it is that we are the people we are and they will glorify the God who judges us to be Beloved. The life we live is within the realm of God's Reign of peace in which we are participants of that realm. Yes it will be contrary to the norm of the day (even today) but it will be a witness - a daily witness - to the God who makes us a holy people. In the face of a violent world, we live as ones who embody what our God judges to be beloved. Connection: God as judge is not someone to fear - as in being afraid. Rather, God as judge is the power of life that is to create awe among us. This awe is a part of the power of God that pulls us into the life that is promised. Remember, we do not rescue ourselves from the violence of this world - our God does that. Therefore, we can count on our God to judge us as God's beloved and that - that - is what is a shining glory to God in the midst of each day. In the middle of what is so common, O God, you let you glory shine within the lives of all your saints. We ask that such glory remain with us all the days of our lives. Amen. |
| | | | Adventures... in Hope - Redeemer Devotions | | | | | | Here is more from 1 Peter, chapter 2 verses 11-12 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge. Okay, there is a good chance that when we live a life that does not follow the back-biting - lying - self-absorbed - finger-pointing ways of the world we may be seen as being odd. To consider the welfare of others even when it means sacrificing our own lives can be looked at as a stupid move. It doesn't make sense to the world. It flies in the face of the 'operating standards' of the world. We need also note that as we follow the way of Jesus - a way that is given up for the welfare of all at cost to ourselves - many will look at us and call us 'evildoers.' Do you remember stories of people who helps the underdogs - the enslaved - the beaten down - the outsider - the scapegoats? Those "helpers" were labeled as folk who were trying to destroy the way things were to go. These folks didn't have anything to gain when you look at their life within the society. They instead had much to lose for aligning with "those" people. These are stories of people who sheltered Jews during the demonic system of the Nazis or sat at lunch counters and on buses with African Americans in the demonic/racist south or - example after example. And yet, when we look back, those who took risks and stood up for the welfare of all humans are the ones who come away being seen as taking part in honorable deeds. God is glorified as we walk through the day siding with all who long for life and peace and justice. Connection: We all know it is not easy to take a risk in any aspect of our lives. Even speaking out with a voice that is contrary to the prevailing voices in the room can be risky. It is in those times of potential risk that we are to remember the foundation upon which we are living - the rock - the cornerstone. Sometimes, that image can sustain us and move us to speak, act, and do anything that is necessary for the image of God's love to be seen among God's Beloved - that's us. In the middle of what is so common, O God, you show us the way of the cross - the way of the fullness of our humanity that is like a light to the world. Help us again - today - to shine. Amen. |
| | | | Adventures... in Hope - Redeemer Devotions | | | | | | A Blessed Lent to all. Here is more from 1 Peter, chapter 2 verses 11-12 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge. Okay - we are the beloved.That is our beginning (in fact, that is also our end). To be these beloved of God - to have ourselves grounded by an identity that has the power to transform life - is to be a bit odd. The people to whom this letter was written were people at home in their areas of Asia Minor (think Turkey). And yet, as ones baptized in Christ, Jesus, and pulled by the Holy Spirit into what that means for day to day living, belovedness can carry some baggage. Usually we consider baggage a negative. Therapist want us to look at the 'baggage' we all carry around from the generations before us and the experiences of our families. It is vitally important to do that as we learn to live with others. But here, the baggage we carry is the life that is created - yes, created - as followers of Jesus. Our baggage is a love that makes us a contrary people when we stand alongside the ways of the world. So, we can be seen as aliens and exiles - people who have something about them that just seems different. Some would say that we are ones who live for the well being of others. In a self-centered and self-possessed culture that is run on the power of self-interest, we follow the Lord who self-sacrifice was for all - without condition. I would argue that how I just described our culture is another way to say: desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. As we are so in-tuned with this culture, we are being urged to resist this way - abstain from it all. Don't do it. Don't be a part of it. Connection: Once a therapist reminded me that I always have many heads on my shoulders. The heads - voices - presence of those who make up my past. They are often given control of what is said and done. If I do not know they are there - directing my life - I am not free - I am not able to self-define. But if I know they are there, I can say "yes" and I can say "no" and there is a better chance that you will see and hear a more authentic me. We live with the head of Christ as one of the voices that possess us. This is, what I would call, a positive possession. Quite like when we give voice to the simple statement: Come, Lord, Jesus. It takes deliberate action to listen to that voice of the Christ of God who is endlessly for us. In the middle of what is so common, O God, your Spirit of New Life sustains us and delivers us into the life we have been handed so that each day - all that we do and all that we are - your love for us will be the life that is displayed for all. We give you thanks. Amen. |
| | | | Adventures... in Hope - Redeemer Devotions | | | | | | Today is the day after Presidents day - Shrove Tuesday - Tomorrow Lent begins. Here is more from 1 Peter, chapter 2 verses 11-12 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge. It is the first word of this piece that gives substance to the rest. The saints of God in Christ, Jesus, are called Beloved. That shingle that hands from our doors - that cross traced on our foreheads with ashes tomorrow and with oil from the time we were baptized calls us out as aliens within our world. Beloved is not merely a what we are called by the one God who sees us as just that - it is also the very center of who we are and who we become each and every day. The 'beloved' can and do live in every place and time. We will not be identified by the words of people who want to be seen as special or privileged. We will be identified by the life that comes from being grounded in a love for us that is forever - without end. I would submit that as a people who are called beloved, we become a people who look out at those around us and we are gifted to see that they too are beloved - even if they cannot see it in themselves or even if they have been push down and pushed out and left for the trash heap of humanity. Beloved is the way. It is a way that will distinguish us - not up on stage but right in the middle of the things of the day that long for expressions of love to break the cycle of brutality and lies and the ways of a world that attempt to dominate and rule over others. Well - I only commented - for a bit - on one word. And yet, it will shape that which is to come. Connection: This is another one of those reflections when I have to remind myself to breath and hear these words before I open my mouth in reaction to that which is going on around me. "Beloved" take a breath - remember you baptism. Now, speak and act as you stand on that beloved foundation. This is not at all easy. And yet, for us - all of us - it is necessary for our our lives and for the lives of others. In the middle of what is so common, O God, you take up some clay and make a beloved creature and breathe into us the hopefulness of your loving Reign. Now, we ask, teach us to breathe as heirs of your Reign. Amen. |
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