Eastertide
May 25, 2017
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11
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 in so far 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. –1 Peter 4:12-14
We USA citizens of the first quarter of the 21st century can hardly compare our lives to those who lived in Rome during the last quarter of the 1st century. Christians were a minority in Rome when 1 Peter was written. In the 1st century, dictatorial emperors ruled Rome and fostered the Pax of Rome’s peace through victory, victory through violence. Except for Nero’s tyranny in 64 CE when Rome burned, the widespread persecution of Christians by Rome came later in history. 1 Peter is speaking to persecution related to being a minority and being a minority group who described its leader using the same descriptors demanded by the Emperor: Lord, Son of God, etc. Peter and Paul were both most likely executed in Rome under Nero’s reign. Even though the worst was yet to come, the Christians of 1st Century Rome faced great peril. It seems to me what we call persecution today is more akin to angst because we do not always get our way. We have become the privileged.
While we in the USA live in a representative democracy, not an empire, we are now in the role of being citizens of one of the most powerful nations on earth, if not the most powerful nation. This role reversal demands consideration as we try to make sense of our roles as witnesses to the love of God through Jesus Christ. How do we mesh our faith with our responsibilities as citizens in a democracy? Do we force our beliefs on our fellow citizens by incorporating them into civil law? Do we demand exceptions, resulting from our beliefs, be made by the government from requirements everyone else must obey? Most difficult of all, whose “Christian” beliefs are the “Christian” beliefs when Christians are seriously divided on what is justice?
Do we practice the art of discernment among our diverse peoples? Do we dust off the act of negotiation and give it a try? Do we place our challenges before God and seek clarity regarding what it means to be the Body of Christ in the 21st Century?
Prayer: Lord, you have brought us to this place and this time to carry out your work, give us the tools and talents we need and the power of your Spirit to guide us. Amen.