Eastertide
May 11, 2023
Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 3:13-22
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 account of 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 good 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. 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 people, were saved through water. And baptism, which this 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.
Keep your conscience clear. The Greek word for conscience [4893] syneídēsis (from 4862 /sýn, “together with” and 1492 /eídō “to know, see”) – properly, joint-knowing, i.e. conscience which joins moral and spiritual consciousness as part of being created in the divine image. Accordingly, all people have this God-given capacity to know right from wrong because each is a free moral agent. (emphasis added)
As one who has dealt with osteoarthritis since I was 23, I laughed when I read the exact meaning of conscience used in the above scripture as joint-knowing. I am extremely well acquainted with my joints. Conscience is defined as the joining of moral and spiritual awareness combined. It was planted in each human in the process of being created in the image of God. We can try to run away from knowing the difference between right from wrong, but we cannot escape it. I have found that experiencing one’s conscience at work can be more painful than arthritic joints when one’s natural inclination is not in sync with what is right. It requires humility, and I do not know about you, but practicing humility is challenging. We, however, have a great role model.
[Jesus] humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. –Philippians 2.8:
Jesus said, take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. –Matthew 11.29:
What we particularly need to watch is our applying what we perceive to be right in judging others. Jesus is the judge of all, including each of us. We, indeed, need to take the log out of our eyes before taking a speck out of another’s. —Matthew 7:5
Prayer: Lord, forgive us when we practice self-righteousness rather than righteousness. Amen.
*https://biblehub.com/greek/4893.htm
All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.