This morning, we’ve heard a passage from the first letter of Peter, which may not be one of the most famous ones. It is part of what we call, with James’ and John’s letters, “The catholic Epistles” of the New Testament. Now saying that may make it even harder to understand, as we often assimilate the word “catholic” with the “Catholic church” we know today, a Christian denomination among others. It may shed some light though to learn that “catholic” means “universal” in Greek, like when we say the Creed and we say “we believe in the Catholic church”. It means we believe that in fine there is only one Church, the Church of Christ in which all of us are united – but we’ll probably talk about that again in the weeks to come.
What is important for us to notice today is that, contrary to Paul’s letters that are often addressed to specific churches, specific communities (The Corinthians, the Romans and so on), Peter is writing to all the churches of his time, he is not addressing specific issues for certain places but he talks to all about something that concerns them all, and his main point is about how we can remain faithful through persecution. We are sort of clued in at the beginning of our passage when we read: Now who will harm you (…) do not fear, do not be intimidated (…) be ready to make your defense…As if the fear of being hurt and to have to protect themselves was very much present for the young Christian church. And we know that, right? We know that the beginnings of the church were difficult, Christians being both rejected by the traditional religion of the Jews in which most of them had grown up, and they were also rejected by the pagan culture in which they lived.
The question for us though is the follwoing: Is this letter, that is considered to have a “universal” vocation, is this letter still for us today, here in United States where being a Christian is legal and even, so it seems, encouraged by the powers in place, although room is made for other expressions of faith, and even no faith at all? Indeed, we are big on what we call “Freedom to worship” but maybe that’s also the challenge: In a multi cultural, multi religious society, often what some Christians call persecution turn out to be simply that they are offended that other people have other beliefs, other culture, other ways of life, or dare to ask some legitimate questions, even point out some of the wrongs of the church. But if we call everything that differs from us “persecution”, if we get defensive each time someone thinks or acts differently, the risk is that we turn a blind eye to God’s world as it truly is, and even more seriously, we may also turn a blind eye to who we really are.
So why call Peter’s letters “catholic”, why call Peter’s letters “universal”, since obviously our circumstances are so different from the early church? Well you know as I was thinking about it I realized that maybe this Epistle is still very much for us because persecution was the historic reality Peter was addressing but below that and deeper than that he is addressing a spiritual reality that is for all, in every place and in every time, he is talking to the suffering church. I really think that the suffering church is still very much a reality we don’t speak enough about. And it’s right here too.
Before I was called to be your new priest in charge, I have been for several months “in between jobs” and so I had many opportunities to visit different congregations, whether sitting in the pews or doing supply work, I also had many conversations with many people, and one of the things that struck me is this sort of cognitive dissonance we have, this gap if you will between what we say and what we actually experience, because in most churches there is this narrative of being a loving, vibrant, happy community and yet there is also a lot of suffering in our churches. I am not talking about the suffering we bring in our churches, when we come to church to find solaceor healing fr om the difficulties we experience in our personal lives, I talk about the very suffering doing church or even being a church brings to each one of us.
It’s hard to be a Christian, isn’t it? And it’s hard to keep a church going. It’s hard because indeed, we aren’t persecuted, but so many people are lukewarm or indifferent or slightly ironic about our faith. It’s hard because so many have left and even more will probably never come. It’s hard because we are a lot of aging communities, and we miss children laughter and having a sense of leaving a legacy. It’s hard because we struggle with finances and there is always something wrong with our big buildings that are often half empty. It’s hard because even when everyone try their best, stress creates tensions and tensions can turn into conflicts or misunderstanding. And if it’s hard to be a Christian I would say it’s also hard to be an Episcopalian when we seek to embody a progressive Christianity, keeping the tradition even when we don’t understand it all and in the meantime willing to be vulnerable, with more openness and less certainties, striving to make room for all people and all backgrounds.
So what does Peter, the rock, the founder of the church according to Jesus’s own words “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church” (Matthew 16:18) have to say? What does Peter have to say to the universal church and to our churches today? Well, when I turn to his Epistle, I can’t help but think he would say to all of us that suffering is, in fact, part of the deal. Even if we dream of being a vibrant, fun and prosperous community, suffering is part of the deal because in Peter’s words “Christ also suffered for our sins”. Like in the days of Noah where people were rebellious to God or just plainly indifferent, we also endure the consequences of the lack of faith and the lack of love of God there is in this world. It does not mean we shouldn’t question what we do, but it means that doing good, being good and following Christ is always going to be difficult because thw world is sinful and God calls ut to be holy. Church is a place where suffering is real.
Now don’t get me wrong. When I was a teenager I had been deeply hurt by the words of a priest, and when I talked about that to another priest years later he told me that “This is how it goes”, “Church is a place where we hurt each other”. Well, I hope you don’t think this what I am saying today. Church should be a safe place where the least we can do is to not hurt each other, a place where suffering shouldn’t come from our own doing, abuse, criticism, jealousy. We have heard this passage from the Gospel today, John 14, that is part of the farewell discourse, the last things Jesus asks of his before he goes to his death and he says it again and again, the thing he wants for us is to obey his commandment to love one another, as he has loved us.
So Peter isn’t saying “Expect to be hurt that’s just how it is”, he says, that, as in the day of Noah, we are like a boat in a storm, trying to find our balance, trying to keep afloat, trying to seek God’s will in the midst of the violence or the indifference and the lack of faith around us. But, and here is the important message, if suffering is part of the deal then it means that suffering is not failing. Suffering is not failing. The myth of a fun, prosperous and happy community or the myth of the church of the good old days is exactly what is: a myth. A myth we may lose ourselves seeking. Even in the early days the church was struggling, and doubting and worrying about the future.
So what is Peter asking us to do? Well, you may want to re-read our passage at home (and if you read the whole letter, it will only take you ten minutes) but in short, here it is:
– Be eager to do what’s good (Help people)
– Do not fear / Do not be intimidated (Speak up)
– Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts (Pray / Seek)
– Be ready to give an account of your hope and faith (Testify)
– Have gentleness, reverence, and a clear conscience (Be Kind and honest)
Help people, Speak up, Seek and Pray, Testify, Be kind and honest: This is what church should be all about.Our job is to remain faithful. Church does not fail when it’s suffering, church fails when it fails to love and when we stop reaching out.
Now let’s think about it for a minute: The early church, the persecuted church was the most suffering church in the history of church and yet did it fail? Indeed. It brought us where we are. We, too,have to do the same for a future that may be not that far. I’ve read in the past week about how many young people in New York City (of all places) were coming back to church, the Roman Catholic church this time. You know my first thought was, I felt so thankful for the generation that stood fast because young people are now indeed coming back, and not just in NYC, and there’s a church ready for them because a few people kept it going. Even closer to us, because it’s not just about numbers, I read this incredible testimony Bishop Budde gave in her last book. At some point she said she had such a heavy heart because of the state of the Episcopal church, she confided to a friend she was ready to let go. To what her friend, who happened to be gay, responded: Maybe you can afford to let go, but for me I have no other church that would welcome me. And that’s when Bishop Budde says she realized she couldn’t give up, because she’s in charge of a church for those who have nowhere else to go. Isn’t it still a beautiful vocation, a beautiful faithfulness to the way of Christ who welcomed all those who had nowhere to go? Success in God’s eyes does not always look like we expect success to look like. I would even go further by saying: It’s not even our job to be successful and we may allow ourselves, at times, from trying this hard.
Why am I saying that? Because Jesus makes this wonderful promise to all his disciples today: I will not leave you desolate. This is a catholic saying too, isn’t it. He’s saying that to all churches in every time and place. Our love and faithfulness is what is required of us, not as a passivity or resignation, but as an anticipation of the work the Spirit wants to do in us and with us. We’ll have many opportunities to talk about in the weeks and months to come, but let’s sit with that for today. How does our faithfulness look like today?