This week again, we continue to read from the first Letter of Peter, of which we talked about last Sunday. As a reminder, or if you weren’t there, we observed that this letter was called one of the “Catholic Epistles” because it’s universal in its vocation: This letter was addressed to all the early churches undergoing times of persecution. Now in our days, we have to be careful when we talk about the church being persecuted. Indeed, here in United States, church can be ignored or criticized or even mocked but we’re hardly persecuted, in the sense of being punished by the authorities if we practice our faith, although we know it happens in some countries. In fact, for us in the Western world, it would be quite the opposite, we need to be aware that very sadly, sometimes it’s actually the church that has been the one doing the persecution, and sometimes also the church turned again itself and Christians were the ones persecuting each other. So it’s important for us at all times to remain tolerant of other expressions of faith, whether Christian or not, and to not grow too defensive, that means be opened to being questioned, and even criticized and sometimes investigated, as is needed for example when abuses are reported. The church risks to become a cult when it sees enemies everywhere and we have to be careful about that.
Now this said, if we cannot, and in my opinion shouldn’t, claim to be persecuted unless circumstances are very serious, Peter’s letter can still touch us because we have this in common with the early church that there is certainly some suffering that comes with striving to follow Christ. We may not be persecuted but we certainly suffer and in Peter’s words this is to be expected because we live in a world where evil is real. Actually, Peter uses a very striking image to describe this by saying “Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour”. This is a very graphic image knowing that at the time, it was, actually not an image at all but the tragic fate of some Christians thrown to the beasts in Rome. Now we need to know a little more about the reason why Christians were persecuted to understand what’s going on in this letter. Christians weren’t persecuted because they had different beliefs. If anything, the pagan world was pluralistic and open to many expressions of faith. What the powers in place couldn’t tolerate is that the Christians refused to support the wrongs of the Empire, mainly they refused to confess that the Emperor was God’s chosen one and therefore had to be be blindly obeyed in all circumstances (although they didn’t systematically preached rebellion), they believed all men and women were equal and should enjoy a degree of freedom and be respected in their dignity (It’s still in our Baptismal covenant in BCP 304-305). That was the reason for their persecution, that was the reason for their suffering, and this is this suffering that according to Peter is blessed by God, and in the end, is rewarded.
I think it’s very important that we understand that because we can have a tendency to “sanctify suffering”, and the church has certainly be guilty of that throughout the ages: Tolerating or justifying abuse, mistreatment, injustices and other evil like slavery, promising the victims a pie in the sky for their endurance, and leaving the violent unpunished. Earlier in his letter, Peter clearly states that we can suffer for good or bad reasons, and we know that sometimes we suffer because we have done something wrong, and there are consequences for us when we get caught, sometimes also we suffer because of what we could call today our own first world problems, our greed, our self centeredness, our susceptibility. That’s also not the suffering that is blessed by God. Again, the suffering that is blessed by God is the way we choose to resist evil in adversity and that can happen in many different ways, at any time, not only in time of persecution and it concerns all of us.
When Peter says that “Our adversary the devil prowls around” we have to understand that when there is suffering, there is also a temptation, the temptation of losing heart, of losing our faith and sometimes even turning against God. According to Peter, we’re never alone when we suffer, because the adversary is always here to point out to us that God if God loved us, God would do something about it. He says to us things like: “See” “God does not care” “God is punishing you”. And so we are left with a choice, and that’s why it’s often said that we are “being tested”: We can give up on faith (As Job’s wife puts it so directly: “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” Job 2:9), or we can hold on to God’s goodness by choosing to remain faithful and loving even in the hardest circumstances. It is indeed what Peter calls “a fiery ordeal” we are confronted to, and we all have to endure something of this kind because we all need to make a choice.
I was talking with someone in my family who has just lost her husband after a long disease, and she told me how sad and scared she was and also how exhausted. And yet proud and contented in a way because she had promised herself to be with her husband until the end, and although it has been most challenging at times, she realized she had been able to persevere in love. And that’s really what we are called to do when we follow Christ, isn’t it? John tells us that “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” (John 13:1). Loving to the end, that’s what it means to follow Christ, that’s how we show that our faith is real, if that we remain loving, in spite of persecution for some, but also through trials of all kind: diseases, disabilities, disappointments, betrayals, failures and so on. I really like it that Peter says that if we hold on, then Christ’s glory will be revealed. It’s very important we understand that and it’s made very clear in the passage from John’s Gospel we have just heard: Our life is about glorifying God, Jesus’s life was all about glorifying God: “I glorified you on earth by finishing the work you have given me to do” and what does it mean to glorify God, to glorify God’s name? It means to make God known, to reveal God’s character, to show in words and action God’s goodness. That’s why we’re on earth for and that’s what we have to choose.
If you open your BCP on p. 356, you will notice that it is recommended to say or sing the Gloria at the beginning of each service, and we’re going to start doing that again next week, because it’s so important to be reminded of that, that our lives are about glorifying God. It’s not about singing, I mean it can be, but we sing the Gloria or pray it to be reminded to glorify God at all times and in all places. That’s why we say that people in heavens glorify God because everything they do give glory to God, reveals God’s goodness. For us, there is nothing worse than someone who calls themselves a Christian and say or do things that do not glorify God. I remember starting in a church a few years ago and they were showing me the portraits of all their rectors on the wall, and as I was asking about them, the Junior warden pointed towards one and said: Well, this one ran with the church money. That does not glorify God, does it? How many people have left church and the faith because of Christians who gave the faith a bad name! That’s the most worst offense we can do. Today we call them “False Christians”. Well, the problem is they certainly all claim the name of Christian, they are Christians and we also can become Christians who do not glorify God, who give Christianity a bad name. This is a very scary thing.
So how do we avoid that, how do we hold on, glorifying God even in our most terrible moments, even in the most difficult of times in History? Well, Peter gives us a few directions, so let;s have a loom at that.
– First of all, we are invited to humble ourselves and that’s really the door to everything in our spiritual lives. We see it throughout the Gospel, Jesus was always able to help people who were humble but he couldn’t do much for the proud. Now being humble does not mean letting ourselves be humiliated. Peter says we have to “Humble [ourselves] under the mighty hand of God” and often it means we have to acknowledge our powerlessness, especially in times of trial and against the ruses of the enemy. If we think we can resist temptation, that’s often when problems occur.
– The second advice, that I like very much is: “Cast all your anxiety on him, because He cares for you”. You know, for the longest time I believed that being a good Christian meant having no anxieties at all, and many people believe that too. I think it’s something that has really been taught to us for generations: If you’re worried, you doubt and if you doubt you’re not a good Christian. The thing is it’s very hard not to have any anxiety, especially when we care for the world and care for others. And Peter is actually not telling us not to have any anxiety, rather he is saying that we should “Cast our anxiety on God”, it’s an active verb. The anxiety is real but we have to give it again and again to God in prayer.
– The third advice Peter gives us is to discipline ourselves and keep alert. Spiritual life is not magic, it’s hard work, it’s about discipline: Praying on a regular basis, read the Scriptures, listening to God and being faithful to God in little things so we can be faithful in bigger ones. If we start being dishonest in things that seemingly do not matter that much, it makes it easier for the adversary to attack us and then we may end up being dishonest in much more serious matters. I think it also goes with humility, we have to keep alert knowing that we are weak, and not thinking “This will never happen to me”. That was actually Peter’s experience, who swore to Jesus he would never let him down: “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” (Matthew 26:33) and next thing we know, he denied him three times. So he learned more about who he was, which is another reason to be hopeful. Even if we fail, God can teach us how to be faithful. We know that Peter the “denier” ended up giving his life for Jesus. He gives us the assurance that God cares for us, and that Christ will himself “restore, support, strengthen and establish us” even if we are sinners.
This is what peter wants us to know: When suffering occurs, temptation occurs. The adversary is going to use our suffering against us and make us doubt the presence of God. And yet, God will allow this test so we can make the choice to glorify God in these circumstances, holding on to goodness when we are hated, forgiving when offended, hopeful when the world gives us little reasons to hope. When we doubt God’s presence, it’s actually when we are called to manifest God’s presence, to embody God’s presence, as Jesus did on the cross. So let’s show this world what it means to be a Christian.