2nd Peter 2:2-10 Year A, Easter
5
Every three years we read a portion of 1st Peter six weeks in a row, then people like me and I assume others as well, kind of forget about it. Usually our 2nd New Testament reading comes from one of Paul’s letters. He wrote a good portion of the New Testament, but not all of it. Paul’s letters were almost always directed to communities. Even when there was an individual recipient, it was usually written with the idea that the individual would share the letter with a specific community. However, this letter that is attributed to Peter, is geared toward a wider audience. The very first line of the letter says “To God’s chosen strangers in the world of the diaspora, who live in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.”[1] I love that line—God’s chosen strangers. Most scholars believe that this letter was written about 30 years after Jesus died to fledgling Christian communities who were in more hostile environments, places where communities were spread out more. Most of these were places Paul didn’t even get to in his missionary journeys.
There really
wasn’t much of a Christian identity at the time. The term Christian only appears in our Bible
three times—twice in the Book of Acts and once in the 4th chapter of
Peter. It seems like the term is
associated with the crucified Christ.
The fact that Jesus was crucified was often used as a reason to prove that
Jesus wasn’t the Messiah. It certainly
wasn’t proof that he was. Most who
became followers of Christ were ostracized from their communities. Some were able to convert enough of their
family to create a new community, but some were just pushed out and isolated.
In the last few weeks we have been hearing celebratory
stories from the Book of Acts about thousands being baptized in a day. Last week we heard about how wonderful and
supportive those early Christian communities were. For the last month, we have been basking in
the Easter glow. This Sunday, our Acts
reading tells the story of the stoning of Stephen, our first Christian
martyr. (A martyr is someone who dies
for their faith.) The terrifying reality of our faith is that, there has never
been a point where it was easy to be a Christian. It was never meant to be easy. When we become too comfortable with our
Christianity, when it has been watered down so it can be more palatable, then
we have become complacent, and that is rarely a good thing.
One of the
lines in first Peter really jumps out at you, “But you are a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people…” You can just hear certain
people taking that out of context. It hasn’t happened yet---I checked. But it’s just a matter of time until someone
does a deep dive and finds the phrase, “holy nation” or “chosen race.” Those phrases should make us a little
uncomfortable. It sounds like we are excluding certain people, that Jesus just
came for the chosen race. Or, that Jesus
wants us to create a holy nation, rather than be a holy people. It sounds exclusive and that should make
Episcopalians and any Christians who put an emphasis on inclusivity want to
cringe a little.
But it
actually means the exact opposite (and this is your monthly reminder that we
always have to read the text in context.)
Remember how 1st Peter began: “to God’s chosen strangers in
the world of the diaspora…” These words
are meant for a people who are feeling cut off and ostracized, either because
of their location, or the people who are around them. They don’t have a community. They might just have a few families who are
followers of Christ that they know. But
there is also a good chance, they have been forced to leave their community or
even their family of origin.
There wasn’t Christian persecution on a large scale at this
time, but we can see from Acts, that Christians were being persecuted. Peter
was saying to these chosen strangers, people in the diaspora, “I know you are
suffering. I know you feel alone. But you are part of a holy nation, a holy
priesthood, a chosen race.” This holy nation doesn’t have physical
boundaries. You can be a part of this holy nation wherever
you live. It doesn’t exclude anyone who has committed to following Jesus. And this chosen race isn’t based on the color
of your skin, where you were born, who your parents are, it’s the human race, a
people that were created by God. To a
people who were displaced and pushed out, knowing that they had this distinct
identity, that they were part of a holy nation created by God-- that had to be
incredibly comforting.
I think most
of us know what it is to be in a place where you feel like you don’t
belong. Usually, it’s temporary. Typically there is some place in your life
you feel like you belong. Yet there are many people in our world, maybe even
some people here, who understand too well, that feeling of being isolated and
not belonging all the time. To you, I
want to say, you do belong. I am not saying that because we are a progressive
and welcoming church. (That is true, but
not the salient point here.) I am saying that because you belong to Jesus. “You
are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.” God’s own people. You are God’s people, and that’s a good
people to be.
If you belong to God, then there is no place you don’t
actually belong. There are people and places
that will try to exclude you and push you out and some of them might call
themselves Christian. If and when that
happens, I want you to pull this verse out of the depths of your memory and
remind yourself that you belong to God and that is no small thing. It’s the biggest thing.
This reading from John 14 contains a very misused and
misunderstood verse. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” Jesus had been telling his disciples about a
place that he had prepared for them.
They were confused about where that place was, so they asked. Jesus answered their question by saying, “I
am the way, and the truth and the life.” In doing so, he was telling them,
where, isn’t the point. All that matters
is that you are with me. Because you
belong to me. You (everyone of you) belong to God. That is no small thing. It’s the biggest
thing.
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