Bearing Hardship, Not Inflicting It--May 23, 2023

Bearing Hardship, Not Inflicting It--May 23, 2023

"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 insofar as you are sharing Christ's sufferings, so that you may also be glad and shout for joy when his glory is revealed." [1 Peter 4:12-13]

For the early church it was a given that they would face hostility and suffering in the world; when they did, they took it as evidence that they were learning to love like Jesus.  We live in a time, however, when many Respectable Religious voices get all bent out of shape any time they are inconvenienced or have to share positions of privilege; and those things happen, they cry out that Christians are being "persecuted" when they're actually just being reminded they're not the only people around.  Maybe it's time to listen again to those first Christians.

In all seriousness, sometimes I wonder what writers like the voice of First Peter would say if he read or heard some of the posturing of modern-day church folks in America.  While it is certainly true that there are countries in the world where publicly professing Christ will land you in jail or worse, that's not what is happening in our country.  Not even close.  And yet, to hear many leaders of churches and para-church organizations, the church is "under attack" because things aren't "like they used to be."  You'll hear complaints that too many stores and public places are open on Sundays. You'll hear people upset when there is any acknowledgement that people of other faiths have different holidays or dietary rules they follow.  You'll hear lamenting over declining church attendance--and then hear it blamed on active persecution of the church rather than people being turned off by the hypocrisy and self-centeredness they see so often in churches.  And of course, every December you'll hear people bemoaning a "war on Christmas" every time they are reminded that not everyone in their community celebrates Christmas.  In a lot of ways, we church folk can be very bitter, very resentful, and full of a sense of entitlement, when we're not really being persecuted.  Rather, we are being asked to make room for others with the acknowledgement that there are others here.

We don't know for sure what kinds of "fiery ordeal" the readers of First Peter were dealing with.  Some scholars think that they were living through an early wave of officially anti-Christian persecution from the Empire.  Others suggest it might have been more local hostility when they'd get run out of town or expelled from a larger region or province.  To read the book of Acts, after all, the early church got a reputation for "turning the world upside down" and "disturbing the peace," and they were regularly imprisoned, beaten, tortured, or in some cases killed for that reputation.  Those, of course, are serious hardships to live with--certainly a far cry from throwing a tantrum when someone wishes you "Happy Holidays" in mid-December.  But what amazes me is the perspective that the New Testament cultivates in the face of those hardships.

These words from First Peter, which many of us heard in worship this past Sunday, start with the very real experience of suffering in the Christian community. But instead of channeling that pain into rage, vengeance, or whining, First Peter reframes it and suggests that enduring that hardship might just be a sign that these Christians are facing hostility the way Jesus did--with a refusal to hold grudges or return evil for evil.  Notice--he's not telling them to be thankful THAT they are suffering, but rather, he suggests, "Maybe this is evidence that you are growing in Christ-likeness; after all, Jesus went through pain and suffering, too, rather than lashing back at those who were hostile to him."  It's not the pain we're supposed to celebrate--it's the hope that we're becoming more and more like Christ, and that the enduring of suffering may be a sign we're actually growing up to love and live more like Jesus.

What is especially telling to me is that First Peter doesn't tell his readers to get up in arms about it, or even to be surprised about it.  He assumes that there will be hostility from the world, and he also seems to assume that their response to that hostility can be part of their witness.  If they respond to the hostility of others without seeking revenge, then their actions become a reflection of Christ.  On the other hand, if the Christian community started up their own little militia to kill the people who were harassing them, they would be destroying their witness to Christ and showing how unlike Jesus they really were.  

First Peter doesn't assume that Christians are in power in his situation, nor does he think that's the solution.  He doesn't say, "Since you are facing hostility from non-Christians, then you need to take political power for yourselves, and then you can round up your enemies and jail them, exile them, or get rid of them once and for all." Rather, he assumes that our way of witnessing to the love of Jesus is... to love like Jesus.  That is to say, sometimes we'll be called upon to bear hardship rather than to inflict it on someone else.

And in our day and age, when many certainly can remember a time when things were different [when stores were closed on Sundays, or when Christianity was seen as the "default" setting, or church attendance was higher, or whatever], it's worth remembering, too, that the New Testament doesn't assume Christians will be the only ones at the table.  Just the opposite--they start from the assumption that we're a voice from the margins, a minority report in the midst of other groups, beliefs, and communities.  And rather than plot out a course for Christians to dominate the world or to take political power for their own advantage, voices like First Peter see our role simply as being like Jesus.  The right question is not, "How can we Christians leverage positions of power or privilege to keep things comfortable for ourselves?" but rather, "How can we respond to others like Jesus, even when they are hostile toward us?" And maybe it also means recognizing that sometimes the most Christ-like thing we can do in a culture that is increasingly not Christian is to make room for neighbors around us at the table we're already at, rather than to silence them because "they" aren't "us." 

To hear First Peter tell it is, letting go of the bitterness and resentment over hostility from the outside world can lead to joy.  It can give us hope that we are being made more like Jesus [which is really what this whole Christian faith is about, right?], and it can free us from being petty or entitled.  That sounds like a better posture to face the new day, doesn't it?

Let's dare to give it a try.

Lord Jesus, enable us to face hostility with your kind of grace, and to be willing to be inconvenienced or to make room for others rather than to bear grudges toward them.