Sermon for May 8, 2011

Scripture:       1 Peter 1:17- 23

“Cephas”       Rev. Christopher Fazel

            This passage is from the first letter of Peter, whose name in Aramaic is “Cephas.” It is part of a small batch of letters from different authors gathered at the back of the New Testament.  All these letters make very interesting reading and study.  There are two letters attributed to Peter.  The second letter is beyond a doubt pseudonymous – someone other than Peter wrote it in his name.  It almost certainly dates to the end of the first century, fifty years after Peter died.  The first letter of Peter, however, may very well come from the mind of the apostle Peter, who had walked and talked with Jesus.  What an opportunity that would be to read even a few comments from a member of the original circle!  Even the letters of Paul can’t claim that.  The first letter of Peter has great pedigree.  It is quoted in the earliest post canonical documents of the early church.  And the quotes are always attributed to Peter.  The letter has always been included in all stages of the development of the Christian canon, and it was never disputed as genuine until the 19th century.  Today the scholarly opinion is divided on whether this is from Peter or not.  From my study of both the arguments and the text itself, I choose to side with genuine authorship.  And for that reason, the first letter of Peter is one of my favorite books of the New Testament.  I would love to spend hours with you presenting the various arguments and studying the text itself, because aside from its historical value, I find the text to be extraordinarily deep and rich.   

            It’s fascinating for me to see just how a representative from the original circle of disciples of Jesus addresses the fundamental religious questions, which are these:  “What is the nature of God?”  “What is our relationship to God?”  “And what kind of people does God want us to be?”  Those are always the basic questions of religion, and they were burning questions for first century Jews.    How does Peter answer those questions?  Well, the greeting in the letter says, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the exiles in [and here he mentions five Christian communities] who have been chosen and destined by God the Father, sanctified by the Spirit to be obedient to Jesus Christ, and to be sprinkled with his blood.”  Now, the first thing that probably jumps out at you in this sentence is this “sprinkled with his blood” thing.  And isn’t that just the imagery a first century Jew would use who grew up in a culture that still used animal sacrifice in the central temple at Jerusalem?  But what do we learn about God in this opening?  We learn that God is intentional.  God destines, God chooses, and God reaches out, God radiates a spirit that illuminates and lifts up the soul.  And most of all, God enters into cooperative responsive relationships with human beings.  The whole “sprinkle with his blood” thing is a reference to the covenant ritual (which dates back at least to Abraham,) when God and human come together in mutual devotion and cooperation.  So, for Peter, God is good, God is personal and God’s personal goodness radiates into the human soul. 

            But what is our relationship to this God?  Is God a remote, alien entity who has created us for some purpose, and who is essentially different from us?  Peter says no.  Peter describes God as Father.  In fact, Peter uses the word Father three times in the first chapter.  Now, on this Mother’s Day, we may understand this term, not as gender specific, but rather simply as a “Loving Parent.”  That is a bold statement.  The creator of the universe is actually our Parent, who loves us as a parent.  Now, as a parent myself, and as one who has had loving parents, I know what a powerful statement that is.  In this world, where we so often feel alone and abandoned and threatened, what a comforting thing it is to rest on an assurance that we are always held and fed by a spirit of love and understanding that can come only from a loving parent.  Furthermore, as children of God, we inherit the realm of God that Peter describes as “imperishable, undefiled and unfading, kept in heaven for you.”

            And so, right off, we learn what Peter has to say about the nature of God and about our relationship to God.  But what about that third question, “What kind of people does God want us to be?”  Well, for Peter, that takes us to Jesus Christ.  For Peter, the life and character of Jesus saves us from the dark uncertainty of how we’re supposed to be?  The life of Jesus is the good news.  Like a lamb without blemish, Jesus reveals to us the kind of human God wants us to be!   That’s huge.  We now have a standard.  We now know how to measure the human soul.  And the evidence that establishes this standard is, for Peter, the resurrection.

            So what are the standards set for us by the life of Jesus according to Peter?  Well, in our reading today, the first standard is trust in God.  Peter says that as Jesus entrusted himself to God in the midst of his suffering, so too may we (in light of the resurrection) trust in the goodness and the power of God in the midst of our own suffering. 

            A second standard set by Jesus is an attitude of love.  Peter stresses this point repeatedly.  In our reading for today he says, “…now that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.”  And later he says, “Finally, all of you have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind.”  And still later he says, “Above all, maintain constant love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins.”   Aren’t those beautiful injunctions?

            And finally, Peter sets for us the steep learning curve that is at the center of Christian ethics.  First he uses Christ as the example saying, “When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.”  Then later, he challenges us with the same standard, “Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing.  It is for this that you were called – that you might inherit a blessing.”

            So there you have it – the essentials of religious thought from one who walked the roads of Galilee and Judea with Jesus; from one who ate and drank with him and called him friend; from one who watched him die and one who saw him resurrected.  In my estimation he measures up well.  May we strive every day to do the same.  And may God be our strength.  Let us pray.

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