January 24, 2010
The World is not our Home
1 Peter 2.11-25
An Empty Church
If you talk to me for any length of time you will quickly come to realize that I am a bit of a pop culture junky. There are just certain things that I will get excited about. For example, if you came up to me and started a conversation about the differences between Marvel and DC Comic Superheroes my eyes will light up.
Maybe we will talk about which comic tells a better story or compare similar heroes like Hawkeye and Green Arrow. I would be thrilled to have a conversation about when the music group Chicago was at their best. Was it the heavy improvising horn music from their early years or the mushy pop songs of the 80’s (clearly the mushy songs). Or maybe we could talk about who uses mythology best in their fantasy writing; Neal Gaiman or Charles de Lint.
I do not do nearly as well with the fine arts. I have to admit that I think the fine arts are… well… fine. I try to apologize regularly when my eyes glaze over as others talk about classical periods of music (all of which sound exactly the same to me). And at museums, I look at paintings much in the same way one looks a those “magic eye” pictures… you know… the ones if you squint just the right way something will jump out at you. No matter how I stare, most famous paintings don’t “jump out” for me.
And yet despite all of this, every once in a while something from the “fine arts” can even grab a hold of someone like me. “A Starry Night” is probably one of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous and recognizable pieces.
And when I look at it even someone like me “gets something.” The painting contains heavenly bodies in completely organized chaos. There is a yellow warmth and deep indigo in the sky. Van Gogh is giving you and I a glimpse at the infinite in this painting.
Yet many art folks would argue that there is a deep critique in this painting as well. Do you notice that the same yellows in the sky are found in most of the houses below. There is only one building clearly dark; the church. Sky Jethani writes in “The Divine Commodity” that God is everywhere in this painting except in the church.
This critique should concern us. Mike just preached last week on the previous passage in 1 Peter and how we are to be a people called out of the darkness and into light. The church should be the brightest things in this painting right? Yet there may be some credence to Van Gogh’s supposed critique of the church. Most studies put out by sociologists and even the Barna Group, a Christian research organization, indicates that the average follower of Jesus doesn’t actually look all that different than anyone else. He or she acts pretty much the same.
In fact, I have to be honest that when I hear some of the things that some “Christian leaders” say on TV or the radio, especially after natural disasters like in Haiti. When I hear people, crediting disasters to a vengeful God smiting a sinful nation, I have to admit that Christians not only seem “no different than anyone else” but actually worse.
But this is not what Peter says we should look like in today’s passage. Just look at verse 11. We are called to be foreigners and exiles. We shouldn’t be like those who are concerned with the sinful desires of this world but with the soul! That kind of church should be a beacon of light shouldn’t it? We should act as if “This world is not our home”
The “S” Word
In today’s passage, Peter not only gives us generalities on how to behave but also one thing you and I could put into practice to truly be “different.” A way that could make us look less that others in this world. One way we could look like aliens and foreigners reflecting the light of Christ.
But I have to admit that I get a little uncomfortable mentioning the word. You see it’s not a popular word in today’s culture. Some would consider it a bad word. It’s the “S” word. Did you catch it in today’s passage? Verse 13? The word of course is “submission.”
Submission gets bad press. In wrestling, submission happens when one wrestler has complete control of the other. That’s one of the definitions of the word, “to bring something under someone else’s power.” One who is in submission kind of seems like a weenie, a weakling, or a coward. That does not seem fun at all.
In fact Feminist movements in the United States have been battling against passages in scripture that speak on wives being submissive for years. I believe they have had every right to. Never in the New Testament is submission something that is forced on another. It’s always a suggestion that people choose for themselves.
We live in a culture that does not like submission. The United States was founded on a group of folks standing up to a tyrannical government. Things have not changed much in recent years. We human beings seem to like to be in control of ourselves. We like to get our own way. And yet today’s passage argues that there is another way to live; that we can make an active choice to be under someone else’s authority.
Examples of Submission
Peter gives us several examples of what submission could look like in today’s scripture. First, in verses 13-17 he argues that we should submit to those in leadership over us (especially those in political spheres). What does this look like? Well, if we don’t like a policy in the government we are allowed not to like it. It states in the verses that we still have freedom. But even if we don’t like what is going on, we should respect those in power and follow the law (as long as we can continue to follow God’s law first). Followers of Jesus tend to get themselves in trouble when they think they know best and are a law unto themselves.
In verses 18-25 (and especially verses 18-20), Peter goes on to share how slaves should submit to their masters. Since slavery is not legal in the United States, it is easy to take this second example and just sort of apply it to the first. There will always be people in authority over us, our bosses at work, leaders in the community, government officials. We should submit to them. But sometimes those authorities will be cruel and unjust and unfair. This example shows that it would be good for us to take our lickings gracefully. God wants us to remain true to him and not repay evil with evil.
Submission Amped Up
It would be easy to take these little life lessons from Peter, add them to our lifestyle, and just move on. But I think that we would miss something if we did. Peter is actually teaching us something about submission here that is much more radical that we could lose in the shuffle.
Peter wrote this letter to a community under persecution. There were non-Christian community leaders spreading lies about the Christian faith. Questioning what Christians did in worship behind closed doors. These were lies that were getting members of the churches thrown in jail… more and more followers of Jesus were getting executed. And history shows us that the problems were only escalating.
Peter wrote about submission in this passage with these issues in mind. On the one hand, he writes in verse 15 that by being respectful to the government there was a chance that those lying about Christianity would be silenced because what would they were saying would be seen for the lies they were. But even if the situation did not change, Paul is arguing in places like verse 16, that the church should not take matters into their own hands. They might be free BUT they are a different people. They are ultimately slaves to God.
Even mentioning in this letter that the Roman government might persecute the church could be seen as an act of treason, so hidden in a passage that talks about how slaves should treat their master. Peter tells the church how they should treat those with power over them. If the church must suffer so be it. In fact, maybe suffering by doing right is a good thing (verse 21). Peter is asking the church to submit themselves to the very authority that could directly persecute them (because followers of Christ should be submitting to God first and foremost). This is radical! Would you and I be able to do it?
A Middle Way
Peter goes on in verses 21-25 to claim that Jesus is the ultimate example that we should be following in terms of submission. Christ chose to simply take the insults, abuse, and even death because he had entrusted himself to God. Peter is offering us a way to be different. But it isn’t a weenie way. Submission is an active powerful choice. By having the courage to let go of our own ego for the sake of building up the community of faith and letting God’s reign, God can change others through us. Following Jesus means that it isn’t important if we are a Republican or a Democrat, it’s not about being right or knowing what is best, about our position in the company, how well we invest, about wining or about our ego. God wants us to put all of that aside. It’s about submitting to God and realizing that he cares deeply about you and me (and everyone else as well).
I have had many opportunities in my life to see this kind of submission in others. One example that stands out to me comes from my time as a youth director. Every year our church’s junior high youth group would go on a weeklong bike trip in various parts of the Northwest. And for some reason, each year some folks would not be thrilled when suddenly 100 Junior Highers and leaders set up camp right next to them for a week. It was no different the year we went to Eastern Oregon. There was an older couple and their grandchildren camping right next to our group. They were not happy when our 15-20 vehicles caravanned in with a huge cloud of dust. They were even less happy when we loudly sang campfire songs right up to the very edge of quiet hours. They were less happy (if that is even possible) when a large group of kids cut through their site on the way to the bathrooms that night. And we made matters worse when they approached some of our college interns and shared their concerns and the interns told them we were doing God’s work and they would have to just live with it.
That night our leaders met and discussed how we were going to deal with our REALLY angry next door neighbors. Some were arguing that we weren’t doing anything wrong. Others like me, wanted to change how we did things to make them happy. And as we debated one of our leaders, Mark, asked us if he could try something and then left to talk to our neighbors.
You see, there were three choices before us (although most of us only saw 2). First there was what I would call the way of the overly righteous (God is on our side!). There was the way of the weenie (mindless compliance). But there was also a third way; the way of submission to God. Mark recognized that although we should throw our personal agenda aside we shouldn’t throw out God’s agenda. He also knew that more often than not God’s agenda is about caring about people.
Mark went to the couple next door and simply asked if their grandkids wanted to join us during the week. Sure enough, the kids biked with us the next day. The day after that they biked and came to campfire. The following day the whole family came to campfire. And by the last night, the grandparents where standing, clapping, and singing as loudly as everyone else. By submitting ourselves to God, you and I can change people.
An Empty Church
We don’t know what Van Gogh was thinking when we painted “A Starry Night.” But I have to admit that when I look at it I like what I see. This image is as things should be. Hello, it’s night time!!! Of course the church is dark; it’s closed. The church members have gone home. And yet these followers of Jesus recognize that this world is not their home. Having put their egos aside, having submitted to God, they can’t help but reflect God’s warmth and love to their families, friends, and neighbors. They are reflecting the infinite God. My hope and prayer is that we all can leave this church in the same way today.