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Christianity in an UnChristian World: Glory
I Peter 5
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
As he addressed these
Christians living in an unChristian world, Peter directs the attention of his scattered
flock to the glory Christ promised.
This is important. After all, it is quite easy in the midst of trials and
suffering to focus only on the struggle; to be unable look beyond the problems.
When there seems to be no end in sight, when you do not even know how you’re
going to make it to tomorrow, it is easy to wallow in self-pity and resignation
and think about nothing else.
Peter
knew it. He was, as he says, “a witness of the sufferings of Christ.” He
saw Jesus arrested while Peter was still wiping the sleep from his eyes. He saw
Jesus on trial while Peter was busy denying Him. And then he saw Jesus hung on
the cross; He saw Jesus dead, and he was too scared to help take down his
Friend and bury him. He knew the terror of hiding behind locked doors with his
friends and thinking he was next. He knew what it was like to be arrested and
abused for following Jesus. If anyone knew what those scattered Christians were
going through, it was Peter.
Though
they are suffering now, he reassures them. “When the chief
Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” Of course,
Peter is talking about the Last Day when Jesus comes again in glory. But
there’s another layer that can help us now. Think about Peter on that Easter night.
He had witnessed the sufferings of Christ and was living with his own cowardice
and guilt. And then the chief Shepherd appeared. Locked doors couldn’t stop
Him. He gave His disciples peace, not fear; forgiveness, not punishment; hope,
not despair; joy, not sorrow. Everything Peter needed, Jesus provided, for the
chief Shepherd is alive and caring for His flock.
He
continues to care for His flock today. He does that now, after His ascension,
through His elders, the biblical word for pastors. Peter wants those pastors,
those undershepherds, to do what Jesus, the chief Shepherd, had done for him.
He wants pastors to give them the Word of peace, forgiveness, hope, and joy. He
wants pastors to preach to the flock that the victory has already been won, that
there will be an end to the suffering, to sin, to the scattering. When the
chief Shepherd appears, it will be the same for the flock just as it was for
Peter that night. So Peter tells the pastors, “As a fellow elder...shepherd
the flock of God that is among you.” Wherever the flock is, whatever form
the ministry takes, be there as Christ for them so that they will not be alone.
Peter
then adds this admonition: “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility.”
Though Peter may be speaking to the pastors, it applies to all of us. Pride is
the great enemy of faith. Pride has two dangers: thinking too much of self and
too little of others, and trusting too much to your own abilities and strength.
Those are the enemies of faith because faith always looks outward; faith always
looks to God in faith and to others in love. “God opposes the proud but
gives grace to the humble.” God humbles the proud so that we will instead
turn to Him in repentance. God humbles us so that we trust only Him and His
strength and forgiveness.
But
while God opposes the proud, He gives grace to the humble. Peter urges his
flock, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that
at the proper time he may exalt you.” His hand, not yours, is mighty. He,
not you, will lift up. Humble yourself under Him in faith and trust. “Cast
all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you.” He truly does care for
you. Do you need more proof than the cross? He cares for you. The devil
certainly doesn’t; He is looking to divide and devour you. The world does not
care for you; it is often the cause of your suffering and anxiety. But your God
and chief Shepherd does care for you. And at the proper time, “He Himself
will restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you,” because He “has
called you to His eternal glory in Christ.” He has called you by the
Gospel, baptized you into His flock, and has promised you eternal glory. Locked
doors could not stop Jesus from appearing to Peter and his frightened friends; and
no grave will stop Him. What He has promised, He will do. For “to Him
belongs all dominion”—all power and authority and rule and strength—“forever
and ever. Amen.”
A
letter which began with the certainty of baptism now ends with its fulfillment.
It is a letter of encouragement, for it will never be easy to live as
Christians in an unchristian world, especially as that world becomes
increasingly anti-Christian and opposed to the truth. Satan is an equal
opportunity attacker. The world around you will always hate you as much as it
hates your Lord. Your own sinful flesh will constantly battle against the new
man in you. But in the midst of all that is Christ, who has planted His
cross into the earth like a battle flag and has claimed the victory. That
victory is given to you and all the faithful through the Word preached, through
the Word in the water of baptism, through the Word in your mouth in bread and
wine. This glorious victory is now hidden in these ordinary means, but the Day
is coming—coming soon—in the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. “Even so, Lord
Jesus, come quickly.” In the name of the
Father and of the Son (+) and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The peace of God which passes all
understanding will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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