Sermon from 6th May 2007
Today, our OLM trainee, Gill Tayleur, preaches
based on the reading from 1 Peter 3: 8-18a
Do you love it or hate it? Or maybe you don’t know it… …Love it or hate it, I’m talking about IKEA, the Swedish furniture store that’s very cheap because you have to buy the furniture flat-packed and screw it together yourself, with instructions like this. The instructions haven’t always been translated into English very well, which is why some people hate IKEA! Yes I’m one of those – because I’m no good with DIY. Putting things together, even with the instructions, I sometimes get them wrong. Once I had a chest of drawers that had one drawer upside down. It looked OK shut, but when you opened it, the bottom of the drawer was at the top, so it was useless! Last week Adrian told us of one of his DIY mistakes: building a pergola in his back garden wonky, because he laid the first brick at the wrong angle. That was when he learned what a cornerstone is, and last Sunday he showed us. The cornerstone is the stone or brick that is laid first. It must go in exactly the right place, at exactly the right angle, because all the other bricks are lined up with it. Like this… one goes exactly straight on top this way, another that way, lining up the corner, and so on. The cornerstone is the starter brick and the example. It shows how all the others must go. The reason Adrian showed us what a cornerstone was, is that Christ is described as a Cornerstone in the reading we had last week. We’re working our way through this letter that Peter wrote to Christian communities in what’s now Turkey around 60 AD, about 30 years after Jesus’ death. And in chapter 2 last week we read that Christ is The Cornerstone. He’s our starter and our example. We are to model and align our lives and behaviour on His, like the bricks. We’re to live Christ’s way. And in the passage we heard earlier, Peter gives some very practical advice about how we do that in real life everyday situations. Unlike IKEA’s, Peter’s instructions are very clear. But before we look at those instructions, let’s just think about why we might want to align our lives on Christ’s. In verse 18 we read “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” Christ died for our sins, the ways in which we live with our lives centred on ourselves rather than God. He died for the unrighteous, he died for us, in your place and mine. He died to bring us to God that we might be forgiven and set free from that sin, that self-centredness. Free to live as God intended, with Him at the centre. Free to live His way. And last week we read Peter’s description of Christ as ‘the cornerstone’ and we who live His way as ‘living stones’. ‘Living stones’ being built into a ‘spiritual house’. This spiritual house is the church, and together we give Him worship and obedience. We’re a whole people who live with Christ as our cornerstone, aligning our behaviour with His, living His way. This means turning from our self-centred ways. We read in verse 11, “turn from evil and do good”. Living Christ’s way is not something that always comes easily. We have to turn to it, to choose it, and we can see how in today’s reading. Since the part of the letter we were looking at last week in chapter 2, Peter has been writing about relationships. He says his readers are to live Christ’s way in all their social roles: as masters & servants, wives & husbands, and now church members & neighbours. In a series of one-liners, he shows how everyday relationships can be aligned with Christ the cornerstone, can be lived Christ’s way. Let’s look at them, beginning at verse 8 if you want to follow along: First, “all of you, live in harmony with one another”. Other translations say, have the same attitude and the same feelings, pursue the same goals, or be all of the same mind. If each person is living Christ’s way, then they will have similar aims and direction. What about us here at St Saviour’s, and with our brothers & sisters at St Saviour’s? To what extent do we have harmony and the same attitude? Do we focus on what we have in common, following Christ together? Or do we stir up the different approaches or attitudes we sometimes have to, say, our musical traditions? Do we join in pursuing the parish goal of becoming more-mission shaped, or stay on the sidelines? Do we insist on things being done our way? Or do we line up our attitudes to the cornerstone’s, to Christ’s? ‘Live in harmony with one another, pursue the same goals.’ Then there’s “ be sympathetic, love as brothers (& sisters!), be compassionate and humble.” Is that what our church community is like? How responsive are we to each other’s needs? Do we even know what they are? How willing are we to get involved with practical help, compassion and humility when someone is in trouble? Peter developed compassion and humility the hard way. When he was first a follower of Christ, compassion & humility didn’t come easily to his forthright, impulsive, strong willed personality. Peter had been certain that he would never abandon Jesus or let him down but he did so on the night Jesus was arrested. Not just once but 3 times he said he didn’t know Jesus, because he was scared for his own skin. But later Jesus gave Peter the chance to come back to Him, humbly this time. And in the next chapter of this letter, we see Peter’s humility, in the way he writes about church leadership. Peter learned to live Christ’s way, lining up to the cornerstone, and we can too. Live in harmony, love as brothers. Then: “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing.” Don’t we want to get our own back when we’re hurt? Our gut reaction is to snap back, when we’re cut up on the road maybe. Or left out of a decision at work. Or when someone we live with takes out some of their day’s frustrations on us? But instead of kicking back, we’re told repay with a blessing! To be a blessing to the one who has hurt us, by doing something good for them perhaps, and or to pray for them. Is this tough, or what?! But look at how our cornerstone is set: see how Christ responded when he was on the receiving end of abuse & hurt so much worse than anything we’re ever likely to face. Repay evil with a blessing. So, Live in harmony, love as brothers, repay evil with a blessing. Peter picks a great one next: it’s about what we say and how we say it: “keep the tongue from evil and the lips from deceitful speech”. We all know the terrible effect our words can have and how out of control our speech can sometimes be. Some of us tend to speak before we think, and a cutting or sarcastic, or untruthful word can be out of our mouths as quick as a flash! Or a critical or complaining one, or gossiping, boasting, exaggerating, putting others down, hateful or angry words… But Peter says it’s up to us to keep our tongues from evil and deceit, from words that are hurtful. We’re to align our speech with Christ the cornerstone, who spoke only for good, with words that were always loving, if sometimes very tough. And there’s another practical way of living Christ’s way that Peter describes: “Seek peace and pursue it”. A good peacemaker actively pursues peace, building good relationships and anticipating & dealing with problems before they arise. We might see how this works in our family relationships. Dealing with conflicts before they grow unmanageable – making peace is harder work than waging war! But that’s another aspect of living Christ’s way. So, Peter has given lots of practical advice about how to line up to Christ the cornerstone, how to live His way in our relationships. Live in harmony, love as brothers, repay evil with a blessing, keep your tongue from evil, and pursue peace. And we’re to live this way, Christ’s way, regardless of the circumstances! That whole section, from verses 10 to 12, is a quote from Psalm 34. It was written by David when he was on the run from Saul, who was trying to kill him. Similarly, the people Peter was originally writing to, like Peter himself, were facing horrendous persecution. In those days Christians were being flogged, tortured, imprisoned and even killed for their allegiance to Christ rather than the Roman Emperor. Being known as a Christian was a very dangerous thing indeed. So the references to suffering we read here, were not theoretical but very real. Peter says “Even if you suffer for what is right” & “It is better to suffer for doing good, than for doing evil.” Peter knew his readers would face suffering. But look! He goes on to say in verse 14, “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” Rather than fear our enemies, we are to trust God. He’s the one we’re to set apart to look up to, and to obey. We’re to live His way. And when we do so, when we put Him at the centre of our lives, we cannot be shaken by anything our enemies do. Like Christ, our cornerstone. It’s in this context of persecution & suffering that Peter gives one more piece of practical advice about relationships with people outside the church. He says “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” He’s telling them to be ready to speak up about being Christians, in a situation where to do so might mean imprisonment, a beating, even death. How much more should we then be willing to speak up about our faith, about what Christ means to us, when, at the moment anyway, all we’re likely to face is being laughed at or looked down on? Peter is saying to keep on doing the right thing, align yourself with Christ the cornerstone, keep on living His way, regardless of the consequences. And just some of the ways to do that are to live in harmony, love as brothers, repay with a blessing, keep your tongue from evil, pursue peace, be ready to speak up when asked about your faith. Isn’t it true, that there’s a joy in knowing we’re doing the right thing?! Living Christ’s way may not be easy, and could conceivably bring suffering or trouble as well as joy. But we do so because of what He’s done for us: “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” He died for sinners, for us, so that we can be brought to God, and freed from that sin, freed to live His way. We have the instructions, we have the cornerstone already set. Let’s come to God with thankfulness for all he’s done for us in Christ; let us live Christ’s way regardless of the consequences! No matter what! All the time!
based on the reading from 1 Peter 3: 8-18a
Do you love it or hate it? Or maybe you don’t know it… …Love it or hate it, I’m talking about IKEA, the Swedish furniture store that’s very cheap because you have to buy the furniture flat-packed and screw it together yourself, with instructions like this. The instructions haven’t always been translated into English very well, which is why some people hate IKEA! Yes I’m one of those – because I’m no good with DIY. Putting things together, even with the instructions, I sometimes get them wrong. Once I had a chest of drawers that had one drawer upside down. It looked OK shut, but when you opened it, the bottom of the drawer was at the top, so it was useless! Last week Adrian told us of one of his DIY mistakes: building a pergola in his back garden wonky, because he laid the first brick at the wrong angle. That was when he learned what a cornerstone is, and last Sunday he showed us. The cornerstone is the stone or brick that is laid first. It must go in exactly the right place, at exactly the right angle, because all the other bricks are lined up with it. Like this… one goes exactly straight on top this way, another that way, lining up the corner, and so on. The cornerstone is the starter brick and the example. It shows how all the others must go. The reason Adrian showed us what a cornerstone was, is that Christ is described as a Cornerstone in the reading we had last week. We’re working our way through this letter that Peter wrote to Christian communities in what’s now Turkey around 60 AD, about 30 years after Jesus’ death. And in chapter 2 last week we read that Christ is The Cornerstone. He’s our starter and our example. We are to model and align our lives and behaviour on His, like the bricks. We’re to live Christ’s way. And in the passage we heard earlier, Peter gives some very practical advice about how we do that in real life everyday situations. Unlike IKEA’s, Peter’s instructions are very clear. But before we look at those instructions, let’s just think about why we might want to align our lives on Christ’s. In verse 18 we read “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” Christ died for our sins, the ways in which we live with our lives centred on ourselves rather than God. He died for the unrighteous, he died for us, in your place and mine. He died to bring us to God that we might be forgiven and set free from that sin, that self-centredness. Free to live as God intended, with Him at the centre. Free to live His way. And last week we read Peter’s description of Christ as ‘the cornerstone’ and we who live His way as ‘living stones’. ‘Living stones’ being built into a ‘spiritual house’. This spiritual house is the church, and together we give Him worship and obedience. We’re a whole people who live with Christ as our cornerstone, aligning our behaviour with His, living His way. This means turning from our self-centred ways. We read in verse 11, “turn from evil and do good”. Living Christ’s way is not something that always comes easily. We have to turn to it, to choose it, and we can see how in today’s reading. Since the part of the letter we were looking at last week in chapter 2, Peter has been writing about relationships. He says his readers are to live Christ’s way in all their social roles: as masters & servants, wives & husbands, and now church members & neighbours. In a series of one-liners, he shows how everyday relationships can be aligned with Christ the cornerstone, can be lived Christ’s way. Let’s look at them, beginning at verse 8 if you want to follow along: First, “all of you, live in harmony with one another”. Other translations say, have the same attitude and the same feelings, pursue the same goals, or be all of the same mind. If each person is living Christ’s way, then they will have similar aims and direction. What about us here at St Saviour’s, and with our brothers & sisters at St Saviour’s? To what extent do we have harmony and the same attitude? Do we focus on what we have in common, following Christ together? Or do we stir up the different approaches or attitudes we sometimes have to, say, our musical traditions? Do we join in pursuing the parish goal of becoming more-mission shaped, or stay on the sidelines? Do we insist on things being done our way? Or do we line up our attitudes to the cornerstone’s, to Christ’s? ‘Live in harmony with one another, pursue the same goals.’ Then there’s “ be sympathetic, love as brothers (& sisters!), be compassionate and humble.” Is that what our church community is like? How responsive are we to each other’s needs? Do we even know what they are? How willing are we to get involved with practical help, compassion and humility when someone is in trouble? Peter developed compassion and humility the hard way. When he was first a follower of Christ, compassion & humility didn’t come easily to his forthright, impulsive, strong willed personality. Peter had been certain that he would never abandon Jesus or let him down but he did so on the night Jesus was arrested. Not just once but 3 times he said he didn’t know Jesus, because he was scared for his own skin. But later Jesus gave Peter the chance to come back to Him, humbly this time. And in the next chapter of this letter, we see Peter’s humility, in the way he writes about church leadership. Peter learned to live Christ’s way, lining up to the cornerstone, and we can too. Live in harmony, love as brothers. Then: “Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing.” Don’t we want to get our own back when we’re hurt? Our gut reaction is to snap back, when we’re cut up on the road maybe. Or left out of a decision at work. Or when someone we live with takes out some of their day’s frustrations on us? But instead of kicking back, we’re told repay with a blessing! To be a blessing to the one who has hurt us, by doing something good for them perhaps, and or to pray for them. Is this tough, or what?! But look at how our cornerstone is set: see how Christ responded when he was on the receiving end of abuse & hurt so much worse than anything we’re ever likely to face. Repay evil with a blessing. So, Live in harmony, love as brothers, repay evil with a blessing. Peter picks a great one next: it’s about what we say and how we say it: “keep the tongue from evil and the lips from deceitful speech”. We all know the terrible effect our words can have and how out of control our speech can sometimes be. Some of us tend to speak before we think, and a cutting or sarcastic, or untruthful word can be out of our mouths as quick as a flash! Or a critical or complaining one, or gossiping, boasting, exaggerating, putting others down, hateful or angry words… But Peter says it’s up to us to keep our tongues from evil and deceit, from words that are hurtful. We’re to align our speech with Christ the cornerstone, who spoke only for good, with words that were always loving, if sometimes very tough. And there’s another practical way of living Christ’s way that Peter describes: “Seek peace and pursue it”. A good peacemaker actively pursues peace, building good relationships and anticipating & dealing with problems before they arise. We might see how this works in our family relationships. Dealing with conflicts before they grow unmanageable – making peace is harder work than waging war! But that’s another aspect of living Christ’s way. So, Peter has given lots of practical advice about how to line up to Christ the cornerstone, how to live His way in our relationships. Live in harmony, love as brothers, repay evil with a blessing, keep your tongue from evil, and pursue peace. And we’re to live this way, Christ’s way, regardless of the circumstances! That whole section, from verses 10 to 12, is a quote from Psalm 34. It was written by David when he was on the run from Saul, who was trying to kill him. Similarly, the people Peter was originally writing to, like Peter himself, were facing horrendous persecution. In those days Christians were being flogged, tortured, imprisoned and even killed for their allegiance to Christ rather than the Roman Emperor. Being known as a Christian was a very dangerous thing indeed. So the references to suffering we read here, were not theoretical but very real. Peter says “Even if you suffer for what is right” & “It is better to suffer for doing good, than for doing evil.” Peter knew his readers would face suffering. But look! He goes on to say in verse 14, “Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” Rather than fear our enemies, we are to trust God. He’s the one we’re to set apart to look up to, and to obey. We’re to live His way. And when we do so, when we put Him at the centre of our lives, we cannot be shaken by anything our enemies do. Like Christ, our cornerstone. It’s in this context of persecution & suffering that Peter gives one more piece of practical advice about relationships with people outside the church. He says “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” He’s telling them to be ready to speak up about being Christians, in a situation where to do so might mean imprisonment, a beating, even death. How much more should we then be willing to speak up about our faith, about what Christ means to us, when, at the moment anyway, all we’re likely to face is being laughed at or looked down on? Peter is saying to keep on doing the right thing, align yourself with Christ the cornerstone, keep on living His way, regardless of the consequences. And just some of the ways to do that are to live in harmony, love as brothers, repay with a blessing, keep your tongue from evil, pursue peace, be ready to speak up when asked about your faith. Isn’t it true, that there’s a joy in knowing we’re doing the right thing?! Living Christ’s way may not be easy, and could conceivably bring suffering or trouble as well as joy. But we do so because of what He’s done for us: “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.” He died for sinners, for us, so that we can be brought to God, and freed from that sin, freed to live His way. We have the instructions, we have the cornerstone already set. Let’s come to God with thankfulness for all he’s done for us in Christ; let us live Christ’s way regardless of the consequences! No matter what! All the time!
posted by Parish Administrator at 1:58 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home