Sermon 2nd September 2012

Today our Vicar, Cameron Barker, begins a new study series, Created to Become Like Christ, looking at the book of 1 Peter.  

Here’s a quandary: there isn’t just one good way to get into this new series; but two. Well, as some people are probably still in holiday mode, I thought that I’d best use both of them.

So, first is the story of a teenage boy who was complaining to his granny about how everything was going wrong for him: school; family-life; health; girls; everything. His Granny just listened quietly, as she baked a cake.

After a while she asked her grandson if he wanted snack – which, being a teenager, of course he did.

“Here, have some cooking oil.”

“Yuck!” he said.

“How about a couple raw eggs?”

“No, Granny!”

“Would you like some flour then? Or baking soda?”

“Gran, those are all horrible!”

“Yes, they do each taste bad by themselves”, she replied: “But when they’re all put together in the right way, they make a delicious cake. And God sometime works like that in our lives too, you know”.

The second one is less twee – because it’s about a pirate, who walked into his local watering-hole one day. The landlady checked him out, and said, “Long time no see: but what has happened to you? You look terrible.”

“What do you mean?” said the pirate, “I feel fine.”

“What about the wooden leg? You didn’t have that the last time I saw you.”

“Well,” said the pirate, “We were in a fierce battle, and I took a cannon ball through the knee; but I’m fine now, look.”

The landlady the said, “And what about that hook? What happened to your hand?”

The pirate explained, “That happened in another battle. I boarded a ship, and my hand was cut off in the sword-fight. I got fitted with this hook, though, so I’m fine, really.”

“And that eye patch?”

“Oh, that,” said the pirate, “As we were approacheing this island, a flock of birds flew over the ship. While I was looking up, one of them pooped right in my eye.”

“No way!” said the landlady. “How could you possibly lose an eye just from a little bird poo?”

“Well, it was my first day with the hook.”

Now, this isn’t some sliding-doors-moment. It’s not that one of those stories takes us down one road into Peter’s first letter, and the other story down a different route. No, both of them could and should perform the same function. There’s no way to avoid the fact that – in some ways, at least – we are in for something of rough ride between now and Advent. We also can’t avoid the fact that how we respond in such times matters. So here’s that warning again in case you perhaps missed it. It came in that very short part of this letter that we heard. 1 Peter was written to those who “(GNB) Live as refugees / (NIV) [are] exiles, scattered throughout... ” this list of places that are fairly obscure to most of us now.

If you want to know, those places would all be in modern-day Turkey – if they did still exist today. They are probably listed here in the order that post would have been delivered around the provinces in that part of the Roman Empire. From each of the centres an important piece of post (such as Peter’s letter was) would then have been circulated around the wider area, and so reached even more people. We can’t know how many churches existed there, or what size they were. What we do know is that there were Christians living throughout that region by this point in the 1^st Century. To some extent they had left Jerusalem or Rome for such backwaters precisely because they were so far away from the heart of action.

Maybe we should say “heat” instead, though. You see, far away meant safe – relatively speaking anyway. Safe from the rising tide of persecution that had begun to target what was being seen as a dangerous new anti-imperial religion. There had been trouble between Judaism and Christianity right from the start. That had led to some problems, of the kind that we can read in pages of Acts. People like Paul were forced out of towns, arrested, or beaten; some even died. It wasn’t easy being a Christian – but it was very different when the entire weight of the Roman state crashed down on it. That happened for real in 64AD, when Nero blamed Christians for starting the great fire of Rome. But the signs of persecution had begun a good while before; many people saw what was coming, and ran!

Now of course there is, as usual, a degree of reading between the lines required to say all of this. But there are historical documents other than the evidence of this letter itself, and from other New Testament books to work from. And the sum of all those various parts adds up to pretty solid grounds that we can rely on. Scholars are as sure as they can be when, and why this letter was written; and also by whom. Doubts have been raised more recently, but no convincing ones. So, what we have here is a letter bravely written from Rome itself; in the early-mid-60’sAD; by Peter himself – the same Peter who we know and love, warts and all, from all four of the Gospels.

He had changed significantly by the time he wrote this. No longer was Peter that brash, outspoken, know-it-all who had denied even knowing Jesus to save his own skin. Being forgiven for that was humbling, and life-changing, enough in itself. To be entrusted with the task of leading the implementation of Jesus’ on-going mission, as Peter was, made him more than he had ever been. The early stages of that process are clear to see in Acts. The man who then wrote this letter comes through as mature, wise, Godly, and humble. He was utterly committed to equipping God’s people so that they could stay standing firm in faith and hope and trust through the very hardest of times.

I’m sure you’ll agree that this is all great stuff! It’s impressive and very admirable – and such a long way removed from where we are here. Our circumstances could hardly be more different to those of the people who first received this letter – unless there are some rapid and very unexpected dramatic changes coming our way. I don’t know of any – though of course the Bible advises us to be ready for all things at all times. But actually it’s beside the point whether that happens or not. Peter’s letter was written to this people, in these particular circumstances, in those times; just as each book of the Bible first was. But they all still have much to say, to all people, in all times, and in all circumstances – very much including those that are as comfortable and safe as ours are.

So hopefully you didn’t miss that first group of people Peter addressed letter “to: God’s (GNB) chosen people / (NIV) elect”. Simply put, to some extent Peter always intended to write a general letter. Modern scholars now see 1 Peter as his follow-on to the input that he’d had to Mark’s Gospel. Of all people, Peter knew that what really mattered was keeping on following Jesus, becoming ever more like him – in any, all, and every circumstance. So this letter really is also for us; it’s for you, then, in whatever place you are: spiritually, materially, emotionally, and in all other ways too. Its purpose now is to help you to keep on following Jesus, to help you become ever more like him, in all the ways that you need to – which are doubtless many!

Perhaps you don’t believe that? Read again, then: “(GNB) You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be purified by his blood. / (NIV) [You] have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood”. This may not be the language that you’d necessarily use to express it perhaps; but this is still the identity, and the purpose, of anyone who calls themselves Christian. This is who, and what you already are: you have been chosen by God; one of His people; you are set aside for Him, by His Holy Spirit; you have been put right with Him, through the death of Jesus on the cross; and your purpose is now to obey Jesus – in all things, at all times.

Now this should be ringing at least a few bells, for at least a few people. Those who were here at the start of 2011 should remember that we worked our way through a book called The Purpose Driven Life. I won’t try and summarise it: as ever, all those sermons are available on our web-site if you missed them. Hopefully you will remember that we focused on the five key purposes that this book suggests God has made each of us for. As part of that, we saw how in order for any of these purposes to happen then we must choose to live on purpose. So that’s what we have been doing ever since: what has been running in the background, as it were, is us intentionally growing in these five purposes that God has made us for.

Perhaps the penny has already dropped? In case not, one of those purposes is that we have all been ‘Created to Become Like Christ’. That was certainly the purpose that was uppermost in the collective mind of preachers when we met to hear God’s purpose for this term. We think that He wants, and needs, us to become more like Christ, as a church, and as individuals. So there is the statement of purpose in why it is that we are studying 1 Peter from beginning to end. There really is no better place in the Bible that sets out this particular purpose – and then shows us how to live out becoming ever more like Christ.

Essentially 1 Peter was written to help, to teach, and show, people how to become like Jesus. What makes it so special was the situation that it was written into. Peter wrote this for people facing some of the toughest circumstances imaginable. So what does it mean to become more like Jesus if these looming threats become real? How will you be judged if you lose your livelihood; your family; your life even? How can you live your daily life for and in Jesus in the light of that stark a reality? Of course such questions and issues do gain a real urgency when we realise that we might not have time to sort them out, whenever. So what does matter to us? What do we believe, really? And then what will we then do about that, today; if tomorrow might not ever come?

That’s the background to the issues and questions that will be explored and answered as we work through this letter. Hopefully the preachers will keep these key facts in front of us week by week: always assuming that we do have these weeks! The challenge at the outset is for each of us to try and find that perspective that for ourselves as well. Like me, you are answerable to God for how you are living out His purpose, that you should become more like Jesus. We may have time to do that at a slow, comfortable pace; and we might even get to it, when we can, of course. It may be you are facing specific issues that press you to do it now; urgently, though; while you can. Either way, what matters is that you recognise that doing this will take time, effort, and need work. It is so worth it: both because of what God has already done for you in Christ; and also because of who He intends you to become in him. “(GNB) You were chosen according to the purpose of God the Father and were made a holy people by his Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ and be purified by his blood. / (NIV) [You] have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood”. So let’s get on with doing just that, then: on purpose; and “May grace and peace be yours in (GNB) full measure / (NIV) abundance” as you do so. Now let’s pray ...