After Jesus rose from the dead, He appeared to the disciples over a period of 40 days. Some of those appearances are recorded – but most of those accounts are from the day Jesus rose. We read one of them today! But one of the events recorded for us is when Peter was reinstated with a miraculous catch of fish and a fire side interview about whether or not Peter loved Jesus.
Peter’s
ministry after this lasted about 30 years before he was martyred. Tradition
tells us he was crucified, upside down, in Rome.
Toward the
end of his life, Peter wrote a couple letters. We call them 1 Peter and … 2
Peter. These letters are part of the New Testament called the catholic
epistles. Catholic means universal, so these letters were written for the whole
church, not specifically to a congregation or town. Peter uses a powerful image
to address the church as he starts his letter. He calls them (calls us) elect
exiles of the Dispersion. We’re exiles – people who are far from home, but
our hope and desire is that we’ll be able to go there one day … which we will
when Jesus returns.
Peter was no
longer a young man when he wrote this. He is full of experiences of the
Christian life – joys and success, and failure and repentance. He has learned
following Jesus can be hard, and the life of a Christian can be difficult.
-
Persecution
and suffering – physical, financial, political
-
It
is hard to live in holiness and repentance.
-
It
is hard to embrace our new identity and new life in Christ. Same time saints
and sinners.
Peter was
also convinced that this life was worth it. That conviction had everything to
do with the fact that Peter saw Jesus alive from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection
changed his life.
-
Brashness
set aside
-
Not
perfect … but followed Jesus.
-
Humility
So we’re
going to spend some time with Peter in these weeks after Easter. We’ll learn
from this witness of the resurrection through selected readings from 1 Peter.
(Consider reading the whole thing.) And we’re going to stat with this, “Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”
Great! Why
are we blessing – praising – God?
“According
to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living
hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an
inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in
heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith
for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
According to
His great mercy … “He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Some years
ago, it was popular among Christians to ask people if they were “born again.”
Well, the answer is yes, you are. You are connected to Jesus death and
resurrection. In your baptism, you received faith and forgiveness, and that
faith receives a new birth full of God’s mercy.
Being born
again changes your relationship with the world. Remember, you are “elect
exiles.” We live with a strange tension of belonging to this world … but not
belonging. Jesus’ resurrection realigns your life around “a living hope.” This
is hope is why Peter and the apostles rejoiced to suffer for Jesus’ name. This
hope is why Christians have turned away from things this world values like
comfort, wealth, prestige, accumulation, and self-determination to walk in the
ways of the kingdom of heaven – as Jesus described them in the Beatitudes. This
hope is that, because Jesus is risen, your sins are really forgiven, you have
eternal life in glory even now because God has promised these things to us for
Jesus’ sake.
Jesus once
said, “What good is it to gain the whole world, but to lose your soul.” (Yes, I
know that’s not exactly how He said it, but that is the gist of it!) Jesus has
given you new life for your soul. That new life for your soul will translate
into new life for your bond in the resurrection, but you have eternal life
right now!
Brothers and
sisters, attend to your soul and this eternal life!
-
The
apostles said, “We must obey God rather than men.” They believed it was better
to suffer for the faith than to lose your soul.
-
Embrace
being “elect exiles” – consider your relationship to the things of this world
and your priorities that will nurture your soul.
-
You
have been given forgiveness … and repentance – change of life in response to
God’s mercy.
-
Jesus
breathes peace into your – wholeness and life and a right relationship with the
Father.
-
Hear
God’s Word – it gives you life
-
Receive
His Sacraments
o
Baptism
– Born again! (If you haven’t been, let’s make that happen!)
o
Lord’s
Supper – forgiveness, life, and salvation
You are
those who have been born again to a living hope because of God’s mercy.
-
Don’t
put Him to the test, refusing to repent
-
But
count on that mercy the same way a baby counts on her mother!
o
New
life
o
Born
again
o
Live
in Christ.
Comments