I love reasons to tout my children as pillars of orthodoxy. Wednesday night, we had a dinner table conversation that addressed Bella and Paul's questions about closed communion (sweet). This morning, little Sofia--though having a plethora of other options before her...
...she chose to play with Daddy's copy of The Fire and the Staff. Of course, now it's covered with drool, snot, and smushed bananas.
Vivian Clark of the Mille Lacs Messenger was at the 10th annual Shepherd of the Lake Smelt Fry at the Garrison VFW on Saturday, April 26th. If you're unsure of what smelt is, Vivian breaks it down for you here. (BTW, I'm in the background at about 3:09 of the video.)
“Glorious Suffering”
1 Peter 5:6-11
INI
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text for this Seventh Sunday after Easter is the Epistle lesson from 1 Peter 4 and 5, but to introduce that text, I’d actually like to draw your attention to the very first text from Acts 1. These are the verses that immediately follow the account of Jesus’ ascension into heaven that we heard this past Thursday. It’s followed by the events of Pentecost that we will hear next Sunday. The natural reading for this morning then is obviously that which tells us what the apostles did in between the Ascension and Pentecost. It says in the first reading that they, “with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.” It also tells us that they chose another man to be counted among them so that there would still be twelve of them. After all, Judas Iscariot who had betrayed Jesus, had killed himself in the “Field of Blood.” When all was said and done, Matthias had been chosen to replace Judas as the twelfth apostle. That sounds like a pretty cool honor, doesn’t it?
Well, here’s what one could expect as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Keep in mind, this isn’t taken from the Scriptures, but rather the history and traditions of the Church have passed this down to us. Andrew, Bartholomew, Philip, Jude, and Simon the Zealot are all believed to have been crucified, just as their Lord Jesus had been. James, the son of Zebedee and the brother of St. John, was beheaded (and this we actually have from Scripture). Thomas was killed with a spear. Matthew, the former tax collector, was killed with a “halberd”—an axe with a long sharp pole on the end of it. James, the son of Alphaeus, was beaten to death with a club after being crucified and stoned. Peter…good ol’ Peter…who was so skilled at having his foot in his mouth, was sentenced to crucifixion. Because he didn’t feel worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord, he asked to be crucified upside down. What about Matthias? What about the guy who was chosen by lots to replace Judas Iscariot? What was his reward? Matthias is believed to have been stoned and beheaded for having been an apostle of Jesus Christ. Only St. John, author the Gospel of John, the three epistles of John, and Revelation, is believed to have died naturally.
That these distinguished fathers of the Church and companions of Jesus should be treated in such a way should come as absolutely no surprise to any of us. Peter himself wrote (and this is from today’s Epistle lesson): “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” Certainly the apostles were among those who endured “fiery trials,” but this word in Peter’s letter is a sure reminder that suffering for Jesus Christ is not limited to the apostles. Those in the early church that Peter addressed surely faced similar threats of torture and execution. And there’s no way that Satan has let up. For the past 2000 years he has continued to seek ways to attack the Christian Church. Therefore Peter says, “Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
You and I can be assured that the devil is still lurking…prowling…looking for a place to feast. One of the tools he loves to use against Christians is the idea that a Christian is suffering. Even though suffering doesn’t necessarily always come from Satan himself, he uses it as a weapon in your daily walk as a Christian. If you are not suffering—he uses it to tell you that you’re a better person…a better Christian than those who do suffer. If you are suffering, he uses it to tell you that God doesn’t care about you…or that you don’t have enough faith…or that getting out of the suffering is more important than your faith. That’s the danger of the devil that so many of us miss and thereby make ourselves vulnerable…he uses things that aren’t even his work, but he uses them against us. Money is one example—money in itself is not evil. But rather the book of James tells us that the love of money is a root of evil. Satan dangles that money in front of us and we become obsessed with. Sex is another example. You will not find a Bible passage that tells you that sex is evil. What you will find are many examples of how sex can be misused when Satan twists its lure for our own sinful desires.
Suffering is another one of those things. Satan uses suffering to weaken us and beat us down. Unfortunately, many in the Christian Church today are drawn to what is often called a “prosperity gospel.” It tells people that Jesus came to die for you—not so much because you need forgiveness of sins—but because he wants to give you lots of stuff. He supposedly wants to free you all sickness…from all material needs…Christians should expect to live into their 90s and 100s…Christians should always have lots of money in the bank…Christians should be free from problems in their families…Christians should have what one popular book calls, Your Best Life Now. This false gospel teaches that Christians who suffer just need more faith…more prayer…more confidence and those things will go away.
I often wonder how these phony preachers who teach such nonsense read the book of 1 Peter. What Peter teaches us and constantly reminds us of is that Christians should expect to suffer. “Beloved,” he says, “do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” Moreover, Peter tells us, “Rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.”
Peter remarkably speaks of there being a sort of glory in our suffering. Why is that? Why would anyone find any joy in suffering? The answer is that when you suffer, it is a mark of the fact that you are God’s child. Peter tells the Christians to whom he writes to watch out for that prowling devil—because it’s the Christians he wants to devour. Those who aren’t Christians are already in his grasp. He’s got them—it’s the Christians he needs to work overtime on. In fact, if you aren’t suffering…if a congregation isn’t suffering in some sort of way, it may need to reexamine its commitment to the Gospel. As we suffer, we know that all throughout the world, others are suffering along with us for the sake of Jesus, and together with them on the Last Day, “the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” He will reward us with a crown of life that will never fade away.
Martin Luther once said regarding suffering, “If we consider the greatness and the glory of the life we shall have when we have risen from the dead, it would not be difficult at all for us to bear the concerns of this world. If I believe the Word, I shall on the Last Day, after the sentence has been pronounced, not only gladly have suffered ordinary temptations, insults, and imprisonment, but I shall also say: “O, that I did not throw myself under the feet of all the godless for the sake of the great glory which I now see revealed and which has come to me through the merit of Christ!” What Luther tried to remind us of is that what awaits us at the very end when Jesus returns is so incredible that in retrospect, we will be glad for every bit of suffering we could ever receive as Christians. It will have been worth the cost of suffering…it will be then that our suffering takes on glory.
That’s not to say that you and I are left to our own in this world. God invites us to “cast all our anxieties on him, because he cares for us.” Satan will indeed try to get you to focus on your suffering—rather than focusing on the one you’re suffering for. The God who provided for our spiritual welfare on the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is the God who provides for us in the midst of anxieties here in this life. In fact, look at our Gospel this morning from John 17. This text is often referred to as Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer.” In this prayer, Jesus as our Great High Priest intercedes for the people of the world—for those whom the Father has given to him to care for. Jesus, in his death on the cross and his victory over the grave for each of us, has handed us over to his Father as redeemed children of God. He prays for us, “Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.” Why is there glory in the suffering of God’s people? It’s precisely that—it’s God’s people who are suffering. And it’s God’s people who will be delivered from their suffering in this world to see the glories of heaven, won for us in the blood of Jesus Christ! Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
