Easter 7
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.
-- 1 Peter 5:8
While 1 Peter had made many references to suffering and facing hostility, in this passage it would seem as if he was concerned less with physical suffering than he was with spiritual suffering. First Peter had used the image of the congregation being like a flock of sheep under the care of a shepherd (1 Peter 2:25). In 1 Peter 5:2 he has exhorted the elders to tend the flock of God. Further, he warns that this must be done with a sense of humility -- "Then he warned that the devil was like a roaring lion that prowled around looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:5). One of the roles of shepherds was to keep the flock together because a single sheep that wandered from the flock was easy prey for the predators. While the leaders in a Christian community need to lead with humility, the entire congregation needs to understand that they need each other if they are going to resist the temptations that seek to seduce them into wandering from the faith. In an expansion of that image, First Peter also reminded the faithful of their connection with Christians all around the world. "Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering."
This was an appeal to the solidarity of the community of faith for the resisting of the distorting influences of the culture around them. "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul" (1 Peter 2:11). In our culture, which celebrates individualism in a way that is destructive to the building of community, it is important to be reminded of the necessity of communal support if one is going to be able to alter practices that are present in the surrounding community. Many of the disciplines of Christianity run counter to the selfishness of our culture. When the surrounding community supports the practice of protecting yourself first, even at the expense of your wounded neighbor, it takes the support of a community to resist such fear. Imagine the strength we could develop if we felt connected to the worldwide community of Christ that was seeking to support each other in loving our neighbor and forgiving those who mistreat us.
-- 1 Peter 5:8
While 1 Peter had made many references to suffering and facing hostility, in this passage it would seem as if he was concerned less with physical suffering than he was with spiritual suffering. First Peter had used the image of the congregation being like a flock of sheep under the care of a shepherd (1 Peter 2:25). In 1 Peter 5:2 he has exhorted the elders to tend the flock of God. Further, he warns that this must be done with a sense of humility -- "Then he warned that the devil was like a roaring lion that prowled around looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:5). One of the roles of shepherds was to keep the flock together because a single sheep that wandered from the flock was easy prey for the predators. While the leaders in a Christian community need to lead with humility, the entire congregation needs to understand that they need each other if they are going to resist the temptations that seek to seduce them into wandering from the faith. In an expansion of that image, First Peter also reminded the faithful of their connection with Christians all around the world. "Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering."
This was an appeal to the solidarity of the community of faith for the resisting of the distorting influences of the culture around them. "Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul" (1 Peter 2:11). In our culture, which celebrates individualism in a way that is destructive to the building of community, it is important to be reminded of the necessity of communal support if one is going to be able to alter practices that are present in the surrounding community. Many of the disciplines of Christianity run counter to the selfishness of our culture. When the surrounding community supports the practice of protecting yourself first, even at the expense of your wounded neighbor, it takes the support of a community to resist such fear. Imagine the strength we could develop if we felt connected to the worldwide community of Christ that was seeking to support each other in loving our neighbor and forgiving those who mistreat us.
