Second Week of Exploring 1 Peter - July 17, 2022
Sermon - Carolyn Smith
I know that seeds are planted and some1mes grow beyond what we imagine. In the bulb there is a flower, in the seed - 1ny li;le thing - an apple tree. Cocoons and the pollinators that emerge and make that apple tree burst with apples... winter, spring, summer fall... they way these things interconnect and support each other are o@en far beyond our a;en1on and thinking.
The building blocks of crea1on as 1ny as atoms and molecules, seeds and creepy crawlies... as beau1ful as sequoias and dolphins and coral reefs ... and as vast... as galaxies more and more reaching far beyond our comprehension.
I tried - I read about how the James Webb telescope works, and got lost in even the most basic things... I read about nebulas and black holes and light years... We’re pre;y smart, we humans... we’re capable of SO much, we’ve accomplished things like human rights and space travel and renewable energy and strawberry shortcake!
And in the divine reaches of the universe, things emerge and exist beyond what we imagine.... Some1mes we are well-served by our labels and equa1ons and order. And some1mes we’re hung up on them.
From way out there.... Let’s pull in .. from now, let’s imagine back...humans have always been smart... think of Mayan star maps and aqueducts and the Pyramids - in the context of 1me and situa1on - In Rome, those aqueducts were a feat of engineering and some s1ll stand today... the Coliseum, you can picture chariots and soldiers!... lions and swords, Emperors and the building of and bright and powerful Empire. Peace through Victory! This map of the Empire of Rome.... All these spots named - were part of our Scripture reading last week - in a le;er we call 1st Peter - sent out to these places by boat, or donkey, It went out to all the “Followers of the Way” - of Jesus - Christ focused Jewish folk - the ones who have held to the compassionate way, the community way of love and peace and charity - those who are marginalized at best, and thrown to the lions at worst. It has been a long 1me since they knew anything like victory, or power, and
even the temple that stood strong and mighty in Jerusalem - it has been crumbled to the ground by Titus of Rome a@er some brave souls dared rise up. It is a message of hope and community and encouragement to keep the faith for people who eked out a life maybe not as slaves as we think of it - more like servants in a large household - but well- treated or not, they had li;le agency beyond the whims and choice of their masters, and their Chris1an ways were weird and suspicious and even considered treasonous. Last week, remember we bristled at OBEYING and took note of some crazy advice in the le;er that seems absurd now in our context. I’m sure some looked up at the stars at night - and wondered what life could be like when God actually shows up as promised. So this le;er says “Un1l God arrives to fix everything, keep busy, keep faithful and be really good even though it’s hard. A@er all Jesus died on that awful cross, so you can put up with some.” For them, the message hit home, and they eked out a living, telling stories, remembering and here we read it today.
And their metaphor - the image of that strength and courage is Jesus the Cornerstone -building their temple of faith ac1on by ac1on, measured to precision on the way of Christ. A Cornerstone is carefully honed, smooth and precise and becomes a bo;om corner to build a wall from - it is straight and true so that each new stone is measured by it, and so the walls are laid straight and true, stone by stone - strong and mighty never to waver or shi@ or crumble away. Measure yourself by Jesus and we will each be part of the new temple, the new empire. In a bustling city, with bi;er memories of their own mighty fortress - How could it ever fail!?
The le;er was wri;en in the name of PETER... remember his nickname? The Rock. Dedicated disciple of Jesus - using his name for the le;er evokes reassurance and direc1on for the readers... but think of Peter the Rock - was he honed? Precise strong and true?
Sank while trying to run on the water. Hallucinated naked on a hill with Jesus. Jesus rolled his eyes at Peter a lot. Explained things to him again. Reprimanded him when he turned away children and cut off a guy’s ear. Peter in the end Denied Jesus 3 1mes. He fell asleep. Peter the Rock.
We want this to make sense!! We want the Cornerstone to be mighty and unfailing - and at 1mes it is just the right thing to aim for. In our early married life, I said more 1mes than I can count “Life is what happens when you’re making other plans.” You all know what a diagnosis does to your daily life, or a lay-off or laying people off. You know what a tough grade is on a test you tried for, or what infla1on and interest rates and war do to the world we try to build a life in. You know - I know what happens to faith and hopefulness in the wee hours of the night when shadows loom. If we succumb to judging ourselves and others by whether they kept the faith, held the plan, achieved the goals all the 1me honed to precision, but we have done it!!
There are 1mes that the images needed are different and we have them.... Maybe that cornerstone is an anchor to tether our lives to - so in the waves of life, we’re held to something we can count on. Maybe instend of permanence and stones, we carry our tent and find our way to the Promised land, using flexibility and lightness and community & partners to follow the Spirit. The Spirit of Gentleness leading on before... is a vastly different context that brings to mind all possibility like the miracles of the universe and the power of God in the diversity of crea1on... And we are NOT without agency most of the 1me. We are not without voice or capacity. Remember our frustra1on at OBEYing? If someone just reads this, do they think we Chris1sans here at St. Paul’s are running around obeying blindly, naively? We’re laughing. But a part of this le;er read today by Margaret isn’t laughable.
Vs 18 - Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. 19 For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. 20 If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you,”
When people have been driven by power and might over compassion, and at 1mes in the name of Chris1an way, this passage has been used for centuries to keep people enslaved. To keep women in controlling marriages. To keep children in abusive homes
and crushing schools, to keep tyrants in power and greed as the cornerstone. I am sorry if you have ever read this and felt it was required of you as a Chris1an to submit to harsh treatment and put up with it. I am sorry if this ever confused you and turned you away from the good parts, about a Spirit that draws us in healthy connec1on to one another. And I am sorry if in this modern world where some people and some places and the planet itself are s1ll so crushed between rocks and hard places, our Chris1an way looked to keep our heads down, stay good and quiet.
What is the image alive for you today? Here in this sanctuary today, we remember a sense of a solid cornerstone that we built in this place, AND we have people connected to us like the winds of the Spirit across the internet. And we think of people who feel tethered to it more like an anchor to return to in all their adventures and travels. There is a big baseball game supported by the Op1mists today for players with all sorts of challenges - feels a bit like a loaves and fishes a@ernoon. We are people of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and law systems and even a Supreme Court that has guided us forward. - so far not backward - and gosh - we have a democra1c system that needs our full a;en1on and care.
I know there are moments in life when we are stuck, feeling insignificant under the vast universe. Hold on to faith, you aren’t alone. But we are together, we are the church of the Way of a compassionate, loving Christ who stood up in the face of injus1ce - we can undo harm done in the church’s name, we can show our faith through environmental and an1-racist and people driven economies, even and especially when it’s inconvenient and stretches us. In fact, keeping faith for masters even the harsh ones - yeah - we can do that, together, because it works!! We each are a building block or molecule or spark inspired and measured by our cornerstone, but let’s not build a fortress, imposing, dividing, and ego-centric. What about a playground vibrant with all ages, or a market square of all flavours, or even, maybe we just allow the expanse of unspoiled nature to thrive again? Maybe what we build together is a world of our 1me, and a dream of peace for our future. As we follow the Way of our Christ, and the call of the Spirit, May it always be so!