A Free People

1 Peter 2:13-17

Rev. Monte Marshall

 

I don’t understand it, but the 4^th of July has some strange sort of hold on me.  The patriotic music, the fireworks, the red, white and blue of the flag all combine to stir some deep emotions within me that are, I think, a mixture of pride and gratitude and even some sadness as I recall the sacrifices so many have made to make us and to keep us a free nation. 

And to be honest with you, I really don’t understand why I feel these things with such intensity.  I’m proud and grateful for other things, but not always in a spine-tingling, chill-bump-producing sort of way that happens on the 4^th of July.  I can remember as a little kid watching baseball games on TV and every time the National Anthem was played to start a ball game, I would come to attention there in the middle of the living room in front of the TV set and salute the flag—and yet I have no idea where I learned to do this, unless I picked it up from watching soldiers salute the flag. 

Speaking of soldiers, I do have a better understanding of where the sadness comes from.  When I was on the staff of theAdmiralNimitzMuseuminFredericksburg, I heard so many heart wrenching stories of the horrors of combat.  I saw men in their later years of life weep like babies at the memory of events that had taken place decades before--events seared into their memories and into their souls.  And every time Taps is played at a memorial ceremony, I shed a tear right along with the veterans even though I’ve never served a day in the military and can’t begin to imagine the demands made upon our veterans for the sake of our nation, especially when it comes to combat.

So this is the kind of thing that happens to me on the 4^th of July as I find myself caught up in this annual celebration of freedom, American-style.  And even though I don’t understand my emotions, I do have an idea of what the intent is behind it all.  I suspect that all of the patriotic atmospherics serve a particular purpose—and that is, to secure our general acceptance of the human institutions—and especially, the political institutions—that have emerged from our American story. 

And from the perspective of this morning’s scripture text from 1 Peter, this appears to be a good thing.  The text says:  “Accept the authority of every human institution for the sake of Christ, whether it be the ruler as the supreme authority, or the governors who are sent by the ruler to punish wrongdoers and to commend those who are good citizens.” 

Now I doubt that many of us have a problem with human institutions like governments, and rulers, when they’re all doing what they’re supposed to do in restraining evil and encouraging good citizenship.  But of course, things don’t always go as they should.  So let’s take a closer look at 1 Peter and see what the Spirit is saying to the church today about these issues. 

Many scholars believe that 1 Peter was written in the latter part of the first century after Peter’s death by someone influenced by him.   The letter is addressed to a group of churches in five Roman provinces of Asia Minor. 

The followers of Jesus who received this letter were suffering from social ostracism and persecution, although the most recent scholarship suggests that the persecution was not sponsored by the Roman government, or authorized by the Roman Emperor, but was instead, “unofficial and local in nature,” at least at that point in history.  As one commentator notes:  “The Christians addressed do not appear to be in mortal danger, for martyrdom is not in view.  But they face vigorous hostility from neighbors who cannot understand the change in lifestyle that the gospel has produced in their lives.  And there is no doubt that persecution and ostracism are profoundly demoralizing and debilitating realities.”[1]

This brand of local persecution would explain why 1 Peter recommends accepting the authority of Rome and its rulers.  When the text says “For it is by doing right you may silence those who are foolish in their ignorance,” the hope is that by showing respect to the Roman authorities, the fears of those persecuting the followers of Jesus would be assuaged in some way, thereby reducing the suffering being inflicted upon the church. 

Now it occurs to me that when 1 Peter urges the followers of Jesus to “Live as free people,” we might be tempted to interpret this freedom in the light of the 4^th of July.  But there’s a difference.  The kind of freedom recommended to us by this morning’s text is much deeper and more profound than the political freedom we celebrate each year on Independence Day.  In fact, I think it’s fair to say, that the 1 Peter-kind-of-freedom simply cannot be secured by any government or human institution, or even by revered documents like the Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution.  The kind of freedom urged upon us by 1 Peter is the freedom “to serve God,” and this comes from an internal orientation toward God, and from external actions that do right, that respect all people, and that show love for “the family of believers.”  The text also calls us to “Honor the ruler,” but even more importantly, to “Stand in awe before God.”

Let me highlight this difference in another way.  Isn’t it true that in America, we enjoy a whole range of political rights and freedoms, and yet so many of us still live in a deep spiritual bondage to things other than God?  For example, in America, aren’t we free to speak our minds, even if our words are full of hate?  And in America, aren’t we free to assemble with others who share our views, even if those views are rife with bigotry and prejudice? 

But according to 1 Peter, this is not what it means to live as a free people.  According to 1 Peter, living as a free people means “serving God,” and this takes us far beyond a 4^th of July-kind-of-freedom. 

This brings us to one other aspect of living as a free people.  1 Peter not only says to “serve God,” 1 Peter also says:  “Don’t use your freedom to cloak evil.”  This phrase, I think, qualifies everything else 1 Peter has to say about accepting the authority of human institutions and the honor that is due rulers.  This says to me that if evil is being done by governments and rulers, then the followers of Jesus are not to keep quiet and acquiesce to keep the evil hidden.

But let me be honest.  In my estimation, 1 Peter doesn’t go nearly far enough in recognizing and unmasking the face of evil.  A case in point is found in the so-called household code that follows this morning’s scripture reading.  As one commentator notes, this household code “reflects many of the values of patriarchal Greco-Roman culture.  Indeed, the basic structure of the ancient household is not questioned or transformed.  Slaves, for example, are exhorted to accept ‘with all deference’ the authority of their masters, even abusive ones.  Wives are told to accept the authority of their husbands, receive advice on proper dress and coiffure, and are urged to exhibit a ‘gentle and quiet spirit’.  Slave owners, on the other hand, are not addressed at all, and husbands are advised, briefly, to ‘show consideration for their wives, ‘paying honor to the woman as the weaker sex.’”[2] 

Now I, for one, thank God that the work of discerning evil has continued beyond the narrow confines of 1 Peter so that many of us now see the evil inherent in both slavery and the oppression of women.  Both practices violate core biblical values such as love, justice and compassion.

I also think it’s important to remember that other New Testament texts present a different perspective on the authority of human institutions and rulers.  For example, in the book of Revelation, Rome itself is a symbol of evil and portrayed as the great perpetrator of persecution against the church.  Furthermore, the followers of Jesus are urged to resist the authority of the emperor, but without violence.  This suggests that when human institutions do harm to the very values they’re supposed to protect, then both good citizenship and faithfulness to God, require the church to speak out and to act with as much boldness as the prophets of old.

And if we fail in this regard, the consequences can be profound.  Consider what happened in Nazi Germany when a large swath of the church refused to serve God as a free people.  Swastikas were brought into sanctuaries, pastors of the gospel declared Adolf Hitler as their Fuehrer, military conquests were blessed by the church, racial hatred and anti-Semitism where given biblical and theological justification, and genocide of the most brutal and systematic kind was either openly condoned or conveniently ignored.  This is what can happen when the followers of Jesus become blind to evil and cease to serve God as a free people.

In my humble opinion, anytime a person of faith seeks tolerance for a particular action based on a claim to religious freedom—and as you may know, this is happening a lot lately in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage equality—then a hard question needs to be asked:  Is this claim of freedom being used to cloak evil?

Dear friends, please know that I love America and the political freedoms that we enjoy.  The feelings I experience on the 4^th of July are real and deep.  But there is a difference between a 4^th-of-July-kind of freedom, and the kind of freedom urged upon us by 1 Peter.  As the followers of Jesus, it’s essential for us to keep this distinction in mind because our nation needs for the church to serve God as a free people.  When our institutions and leaders fail to do right by the will of God, it’s our responsibility to say so and to follow Christ no matter what the cost.  To do any less, is to fall back into bondage--and I don’t want to be a slave anymore.  I don’t want to hate anymore.  I don’t want to practice injustice anymore.  I don’t want to oppress people anymore.  I want to be free to serve God among a free people.  How about you?  Thanks be to God!  Amen.