Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Letter To Laodicea (part 114)


Though it is offered in a context of suffering on behalf of Christ, and doing so because of a life lived in declaration of a different and superior king while also living as a model citizen that assists human authorities in rightly fulfilling their God-given and clearly defined roles, it is possible to hear echoes of the concern for Christian table fellowship and the Lord’s Supper when we hear “For it is time for judgment to begin, starting with the house of God” (4:17a).  To that Peter adds “And if it starts with us, what will be the fate of those who are disobedient to the Gospel of God?” (4:17b) 

Because Peter returns to the theme of suffering, with the suffering not that of a withdrawn and self-denying asceticism (though there is nothing wrong with self-denial as long as it is ultimately others-focused)  but of suffering at the hands of one’s fellow man, when he writes “So then let those who suffer according to the will of God entrust their souls to a faithful Creator as they do good” (4:19), we may be thought to be attempting to press the matter too far.  However, since it is apparent that the meal table, and the understanding of the nature of the kingdom life received at and through the fellowship of that table (which is what will produce the suffering in spite of the doing of good works for the community), we are not completely off the mark in making such a connection. 

Since we are relatively confident that Peter has the meal table in mind (hospitality, speaking, service, stewardship), it is possible to again make a comparison to the Lord’s Supper (messianic banquet) dissertation offered by the Apostle Paul.  In this context, which includes obvious talk of the need for humility in light of spiritual gifts, talk of judgment beginning with the house of God stirs us to consider “For the one who eats and drinks without careful regard for the body eats and drinks judgment against himself” (1 Corinthians 11:29).  Words such as “And if it starts with us, what will be the fate of those who are disobedient to the Gospel of God,” which is the Lordship of Christ, seems to lead us to words such as “That is why many of you are weak and sick, and quite a few are dead.  But if we examined ourselves,” meaning, if we took into consideration the body of the church as a unified body, considering others as more important than ourselves and being sure that needs are met (without concern for honor or position or anything else) so that members of the body do not become weak or sick, “we would not be judged” (11:30-31).  This seems to fit quite nicely with the judgments of conquering and exile at the hands of both Assyria and Babylon that fell upon ancient Israel (along with the ongoing subjugation by Persia, Greece, and Rome), which, if we read both the histories and prophets carefully, partially came because of the failure to care for the least in their communities.  Naturally, this was connected with their idolatrous worship of the gods of the surrounding nations, as it was only the Creator God of Israel that instructed His people to care for the orphans and widows as part of their covenant and their worship.  Naturally, both Peter and Paul are writing with the history of Israel and God’s dealings with Israel in mind.

Returning to the notion of right speaking and right service, in accord with a Spirit-led, cross-induced, and Gospel oriented humility that Peter introduced earlier in the fourth chapter, which reminds us that the first shall be last and the last shall be first, Peter, like Paul, brings up the subject of church order.  He writes, “I urge the elders among you; Give a shepherd’s care to God’s flock among you” (5:1b-2a).  This does not mean that the elders are to view themselves as lordly shepherds while the congregation is to be viewed as mindless sheep, as Peter goes on to write about “exercising oversight not merely as a duty but willingly under God’s direction, not for shameful profit but eagerly” (5:2b-3).  Remembering that we are at the meal table, and that the church is defined by what goes on at the meal table based on the conception of the messianic banquet and the example of Jesus, we hear Peter say “And do not lord it over those entrusted to you, but be examples to the flock” (5:3). 

Not only is the example here mentioned that of self-sacrificial service and the taking of the lowest place, but this is also a reflection of the then oral Jesus tradition that we find in the twentieth chapter of Matthew.  There, after the “mother of the sons of Zebedee” (20:20a), in reference to the messianic banquet and in the context of the protoklisian and the chief seats to the left and to the right of the seat of honor, asked Jesus to “Permit these two sons of mine to sit, one at Your right hand and one at Your left in Your kingdom” (20:21b), Jesus ultimately responds by saying “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them.  It must not be this way among you!  Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave---just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve” (20:25b-28a).  Jesus, of course, would model this out, as recorded in the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel of John.  Do we not hear the echo of this encounter and these words in what comes from Peter?         

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