A Word of Consolation

This final text from I Peter, assigned for the 7th Sunday of Easter in the Year of Matthew, is all about comforting the afflicted.  These selected verses, 4:12-14 and 5:6-11, are one last word of encouragement before the final greetings and benediction.  Throughout the book, the writer has attempted to lift up God's care for these exiles, emphasizing over and over that they are precious in God's sight even in their exile, therefore they should not lose heart.  It will be the preacher's job to announce this word of consolation.

(The following questions have been developed as a way of answering some fundamental questions for Law and Gospel preachers, i.e. how the Word is functioning in the text.  These questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are best used in conjunction with other fine sets of questions which have other concerns. For more on this method or on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock. com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The opening verses lift up "the fiery ordeal" that these hearers are experiencing, and in so doing hint at their need for a Savior.  These verses are not a word of Law, but remind us what is at stake.  These opening verses also hint at what God is doing on behalf of these hearers, for example, reminding them that "the spirit of glory" rests on them.  This is a hint of Gospel.  The more explicit statement of Gospel is in the final verse, where we hear that God "will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you."

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  As I said above, there is no clear statement of Law here, no Word that explicitly lifts up the hearers need for a Savior.  There is no call to repentance or other clear Word that, as Luther might say, breaks the rock [of our heart] in pieces.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  As per usual, we need to identify with those addressed by the Word.  This may be difficult for some of us in this case, since many of us Christians in the West are hard pressed to call to mind a "fiery ordeal" through which we have lived.  We will need the clear witness of persecuted Christians around the globe to help us hear these words.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  This text, especially the second portion, is primarily a call to obedience.  This is immediately obvious by the frequent use of imperatives in the second portion:  "Humble yourself..., Cast all your anxiety on him..., Discipline yourselves..., Resist [the devil]."  The tone is one of encouragement and consolation, yet it is a clear call to obedience, where the hearers are called to live faithfully in response to the trustworthy God who has claimed them as God's own.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  In this text, couplets will make use of some of the language present in the text, but will rely on our imagination.  Some possibilities:  reviled/blessed; devoured/rescued; weakening/restored and strengthened.

6.  Exegetical work:  Earlier in this book, the writer exhorts the listeners to be ready "to make a defense" of the hope that is in them, but to do it "with gentleness and reverence." (3:15-16).  Pheme Perkins, in her commentary on this passage, highlights how the writer is modeling this gentle and reverent defense even here:  "First Peter does not exploit early Christian apocalyptic convictions to demonize those who are harassing believers.  First Peter has left open the possibility that in some cases persecutors may become believers.  Although those who persist in hostility and disbelief will be condemned in the judgement, I Peter does not use that apocalyptic scenario to encourage a sharp division between an inner-directed Christian community and outsiders." (Interpretation Series, First and Second Peter, James, and Jude, p. 73).  Perkins also notes that even though the writer uses the imagery of the devil prowling about "like a roaring lion", there is no suggestion that this image of Satan is associated with the empire or those in power:  "First Peter has no hostility toward Roman rule.  Its attitude toward the larger society is mixed. The sufferings that Christians endure were caused by random individual attacks against them.  There is no evidence of a single anti-Christian policy." (Ibid., p. 80). 

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  In his 2017 analysis, Peter Keyel centers on the image of "the fiery ordeal."  This, for Keyel, is the Law in a nutshell.  He explores this thoroughly in the diagnosis.  In the prognosis, Keyel shows how Christ joins us in the fiery ordeal, himself becoming a sufferer with us and for us.  Go to crossings.org/text-study for the entire analysis.

Blessings on your proclamation!