Easter 4
Devotional
Water From the Well
Lectionary Devotional For Cycle A
Object:
When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
-- 1 Peter 2:23
The lectionary, understandably, begins this reading with verse 19 and, thus, avoids the explicit reference to slaves. Verse 18 may well have been used in America as part of Christian justification for slavery. In that context, it is important to recognize that the letter is addressed to the slaves and not the slave owners. It is recognizing that in the real world there is injustice, and the powerful will mistreat the powerless. Given that reality, how should a Christian victim of such injustice live? While the victim of injustice may feel powerless to resist, he or she gains dignity in identifying with Christ in the experience of suffering. The danger to such advice is that it can be used to encourage passivity in the face of injustice. The intent of the writer was the opposite. By relating the suffering from injustice to the suffering of Christ, there is the possibility of redemptive suffering. One no longer becomes simply a victim; one is a participant in a larger story that God is unfolding for the redemption of the world. Now one no longer suffers needlessly; we suffer for a larger purpose. Christ's suffering did not give approval to those who treated him unjustly but neither did Jesus passively accept the role of victim.
-- 1 Peter 2:23
The lectionary, understandably, begins this reading with verse 19 and, thus, avoids the explicit reference to slaves. Verse 18 may well have been used in America as part of Christian justification for slavery. In that context, it is important to recognize that the letter is addressed to the slaves and not the slave owners. It is recognizing that in the real world there is injustice, and the powerful will mistreat the powerless. Given that reality, how should a Christian victim of such injustice live? While the victim of injustice may feel powerless to resist, he or she gains dignity in identifying with Christ in the experience of suffering. The danger to such advice is that it can be used to encourage passivity in the face of injustice. The intent of the writer was the opposite. By relating the suffering from injustice to the suffering of Christ, there is the possibility of redemptive suffering. One no longer becomes simply a victim; one is a participant in a larger story that God is unfolding for the redemption of the world. Now one no longer suffers needlessly; we suffer for a larger purpose. Christ's suffering did not give approval to those who treated him unjustly but neither did Jesus passively accept the role of victim.
