| Wading through Scripture, 1 Peter 2:13-3:7 |
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| GrowFaith | |||
| Written by Matthew Jackson Michael | |||
| Monday, 13 July 2009 07:43 | |||
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Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Following the advice of verses thirteen through fifteen, Peter continues with words that must mesh with what he has just said; I continue to wonder how. In verses sixteen and seventeen, Peter says, Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king. As Peter speaks of freedom, I'm reminded of how one Puritan put it, when he said "May I never...make my liberty an occasion to the flesh." I understand Peter, if this verse was pulled from context, but when it is placed between counsel on submitting to authorities and issues of slavery, it seems a bit dissimilar. Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. And so, this is where I closed my Bible and began to pray, and to pray intently. What if Peter hadn't said this and what if Paul hadn't said something similar-where would people point for spiritual justification on these issues? I am not entirely sure it would make much difference; people will do what they will do. As I looked ahead to this section, I approached it with great hesitancy; I knew it would force me to reckon with my views on inerrancy and on the Bible as cultural and moving. Judson Edwards, in his book Making the Good News Good Again, answers this tension in part by referring to the Bible as a symphony rather than a lyric, with each author contributing to the whole. Though each author was inspired in writing, each author also bears some bit of self-interest and level of cultural understanding and approach. I like this, viewing Scripture as a symphony rather than a lyric, and I have found it to be beneficial during my deep, wrenching struggles with Peter's alleged support of slavery and the subordination of women and how that applies to the church of today. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth." When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. In light of Peter's counsel thus far, suffering is an adequate conversation. The suffering of women and men, and the reasoning for it, will go on and on until the Lord returns. Two of the best messages I have read on enduring suffering came from Howard Thurman, who claimed that all "pain has a ministry," and from Thomas Merton, who said, The truth that many people never understand, until it is too late, is that the more you try to avoid suffering, the more you suffer, because smaller and more insignificant things begin to torture you, in proportion to your fear of being hurt. The one who does most to avoid suffering is, in the end, the one who suffers most: and his suffer is no longer objective at all. It is his own existence, his own being, that is at once the subject and the source of his pain, and his very existence and consciousness is his greatest torture. When we embrace suffering, it seems we etch closer to communing with God. For, as Peter says, in the closing verses of chapter two, He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls. When talk of suffering arises, most often talk of forgiveness rides its heels. Here, Peter places Christ's suffering in the grand context of our forgiveness. Because of our forgiveness, says Peter, we must share in the suffering that granted it. The third chapter of Peter's first epistle pops a quick rocket. The first seven verses speak of the varying roles women and men take in and out of the home. Not too long ago I read these verses at face value. I've progressed. Peter says, in verses one and two, Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. I have trouble with these verses. I have trouble because when I read it, it appears something is missing; I also have trouble with the fact that when others read it, nothing appears to be missing. There is more, as verses three through seven continue, Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. My favorite quality about my wife, Kim, is her gentle and quiet spirit -- this does in fact, as Peter claims, make her very beautiful. But, I have never viewed my wife as being more beautiful during submission to me. Rather, it is most often when Kim calls me to task that I find her most like the woman God called her to be. Perhaps a bit more disturbing than the lengthy, submissive advice to God's women and Sarah's children, is the lack of advice to God's men and Abraham's sons. The advice is short and is again catered toward women, advising men to treat women in the context of their weakness. This is the advice for the men! Understand your wives are weaker and adjust your behavior accordingly. When this idea becomes out of balance, says Peter, your prayers will become hindered. I have thought of how to end my thoughts on this difficult stretch of reading. At times I have been very frustrated, but it has also been quite fruitful. I've once more encountered the task of shaping my views and understanding my interpretation of what the Lord tells me about his Bible. And I like that, even if I don't always like what I read.
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I write, in part, from Houston, Texas, where it is quite hot and I feel a bit out of place; I can think of no more an appropriate place to write of my time spent in the second and third chapters of Peter's first epistle, where I've also felt hot and out of place.
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