"Fashionable Faith" - I Peter 5:1-11 - May 16, 1999

One day last week I had a rare opportunity. I stood in the basement of the old church which was located at the corner of N. Main and South Streets. The area was re-excavated because of a sink hole in what is now a parking lot. The old church basement had to be cleared of timber and debris and filled with gravel and sand. As I stood in the middle of the old foundation of the church I tried to imagine how 200 hundred people could be jammed into such a small space. They must have been very uncomfortable. And the space wasn’t air conditioned. This was during the first half of the century when they didn’t have near the modern conveniences that we have today.

I must admit that it was a humbling experience for me. Today we have a spacious sanctuary with cushioned seats and air conditioning, not to mention good parking and the latest in technology. I wonder what kept people coming then? Why would they submit themselves to such cramped conditions? Was it the promise that some time in the future they would be better off? Or was it something else?

When we consider the state of the church in the time that this letter was written we are talking about a time when the church had no building or organization for that matter. They were in the minority. They were oppressed by the ruling government and heavily influenced by a pagan culture. Yet, these first believers were the foundation of today’s church. What kept them going? How could they survive without resources and live with the constant threat of persecution?

To enable the early Church to endure Peter makes several exhortations. He tells them to "tend to the flock, clothe themselves in humility, keep alert and remain steadfast in their faith." He also reminds them that a suffering is inevitable and promises that in the end the grace of God will abound.

We could hardly compare our suffering to that of the early Church. Many of them died for their beliefs and were treated as outsiders in society. They were powerless and in most cases their faith was underground. In spite of their hardships and overwhelming circumstances the faith grew. Why?

I believe there are several reasons. First, they were WILLING. Peter told them to tend to one another willingly, "not under compulsion, but willingly." Today is obviously quite different from the time of Peter. Nevertheless, it is our willingness to grow in faith that enable us to survive.

Do you ever do something half hearted? I must admit there are simply some people that I really don’t like to visit. I have learned, however that my willingness has an affect on the outcome. If I go, expecting to be disappointed I will be disappointed. If I go grudgingly the outcome will likely be non-productive. My attitude is directly related to the end result. Our willingness to be faithful people is also directly related to the quality of faith we experience.

There was a man who on one morning couldn’t get out of bed. his wife came to him repeatedly to remind him it was time to go to church. He kept making excuses. Finally his wife said in a stern voice, "Get up immediately, everyone there will be counting on you, after all you are the pastor!"

A second way we grow in the faith is through HUMILITY. Notice that Peter said, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." Here Peter is talking about dependence on God. For he goes on to say, "cast all your anxiety on God, because God cares for you." The only way the early church could survive the times was with humility and dependence on God. They also had to depend on one another.

For me, to be humble means to know that I cannot do everything by myself. I have to be willing to let others help me. Unfortunately, pride often gets in the way. We feel that others can’t do a job as good as we can or we are too stubborn to let others assist us.

I think the early church believed that all was hopeless since they were no match for their dominant culture. They could not compete with the status quo. What they believed was too radical, too untraditional. Peter gave them encouragement by reminding them that God would be gracious to those who humbled themselves. They lacked self-esteem, they were like David against Goliath.

Since we live in a culture that promotes success and glorifies "winners" we are conditioned to believe that "bigger is better" that the only way to be recognized or accepted is to be "number one." Yet being number one is not what Peter preached. Peter’s message was about "remaining steadfast in our faith," resisting any opposition that attempts to tear us down or lead us astray. By "clothing ourselves with humility" we are to work together without comparing ourselves or being in competition.

The third way we grow in faith is to not be afraid of SUFFERING. Suffering is inevitable. We have certainly witnessed that recently when one of the students in Littleton, Colorado was shot because she said she believed in God. Peter tells the early church that all the followers will experience suffering. No one is exempt. To deny any suffering is to deny our humanity.

What Peter is really saying is that they are not alone in their suffering. No matter what happens they can depend on God. He goes on to say that "God will restore, support, strengthen and establish you." In other words, we can get through it and we will grow from it.

This is a difficult concept for modern day believers. We live with so much comfort and abundance we tend to see suffering as evil or as punishment. To quote Rabbi Kushner, "God does not cause our misfortunes. Some are caused by bad luck, some are caused by bad people, and some are simply an inevitable consequence of our being human and being mortal, living in a world of inflexible natural laws." We can expect sufferings but we do not have to fear them. There is hope. God will help us and restore us.

Faith is not a temporary concept. It is not something we put on, like a new outfit for a new season. It is not something we bring out when we need it like we do our summer wardrobe. Faith is a lifelong process of (l) our willingness to commit ourselves all year long, yes, even during golf season. (2) Faith requires humility, accepting the reality that we can not do this "life" thing by ourselves. And (3) our faith will not be without suffering, a condition as Peter describes, is seasonal, for it lasts "a little while." But, in the end the grace of God reigns supreme.

Dr. Keith Wagner, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ, Sidney, Ohio