Following in Jesus’ Steps
1 Peter 2:11-25[1]
I think most people who identify themselves as Christians
would say that means they are following Jesus. The language of “following” Jesus
goes back to the fact that he called his first disciples to “follow me.” The
focus of Jesus’ ministry was proclaiming the “good news of the kingdom of God”:
that God had definitively entered this world in and through him to bring
wholeness and new life to all people. And when the people whose hearts led them
to seek that loving transformation in their own lives came to him and asked,
“what should I do,” his answer was “follow me.” And many of them did. There
were the women who provided for Jesus and the disciples. And there were 120 of
them in the upper room after the cross and resurrection. And there were many
more scattered throughout Galilee and Judea.
Even in that day, not everyone who followed Jesus literally
left everything and accompanied him. And the same thing holds true today. When
it comes to defining what “following Jesus” looks like, the answers have been
all over the page. Some believe following Jesus means to separate oneself from
the world, and they do that literally by joining a monastery or a convent. Some
believe following Jesus means actively fighting the “enemies of Christ,”
through crusades of all varieties, from evangelism to social justice to literal
wars. Some believe that following Jesus means living in a way that is
completely different from the cultural norms, while others believe it means living
in a way that is completely in line with those same cultural norms.
I don’t think you could blame anyone for throwing up their
hands when it comes to trying to figure out what following Jesus is supposed to
look like in real life. I do think it helps when we place the call to follow
Jesus in a specific context. That’s what our lesson from 1 Peter for today does
for us. Peter was writing to Christians who were struggling because of their
commitment to Jesus. In those days, a person who had a trade belonged to a kind
of “union,” and every trade had their own “god” whom they worshipped to prosper
in business. Those who became Christians were kicked out of the union. In many
cases, those who made the decision to follow Jesus were cut off from their
families because they broke with the “family gods.” Following Jesus could mean
leaving behind one’s livelihood, one’s home, and perhaps even one’s family.
Those first Christians lived in an empire, not a democracy.
They were subject to the “powers that be”, and those powers exercised rule
absolutely by using force. The first Christians really had no choice but to submit
to those who held power over them. Perhaps one of the more troubling aspects of
this situation was slavery. The fact of the matter is that slavery was a
long-established feature of the ancient world. We might wonder why Jesus and
the early Christians didn’t do more to overturn slavery, but that would be to
assume that they lived in a world that was more like ours than theirs. We have
to remember that the early church was a fledgling movement that was on the
margins of society. Their power to effect that kind of social change was
limited.
Rather than risk the violence that is the inevitable
response of any empire to those who resist, the apostles encouraged Christians
to endure whatever mistreatment they had to face with patience, looking to
Jesus’ example. So it is that Peter could say in our lesson for today, “God
called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ
suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps” (1
Pet 2:21, NLT). And Peter specifically refers to the example Jesus set
by dying for us on the cross: “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor
threaten revenge when he suffered.” (1 Pet 2:23, NLT). Yes, the example
Jesus set for us to “follow in his steps” was by suffering on the cross!
I don’t think this was a coincidence. From the very beginning,
Jesus called his disciples to follow him on a path that would take him to a
cross. Following Jesus meant they were going to have to embrace a life of sacrifice
and suffering themselves. It is the way of the kingdom of God. It is the way
God brings about the loving transformation that brings wholeness and new life
to all people. The cross was not just Jesus’ path; it is a path that he marked
out for all of us. And as we recognize that our sacrifices and sufferings are
part of something bigger than our individual lives, it helps us to see that the
hardships we may have to go through can become part of what St. Paul calls the
“sufferings of Christ” (Col 1:24) for the sake of others.
I think what that means is that we look at our suffering
and sacrifice, our trouble and pain in this world, as part of our commitment to
following Christ. When we do that, what we may have to go through in this life can
contribute to the healing work that God is doing in everyone. I think that’s
especially true when we look at our experiences through the lens of the example
Jesus left for us at the cross. As one of my favorite authors, Henri Nouwen,
puts it, the cross “invites us to see grace where there is pain.” That means viewing
everything in our lives, even the pain and suffering, as part of our following
in Jesus’ steps on “the way of the cross that leads to new life.”[2]
At the same time, we no longer live in an empire. We live
in a democracy where we say we believe that it’s never acceptable for anyone to
have to suffer mistreatment for any reason. And we certainly don’t believe that
anyone should be “beaten for doing wrong” as Peter put it. Of course, one of
the “inconvenient truths” of our society is that there are some who are
systematically denied the rights we say we believe in every time we recite the
pledge of allegiance. The myth of America’s “greatness” stumbles on the reality
that we are all fallen and fallible.
For some, this means that this passage sends the wrong
message about tolerating abuse or mistreatment. But I think we have to view it
not only historically and realistically, but also in light of our faith. When
viewed historically, we realize that the early Christians had no power to
change the structure of their world, at least not immediately. When viewed
realistically, we have to admit that we still don’t live up to the ideals we
want to believe are the basis for our society. When viewed in the light of our
faith, we recognize that in a fallen world, we’re going to experience suffering
and pain, sometimes unjustly. And while we have the right to do something about
the structures of injustice, there are some things we are still powerless to
change.
Pain and suffering are inevitable in this life. When we can
view our painful experiences in light of Jesus’ example, when we can see that our
suffering for “doing good” is a part of what it means to follow Christ, we can
find meaning in knowing that it’s part of something bigger. It’s part of what
God is doing through us in this troubled world to bring wholeness and new life
to all people.[3] And that
means what we may have to endure in life, whether justly or unjustly, can
contribute to the healing work that God is doing in everyone. I believe that’s at
least a part of what it means to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
[1] © 2023. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm PhD on 4/30/2023 for Hickman
Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
[2] Henri J. M. Nouwen, Turn My Mourning into Dancing, 18.
[3] Nouwen, Mourning into Dancing, 11: In Christ we see God suffering—for
us. And calling us to share in God’s suffering for a hurting world.”
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