The Waking Dreamer: Reign of Christ

Showing posts with label Reign of Christ. Show all posts

Thursday, June 11, 2026

The Power of God's Love

The Power of God’s Love

Psalm 8, Matthew 28:16-20[1]

We have a complicated relationship with power. On the one hand, we seem to be fascinated with those whom we consider to be the most “powerful” people. Even to the point that our admiration can at times approach a kind of “worship.” There are many powerful people in this world who have an almost “cult” like following among their fans. On the other hand, we seem to be inherently distrusting of power. Especially when we believe someone is abusing their power. Anytime someone in power “bullies” those who are more vulnerable, we think of it as an abuse of power. And in our world we may see that kind of thing so often that we become distrusting of all power, regardless of how it’s used.

Our Scripture lessons for today speak to us about God’s power. The creation story in Genesis portrays God’s power to simply “speak” all things into existence. That’s a kind of power that most of us may want, but I dare say none of us would use well. But God most certainly used it well. That’s the point of the refrain that occurs throughout the creation story: “and God saw that it was good.” God used his extraordinary power to create a world and all the living things in it that was not only “good,” but indeed “very good,” as God observes at the end of the process (Gen 1:31). It may be hard for some people to imagine even God using that magnitude of power for good, but that’s precisely what the Bible teaches us! God always uses his power for good!

In our reading from the Psalms, we find this perspective on God’s power confirmed. Like many of us, the Psalmsinger found himself confronted by the majestic power of the God who created all the heavens and the earth simply with a word. I would say that the more we understand about how vast this cosmos really is, the more we are confronted by God’s majesty and power in creation. Even in ancient times, a simple glance at the night sky led the Psalmsinger to wonder, “what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?” (Psalm 8:4). And yet, despite the fact that he frames his faith in the form of a question, we shouldn’t overlook the affirmation that lies behind it: God is mindful of us all; God does care for us, both deeply and continually. That is also the nature of God’s power!

The Psalmsinger had good reason to believe this. It’s the heart of what Hebrew Bible affirms about God: “I am the Lord God. I am merciful and very patient with my people. I show great love, and I can be trusted” (Exodus 34:6, CEV). It is the revelation God gave to Moses in the “cleft of the rock” when he asked to see God’s glory. And it echoes like a refrain throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, because it is the truth that serves as the foundation for biblical faith. The message of the Scriptures is that God’s power points us to the fact that God loves us with a love that will never let us go. It may be difficult for us to grasp, but the truth of our Scripture lesson is that we are constantly surrounded by the love of the God who is powerful enough to create all things simply by speaking the word. As one of our affirmations of faith puts it, the Bible leads us to believe in a God whose love for us is “powerful beyond measure.”

We see this theme of power reflected a little differently in our Gospel reading for today. It’s the story of Jesus’ final appearance to his disciples according to Matthew. When he appeared to them on a mountain in Galilee, he said something that would have been startling for them. And it should still catch our attention today: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Mt 28:18). We’re used to hearing that language because it’s part of the “Great Commission.” But in that day, “all authority” belonged to God. Any human being claiming “all authority in heaven and on earth” would have been viewed as directly contradicting God’s authority. In fact, there are many in our world to this day who struggle with the image Jesus as having “all authority in heaven and on earth.”

I think what made the difference is that it was the risen and living Jesus who made this startling claim. They had seen him die, and they had seen him alive more than once after he rose from the dead. It was the resurrection that confirmed that this authority had come from God. I think we could say that Jesus received this authority in response to the fact that he had “fulfilled all righteousness” as Matthew’s Gospel puts it (Mt 3:15), or in other words that he had carried out God’s plan to “set right” all things and all people by his death and resurrection. Because of that, God himself gave this authority to Jesus. So it is that, in the New Testament, there is no contradiction whatsoever between the affirmation that all authority belongs to God, and that God has given that authority to Jesus Christ.

One reason for that is because Jesus uses that authority to carry out God’s purpose in the world. That’s not something we expect these days. It goes against the norm in our day. In our world, “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”[2] That’s the way we view power. Many of those who have the most power in our day use it to benefit themselves. But Jesus used the authority given to him by God not for his own benefit, but to extend the peace, justice, and freedom of God’s kingdom to all people. And he continues to use that authority to fulfill God’s work of “making all things new” (Rev 21:5). And at the end of it all, Paul said that Jesus would surrender all authority back to God, so that God “will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere” (1 Cor 15:28, NLT), bringing the new life of God’s kingdom to everyone and everything!

I think the point of all this was to inspire confidence in those of us who follow Jesus in a world that is set against God’s authority and power, in a world that remains set against the peace, justice, and freedom of God’s kingdom to this day. We see that opposition almost daily. Part of the assurance that God’s love triumphs in this world through Jesus lies in the promise that “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Mt 28:20). Yes, we live in a world where the work of God’s kingdom isn’t complete. Yes, we live in a world where people continue to abuse power for their own benefit, and they hurt innocent people in the process. But rather than letting that cause us to doubt God’s purpose, or cause us to question Jesus’ power and authority, we can be confident because Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord is the one to whom God has entrusted “authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world” (Dan 7:13, NLT). And with that authority, Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord rules right now over “everything in heaven and on earth, everything seen and unseen” (Col 1:16, NLT). And the promise is that “His rule is eternal—it will never end” (Dan 7:14, NLT).

When we get caught up in what’s happening around us in this world, we can easily lose sight of all this. We can wonder where God’s rule, God’s power, and God’s authority are in this world. It’s still there! Jesus the Christ and our Savior and Lord is reigning with “all authority” at the right hand of God, right now! And he promised that he would be with us until the end of the age, continuing to fulfill the promise of God’s kingdom with the authority and power that God has given him. And part of the promise is that the power of God’s love will never fade. The promise is that the rule of love that Jesus carries out in our lives now will never end. One day, the power of God’s love, the rule of love that Jesus carries out in our lives now will extend to all people and encompass everything. On that day, then the whole creation will return to where it was in the beginning, when God “spoke” it into being, and everything was “very good.”

[2] Famously penned by Lord John Dalberg-Acton, Letter to Mandell Creighton (5 April 1887), referring to the declaration by Pope Pius IX of the Roman Catholic dogma of papal infallibility. He said, “I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men, with a favorable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption it is the other way against holders of power, increasing as the power increases. … Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. … There is no worse heresy than that the office sanctifies the holder of it. That is the point at which … the end learns to justify the means.” Cf. Historical Essays and Studies, by John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton (1907), edited by John Neville Figgis and Reginald Vere Laurence, Appendix, p. 504. Accessed at http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lord_Acton.

Tuesday, November 25, 2025

Backward Victory

Luke 23:33-43[1]

We live in a world where somebody has to lose for anybody to win. As I mentioned earlier this year in connection with the NCAA basketball tournament, in some cases, a lot of people have to lose for somebody to win. There are all kinds of examples of this win-lose scenario in life. Mathematicians and economists call it a “zero-sum game.” Although I wouldn’t say that I fully understand all the details, the idea is that if someone has to lose in order for someone else to win, then there is no real net benefit for the whole “system.” The alternative is a “win-win game,” where a win for one can be a win for many. In my mind, the many “collaborative” games out there, where everyone works to “win” together, are a good example. They point out the option that I wish the human family would learn: we gain more when we all win together than when we try to “beat” everyone else!

I realize that there are so many aspects of our lives that reinforce the “win-lose” scenario that a “win-win” scenario may seem positively alien. It’s almost as if we believe it’s the “American way” for there to be at least one loser (if not many) in order for there truly to be a “winner.” But there are so many examples in daily life that disprove that. Like when one farmer is injured and can’t harvest crops and the rest of the community pitches in to help out. I know that I’m an idealist, but I believe that everyone wins in that situation. I may also be a fool, but I think the world would be a better place if we all adopted that approach toward more than just the people we know. When you think about all the resources in this world—food and other commodities, money and the ability to generate it, talented and hard-working people—it really makes no sense for us in a global economy to think of anyone as an “enemy.” I may be a foolish dreamer, but I believe that if all the peoples of all nations worked together, we could make this a much better world.

Some of you may consider that to be “backward” thinking. I’m okay with that. There’s a lot about our faith that can seem “backward.” For example, today is the day in the Christian calendar when we remind ourselves that we believe that Christ reigns over all things and all people. I can think of no more “backward” way of doing that than with a Gospel lesson that describes his death on the cross! Kings don’t get dragged before their subjects and mocked by them. Kings don’t allow themselves to be spat upon and beaten. They’re the ones who are usually doling out those punishments. And on the rare occasion when a King or any other powerful person is publicly humiliated, that’s pretty much the end of their “reign.” But here we are, on this Sunday when we celebrate our faith that Christ is reigning over us all, reading the “good news” of his death on the cross.

The irony in this has raised questions since the day Jesus faced that ultimate test—especially for people who look at Jesus’ life and ask whether he actually accomplished anything. He gathered some disciples. He stirred up the Jewish leadership. And he got himself killed in the end. And while he was hanging there on that cross, vulnerable, showing all the weakness of his humanity, some in the crowd asked the question that many have repeated through the centuries: “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” (Lk 23:35). In the light of Jesus’ humiliating death, many have asked what a Jewish preacher from the First Century can do to make my life any better in the Twenty-First Century. And many have concluded that Jesus may have had some fine ideals, but he really can’t do anything to help us in this day and time.

But that conclusion misses some important signs that point out just how powerful the reign of Christ is, even in this passage that apparently presents Jesus at his weakest. One thing we need to notice is that in Luke’s Gospel, while hanging on the cross, enduring unimaginable agony, Jesus has the presence of mind to respond to his hecklers by saying, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:34). And when Jesus dies, he simply says, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk. 23:46). In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus gives up his life calmly and intentionally, full of trust in God.

But there’s another detail that we’re familiar with, but I think it’s easy to miss point. While Jesus is hanging on the cross, seemingly undergoing the ultimate humiliation, one of the criminals with him saw something that most all of those who witnessed this event firsthand missed. He saw that there truly was something about Jesus that set him apart. And so he took an amazing step of faith: hanging there on a cross, he looked at Jesus and asked, “remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Lk 23:42). How or why he had the faith to see Jesus hanging on the cross and believe that one day he would come into a “kingdom,” we may never know. But he did, and he asked Jesus to remember him.

I think what we need to pay attention to is Jesus’ response. It really was astonishing, if you think about it. There he was, having been beaten, having been humiliated by some of the Jewish leaders, having been strung up to die by the Roman empire. And he said to this man, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk. 23:43)! If you think about it, there was nothing about the situation that would have made anybody believe such an incredible claim under normal circumstances. And yet Jesus made the claim: “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” The unnamed criminal left his request open-ended: “when you come into your kingdom, remember me.” He expresses faith, but he doesn’t pin Jesus down to anything specific. Jesus makes that astonishing claim any way: “Today,” not at some indistinct point in the future, “whenever.” “Today you will be with me in Paradise.” By doing so Jesus demonstrated not only that he was more than just an “exceptional man,” but also that what he was doing was not weak in any way. It was the ultimate display of the power of the one is the truest example there has ever been of a “king.”[2]

Despite the fact that it all seems “backward,” I think it is ultimately fitting to remind ourselves that Christ reigns over us with this story, because his death on the cross defines the way in which he exercises that reign even now. As one of our confessions puts it, “With no power but the power of love, Christ defeated sin, evil and death by reigning from the cross.”[3] The reality is that the only way for Christ’s reign of justice, peace, and freedom to be truly established in this world was through the path of the cross, where he exercised no power but the power of love. But his cross also led to his resurrection and ascension, where he was exalted, as St. Paul puts it, “far above … every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come” (Eph. 1:21). And that means that “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever.” We associate those words with Georg Friedrich Handel, but he was quoting from Revelation: “The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev 11:15, RSV). When you take the cross by itself, it can seem like the early Church got it all backward. But in light of the resurrection and ascension, I would say that they were able to see the true victory that came from giving up his life for us all.

[2] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Church in the Power of the Spirit, 102, where he says that when we celebrate Christ as “king” it represents “the most radical reversal of the ideal of rule that can be conceived.”

[3] The Study Catechism, question 41.

Tuesday, December 03, 2024

Jesus is Lord!

Jesus Is Lord!

Revelation 1:4-18[1]

If anyone happened to pay attention to the bulletin or the PowerPoint and noticed that today is designated “Christ the King” Sunday, I’m not sure that would mean much. The only “royalty” we pay much attention to these days is the British royal family. But they’re really not much more than “cultural icons” as Wikipedia calls them. They’re known for their wealth and celebrity. They function as figureheads with no real authority or power to do much of anything. The best of them use their position to advocate for good causes; the others are infamous for their family drama. If that’s our image of what it means to be a “King,” it’s no wonder observing this day as “Christ the King” Sunday gets passed over without much notice.

Nevertheless, the image of God reigning over all things as “King” is one that is central to the Bible, as our Psalm lesson for today reminds us. It is an affirmation that, regardless of who may hold power in this world, God is the one who ultimately determines the outcomes in the end. That, too, may be a problem for us. We see a lot of outcomes in this world that seem to be contrary to God’s ways. It may be all too easy to assume that God’s power isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, or perhaps God may not be paying attention, or maybe he’s just taking a long nap. Meanwhile, the world continues to go on as it always has. The rich get richer and might makes right.

Our lesson from the book of Revelation for today addresses this question. In the first-century world, Christians had to face this challenge in a similar way that we do. The ultimate power in their day was the Roman Empire, and any time anyone questioned that power, they were met with brutal violence. The presence of vast and powerful Roman armies throughout the world of that day constantly reminded people where “true” power was. And Roman Governors like Pontius Pilate didn’t hesitate to unleash the soldiers on unarmed crowds of men, women, and children to keep a firm grip on their power. The problem for believers in that day was that they confessed their faith that “Jesus is Lord” in their worship! And yet, all around them were images that contradicted that faith.

I believe the book of Revelation was written to remind those Christians that at the heart of their faith was a very different vision of what life is about. It’s a vision of the one who sits on the throne, who bends everything that happens, both evil and good, toward his purposes. To convey this image, our lesson speaks of God as “the Alpha and the Omega,” the one “who is and who always was and who is still to come,” and “the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). This description of God is full of implications, but essentially, it’s a reminder that God is the one who sits on the throne of the universe, and it is his rule that will ultimately define all things and everyone in the end. It’s a reminder that “Our God is an awesome God; he reigns from heaven above; with wisdom, power, and love; our God is an awesome God.”[2] That remains true regardless of what we see or who claims to hold power here and now.

The Book of Revelation also speaks of the one who stands at God’s right hand: “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead” (Rev. 1:5). Again, there’s a whole theology about Jesus packed into that phrase, and it takes the rest of Revelation to explain. One of the most important images of Jesus in the Book of Revelation is that he is the lamb who was slain and who has triumphed through his death. As in our day, so also in that day, “triumphing through death” didn’t make much sense. And it still doesn’t. Sacrificing one’s life the way Jesus did would seem to be weakness, not power. But the Scripture contradicts that point of view by proclaiming that, because of his death and resurrection, Jesus is “the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5). All the kings of the earth! Because of his death and resurrection, he alone has the right to rule over all the so-called “powers” of this world. And he rules over the “kingdom of this world,” and the promise is that “he shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15) as we know from the familiar oratorio “The Messiah”!

At the heart of the Christian faith is a vision of a reality that directly opposes the visions of power in our present world. God reigns over all things by the power of his love. And Jesus demonstrates that power by working in each of our lives to transform this world into “the kingdom of our Lord” (Rev. 11:15). At the heart of our faith is the conviction that this ultimate reality, God’s reign in and through our lives through Jesus our Lord, is the true reality that defines all of life. This reality, the reign of Jesus Christ as Lord, exposes the falsehood of all the boastful claims of the rich and powerful in our day. And the promise is that one day the reign of Jesus Christ as Lord will overthrow all the false powers in our world and bring true peace, justice, and freedom to everyone!

I guess the question we have to answer is whether this vision is more convincing than what pretends to be true in our world. Things haven’t changed much since the First Century. But the real question we have to address here is where we place our faith. As a recent lesson from the Psalms reminds us, if we place our faith in “mortals,” no matter how powerful they may seem, we find that in them “there is no help” (Ps. 146:3). The Scriptures call us to place our faith in the God who is working right now to establish his kingdom and his justice, peace, and freedom for all peoples everywhere. The Scriptures call us to place our faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord, the one who by his death and resurrection exposed the lie of those who abuse their power in this world. The Scriptures call us to place our faith in our Savior who lives and reigns for all time and unto all eternity. And the Scriptures tell us that one day all creation will worship him as Lord of all.

I think we need that kind of “bigger picture” perspective for our faith in these days.[3] It’s all too easy for us, especially when we go through hard times, to think nobody’s paying any attention, nobody really knows or cares. If God did, why would this happen? But as a good friend reminded me once when I was going through a hard time, nothing that we have to go through in this life escapes God’s notice. God always pays careful attention to each one of our lives, because that’s the nature of who God is. That’s the nature of his love for us. When all we see reinforces the appearance that power in this world comes from force, or intimidation, or wealth, it can be discouraging to those of us trying to live out our Christian faith, hope, and love.

But the Bible gives us a different image of power: it’s the image of the all-powerful God who created all things in the beginning. It’s the image of the God who entered this world in the person of Jesus to redeem us all with the power of love on the cross. It’s the image of the power of new life defeating the power of death on Easter Sunday. It’s the image of Jesus reigning as Lord even now over all the “powers” in our world. It’s the image of that reign fulfilled one day “on earth as it is in heaven.” What that means for us is that one day all the wrongs of this world will be set right, and all that we have to suffer in this world will be turned to good. That’s the nature of Jesus’ reign as Lord. And the promise is that Jesus shall reign as Lord like this “forever and ever”! Amen!

[2] Rich Mullins, “Our God is an Awesome God,” 1988, BMG Songs, Inc.

[3] Cf. Richard Bauckham, Theology of the Book of Revelation, 31, where he says that the “vision of God’s sovereignty in heaven” is what “makes it possible for John to enlarge his readers’ perspective on their own situation by setting it within the broader context of God’s universal purpose of overcoming all opposition to his rule and establishing his kingdom in the world.” This reign of God is “the true reality which must in the end also prevail on earth.”

Tuesday, November 28, 2023

God's Mighty Power

God’s Mighty Power

Ephesians 1:15-23[1]

I’ve said many times recently that it’s a difficult time to be the church. It seems like the pandemic and everything we went through changed so many things. One of the great challenges we face is the diminished influence we seem to have in our communities. People of all ages view Sunday as “fun day,” not the “Lord’s Day.” And as such a great many people who once regularly attended worship are spending their Sundays doing everything but coming to church. It can leave those of us who are here feeling inadequate, weak, and wondering where we’ve failed. It makes us question whether we’re doing anything right. It may even cause us to doubt whether it’s “worth it” to continue to devote our time and energy to the church at all.

Believe it or not, church attendance is not at its lowest point in history. It’s not even at the lowest point in the history of this country. Church attendance in this country was at its lowest point by percentage of the population in the early 1800’s. I’m not entirely sure why that was the case. It was a time when the world was turning from “superstition” to reason. I’m sure that played a role. But the simple truth was that the people in that time didn’t think the church was an important part of their lives. The fact of the matter is that it was even worse during the Middle Ages. Most people literally only went to church on Easter Sunday. That was the case for centuries. It wasn’t until the changes leading up to and following the Reformation 500 years ago that people began attending worship more regularly. It makes me wonder how those who continued to worship at that time kept going in the face of such overwhelming odds!

The church to which Paul was writing his letters, like our lesson from Ephesians for today, was facing overwhelming odds. Although they looked to the same scriptures and worshipped the same one true God as the Jewish people, they were opposed and harassed by many of the Jewish religious leaders. And they faced the same opposition from their own former friends, neighbors, and family from all the different people groups that made up the church. Because they no longer worshipped the “gods” their communities worshipped, they were harassed, attacked, and even expelled from their lives. And although the Romans were in charge, they could care less about what they considered an offshoot sect of the Jewish religion.

It was in that setting that the Apostle Paul wrote Ephesians. He begins this letter with long expression of his thanks to God for all that God had done in their lives to bring them to faith in Jesus, and to change them into a people who would love and serve God. God’s grace had already been at work in their lives through the message of the Gospel and through the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection. In our lesson for today, he shifts to a prayer for the church. There is a sense in which Paul could say that he knew they already had everything they needed in Christ to live fully into their commitment to following him. At the same time, I think Paul knew the struggles they faced, and so he prayed for this church, just like he prayed for all the churches he had encountered.

The gist of his prayer was that they would be able to continue to live out their faith confidently in the face of all they had to overcome. The focus of his prayer was that they would know “the confident hope” God had given them through Jesus Christ (Eph 1:18). As we saw last week, the hope that the Psalmist held out for the people of Israel in hard times was that their help came from the one who made all the heavens and the earth. If he had the power to create all things, then he had the power to help them. This week, we hear the Apostle Paul encouraging the believers of his day that, despite the hardships they faced, their hope was in the one who raised Jesus Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand, “far above any ruler or authority or power or leader or anything else—not only in this world but also in the world to come” (Eph 1:21, NLT).

We may take that for granted because we’ve heard it many times—perhaps all our lives. But Paul doesn’t want us to take it for granted at all. In fact, he “piles up” words to describe God’s mighty power in raising Jesus from the dead. The reason for that is because Paul calls us to take a step beyond trusting the God who created all the heavens and the earth. He calls us to trust in the God who has the power to overcome everything that opposes his purposes in this world, as well as everything that threatens to harm us in any way. And he demonstrated that power once and for all by raising Jesus from the dead and giving him the “name that is above every name.”

Although we may not always see it visibly, the promise is that God’s mighty power is working right now to change all things and all people. And he is doing that precisely by what he is doing in and through the church. Paul could compare what God is doing in and through us to what God did when he raised Jesus from the dead. With the same power God exerted when he raised Jesus from the dead, he is working in and through each and every one of us right now! When we doubt whether what we’re doing is making any difference, we can look to the empty cross and remember this promise! The empty cross is a visible reminder to us that Christ is not ruling over all things from afar, but in and through the church! In fact, Paul celebrates the victory of Christ’s reign over all things as if it is something that has already been accomplished.[2] You may have noticed that today is “Christ the King” Sunday. It is the day in the church calendar when we celebrate the wonderful promise that Christ is reigning in and through us to make all things new. In a very real sense, every Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, which points us to the final victory through God’s mighty power in and through Jesus Christ.

That may not make much sense when you look at things. Life seems to go on just as it always has. Those who are willing to stop at nothing to gain wealth and power are still getting away with it. Those who use violence to control and oppress others are still wreaking havoc in people’s lives. And it can seem like our gathering here to sing the songs of the faith, and hear the Scriptures read, and pray the prayers that have been prayed for centuries isn’t making much difference. But the mystery of Christ’s reign in and through his body, the church, is that God’s mighty power is at work in all of it, right here and right now. Everything that we do in this church, even that which may seem “ordinary” and “insignificant,” is a part of that hope. The risen Christ who reigns at God’s right hand over all things is working even now, though it may seem frustratingly hidden and subtle. Though all has not yet come to the place where “every knee” bows and “every tongue” confesses Jesus Christ as Lord, everything we do here today, and as a church, is a part of what he is doing in and through us to reach that final goal.[3] May we continue to serve Christ faithfully in that confident hope!

[2] Ralph P. Martin, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon, 23: Paul offers the “assurance that there is no part of the created order which is capable of effectively and finally thwarting the divine purpose, since Christ the head of the universe has already been installed in place.” Cf. Pheme Perkins, “The Letter to the Ephesians,” New Interpreters Bible, XI:384-85

[3] Cf. A. T. Lincoln, Ephesians, Word Biblical Commentary 42, 79-81.

Wednesday, November 24, 2021

He Shall Reign Forever

Daniel 7:13-14; John 18:33-38[1]

One of the challenges of holding on to our Christian faith, hope, and love in times like these is that it may not seem to do much good. We are surrounded by images of what passes for “power” in this world, and it doesn’t seem to have much to do with faith, or hope, or love. In our world, power is defined by the ability to force others to do your bidding. That can take the form of troops and tanks and bombs. Or it can take the form of “arm-twisting” intimidation. All too often, power comes from having enough wealth to “buy” people to do what you want. The way power works in our world has very little to do with faith, or hope, or love.

We’d like to think that there was a time when we were more wary of that kind of blatant abuse of power. But if you read history carefully, you find that there have always been those who were willing to do whatever it took to wield power simply for their own benefit. While we criticize those who did so in the past, we can be infatuated with those who do so now. The notion that it would be “cool” to “have that much power” can be found in the minds of everyone from children idolizing their heroes to aging politicians clinging desperately to the last remains of their fading influence.

The situation wasn’t much different in Jesus’ day. The Jewish people lived under the control of the Roman empire. And whenever anyone tried to buck them, they had the most powerful army in the world to put them back in their place. Roman Governors like Pontius Pilate didn’t hesitate to unleash the legions on unarmed crowds of men, women, and children to keep a firm grip on their power. The Jewish people also lived under the control of their religious leaders. Then as now, while there were many who were sincere, it seems that there were plenty who were willing to abuse their position to manipulate the people and to maintain their own position and wealth.

That’s the background for the scene in our Gospel lesson for today. After making a show of interrogating Jesus, the “chief priests” brought him to Pilate to have him executed. Although they could have had Jesus stoned to death, they wanted him crucified by the Romans. They used their influence over the people to force Pilate to do their bidding. They “played their hand” shrewdly, publicly claiming that if he didn’t execute Jesus, the “king of the Jews,” Pilate would be disloyal to the Roman emperor. As if they cared about that!

And so Pilate’s private interview with Jesus was about true power. Of course, Jesus was bound, at the mercy of the Jewish religious leaders, on trial before the Roman governor. I think Pilate’s question, “Are you the King of the Jews?” would have been dripping with irony, because by all appearances Jesus had no power whatsoever. But Jesus said, “my kingdom is not of this world,” meaning that his authority was completely different from Pilate’s notions of power. In fact, later when Pilate remarked over Jesus’ failure to recognize his power, Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me unless it had been given you from above” (Jn 19:11).

I think Jesus was talking about something that was beyond Pilate’s grasp: the power of God’s kingdom that would never end. It’s likely that Jesus was drawing on the visions in the book of Daniel. There, God’s kingdom is likened to a great stone “cut out, not by human hands” that crushed the powerful empires of the world (Dan 2:34). In our lesson for today, Daniel’s vision of four beasts represented four kings whose power would be taken away and replaced by “someone like a Son of Man” who would establish God’s kingdom that would never end (Dan 7:13-14).

Although Pilate had no clue what Jesus was talking about, I would say that Jesus was giving him a lesson in real power. Pilate had bought into the image of power through force, through intimidation, and through wealth. But Jesus had a much bigger image of power. He knew that the true power in this universe is the reign of God. It’s one of the basic affirmations of the Bible, and we heard it in our lesson from Psalm 93: God has always ruled as king, despite all appearances to the contrary. And as the Book of Revelation reminds us, one day, “The kingdom of the world” will become “the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15). God’s reign is the true reality behind all the appearances of power in our world, and one day it will be fulfilled “on earth as it is in heaven.”

I think we need that kind of “bigger picture” to help us through times like these. When all we see reinforces the appearance that power in this world comes from force, or intimidation, or wealth, it can be discouraging to those of us trying to live out our Christian faith, hope, and love. But the Bible gives us a different image of power: it’s the image of the all-powerful God who created all things in the beginning. It’s the image of the God who entered this world in the person of Jesus to redeem us all with the power of love on the cross. It’s the image of the power of new life defeating the power of death on Easter Sunday. It’s the image of Jesus reigning over all the “powers” in our world at the right hand of God even now. It’s the image of that reign fulfilled one day “on earth as it is in heaven.” And the promise is that “he shall reign forever and ever”! When we understand where we come from, to whom we belong, and who ultimately defines our destiny, it helps us to face the challenge of our times.

Sunday, November 22, 2020

What Counts in the End

Matthew 25:31-46[1]

When push comes to shove, what counts for many of us is the ability to maintain our life as it is. We value our safety and that of our loved ones above all else. We have certain patterns of living that we are comfortable with, and we want to maintain those patterns as much as possible. We have also embraced the message of Jesus to live with concern for others, and we try to do so where we can. I would say, however, that we tend to do that in ways that feel familiar and safe to us. We want to be able to “check” the boxes we believe are important, but we want to do so with minimal risk.

I would say the life to which Jesus calls us is not one that fits within the limits of what we would consider “minimal risk.” Jesus calls us to “deny” ourselves, to take up our crosses, and to follow him in a life of service to others. That’s not always going to be safe or comfortable. It’s not going to be easy for us to die to ourselves—to set aside our self-interest, our wants, our needs, and our fears—and follow Jesus in extending God’s love to those who are the least and the last and the left out in our world today. That’s going to take us to some places that don’t feel safe or comfortable.

I believe that challenge lies at the root of our Gospel lesson for today. Jesus tells us a parable about separating people at the judgment like a shepherd might separate sheep from goats. I think we should read this as a parable, and not a lecture outlining what’s going to happen to “good” and “bad” people at the end of time. I think the fact that it follows two other parables along with the fact that Jesus continues the analogy of “sheep” and “goats” throughout the story points us in this direction. Since a parable is a story told to emphasize a point, the question for us is what is the point of this parable.

I think we may find a clue in the fact that both the sheep and the goats are surprised at the “verdict.” The sheep are commended for being kind and merciful to Jesus, but they are completely unaware of ever having done anything special. In response he told them when they were kind and merciful to “the least of these my brothers and sisters,” they were being kind and merciful to him. Similarly, the goats are criticized for not having practiced kindness and mercy, but they seem shocked as well. They thought they had checked off all the religious “boxes” they were supposed to, but Jesus said that they were not kind and merciful to the least and the last and the left out.

I believe the main point of this parable is that Jesus wanted to challenge the self-righteous hypocrisy that is such a prevalent temptation in religion. I think the “goats” were actually those who thought themselves pious and religious because they were devoted to worship, or because they were scrupulous about following the “rules,” or because they were pillars of their religious communities. But no amount of tithes, no zeal in keeping religious rules, no supposed places of honor in the congregation could change the fact that they were unkind toward others. In the end, what counts is practicing mercy toward the “least of these.”

And so the parable presents us with a challenge. We can all fall into the trap of thinking that we’ve “checked off” all the right “boxes.” We support the food pantry, we contribute to our favorite causes, we may even volunteer to feed others. But I think what Jesus confronts us with is the question whether we have truly practiced mercy toward the least and the last and the left out in our community. That’s a big step up from simply “checking off boxes.” We have to set aside our own fears if we’re really going to put Jesus’ love into action. We have to take the risk of getting to know those who are hurting if we’re really going to practice mercy.

While this parable is challenging, I think there is some comfort here as well. The sheep who were commended for being kind and merciful were also unaware of having done anything special! What’s more, Jesus says to them, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt. 25:34)! As John Calvin points out, this is meant to be a message of hope and encouragement, because their relationship with God was based not on the merit they earned but rather on grace.[2] That’s true for us as well. I’ve found that some of the people who are the most kind and merciful in this life are also quick to “apologize” for the fact that they aren’t very “religious.” In God’s eyes, however, all those who practice mercy are “blessed” and have the promise of a “kingdom prepared for them,” simply based on God’s grace!

These are difficult days. Safety is something we all need to be thinking about during a global pandemic. But at the same time we need to hear Jesus’ challenge to be willing to show mercy and kindness to the least and the last and the left out, even when it pushes us beyond what is familiar. I realize this may create a feeling of tension for us. We may wonder how we can put kindness and mercy into practice, especially in these days. I think Jesus meant for us to feel tension, because it’s the tension Scriptures like this create for us that pulls us toward deeper discipleship.

What counts in the end is practicing a lifestyle of mercy. Now, make no mistake: the clear teaching of Scripture is that our relationship with God, and our eternal destiny, is based solely on God’s grace. There’s no way we can ever do enough good to earn that. But the clear teaching of Scripture is also that those of us who experience God’s grace will practice mercy towards others. Grace and mercy: they go hand-in-hand. God’s gift of grace calls forth in us a lifestyle of mercy toward the least and the last and the left out.

[1] © Alan Brehm. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm, Ph. D. on 11/22/2020 for Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.

[2] J. Calvin & W. Pringle, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke, vol. 3, pp. 176–177.

Thursday, December 05, 2019

A Mighty Savior

Jeremiah 23:1-6; Luke 1:68-79; Colossians 2:11-20[1]

One of the age-old human desires is for someone to come and rescue us from the brokenness of our lives. At times have looked to our “God” to be the one to save us from the pain and suffering that seems to define our existence. At times that desire has been focused on a specific person—a “hero” who would throw off the yoke of oppressors, or a leader who would step up and set things right, or a spiritual figure who would come and save us. At times, the disappointments of life have driven us to look for our own solutions—some good, some not. But when push comes to shove, we tend to look to God to save us.

In ancient times, this desire was directed toward the promise of a Messiah. That idea originated because, as Jeremiah declares, those who were supposed to care for the people had failed to do so. More than that, they had taken advantage of the people, “destroying” and “scattering” God’s flock. In response, God promised to send one who would be a true shepherd. This one would enact true justice, rather than exploiting the people for the sake of power and wealth. This one would bring true peace that enabled them to thrive, not just the richest of the rich. This one would be called “The Lord is our righteousness” (Jer. 23:6, NRSV), or “God-Who-Puts-Everything-Right” (The Message)! Jeremiah was looking for a mighty savior!

So was Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist. In Luke’s Gospel we hear his song of praise at the birth of his son. He took that to be a sign that God was in the process of fulfilling ancient promises. Promises to save the people from their enemies and from the hand of those who oppressed them. Promises that God had made to Abraham and David about the days when the people would be able to serve God freely. Promises that light would come to those living in darkness, and peace would come to those who were troubled by violence, or cruelty, or want of common necessities, or simply a place to call home. And Zechariah believed God was going to do this by raising up “a mighty savior” (Lk. 1:69).

After raising their hopes through the many amazing things he did, Jesus dashed those hopes by going to the cross. “Mighty Saviors” don’t get publicly humiliated by a brutal execution. In the minds of the Jewish people that just couldn’t happen. A truly mighty savior would have the power to overthrow even the Roman Empire, who kept the Jewish people firmly under the heels of their army. A truly mighty savior would bring back the days when the Jewish people were a world power. When Jesus died on a Roman cross, the hopes of those who followed him died as well.

But that was not the end of the story. By raising Jesus from the dead, God demonstrated that he was indeed doing something “mighty” through Jesus. I think it took the first Christians a while to understand all that meant. It meant that God was doing something much bigger than just freeing the Jewish people. Through Jesus the mighty savior, God was going to free all people. And he was going to free us not just from the political and economic powers in this world, but from all the evil, hatred, injustice, and brokenness that burdens us in this life. Because he defeated death itself, the first Christians began to recognize that there was no victory that Jesus, our mighty savior, could not win.

As a result, they began to see Jesus’ work as something that would involve a much bigger picture that simply the fate of nations. In Colossians, Jesus’ work as our mighty savior includes nothing less than creating all things in the beginning and restoring all things in the end. Because of Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God, Jesus’ role as our savior was much bigger than anyone had imagined. As the “firstborn of all creation,” he was the one “through whom and for whom” all things were created by God. We may not understand all that means, but as our mighty savior, Jesus participated with God in the creation of all things.

Beyond that, Jesus’ work as our mighty savior includes restoring “all things” in the end. Now, in the Greek language “all things” is worded in such a way as to point to the whole created order. It refers to “all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe” (Col. 1:20, The Message). I think that’s going way beyond what most of us can imagine, let alone understand. Somehow, the Scripture says that Jesus reigns as our mighty Savior over the whole universe. And he will carry out his reign “with wisdom, power, and love” by making all things right—throughout the whole cosmos!

I think our desire for a Savior tends to be focused on ourselves. We tend to want our Savior to help us out of our difficulties. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, of course. But we can’t stop there. According to the New Testament, our mighty savior is engaged in a work that will make all things right again, just the way they were at the very beginning. I don’t think, however, that because Jesus is the Savior of the universe that somehow means that our concerns are too small for him. Rather, I would say that when we turn to him with our burdens, we can do so in the confidence that our mighty savior is the one who is working to restore the whole universe and everyone in it! Surely that means not only that he can help us, but also that he will!

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Ruler of All

Revelation 1:4-8, 12-13, 17-18[1]

Like people of all times and place, our notions of power are defined by our experiences in life. Our culture is a pragmatic one: we tend to believe in what “works,” regardless of whether it’s “right” or “true.” Even before President Teddy Roosevelt said that we should “speak softly, and carry a big stick,”[2] we were already caught up in the quest for bigger and better weapons. These days, it would seem that an equally important part of our notion of power is that “money talks.” I think that’s something of an understatement. I think what we really mean is that money backs people into a corner so that they have no choice but to give in. I can’t say I find too much to admire about the “power brokers” of our world.

But I think that even though we have a tendency to be dazzled by big sticks and lots of money, many of us know where power really lies. It’s not found in boardrooms of corporations, but rather in households around the country, where people share the most powerful means of change there is: love. True power is found in what St. Paul calls the “weapons of righteousness” (2 Cor. 6:6-7): kindness, truth, sacrifice, and the power of God. Despite our fascination with what masquerades as power in our world, God’s ways always have been and always will be the true power in this world.

Our lesson from the Book of Revelation for today touches upon that idea. In the first place, it speaks of our God as “the Alpha and the Omega,” the one “who is and who was and who is to come,” and “the Almighty” (Rev. 1:8). This description of God is full of implications, but essentially, it is a reminder that God is the one who sits on the throne of the universe and it is his rule that will ultimately define all things and everyone.[3] It’s a reminder that “Our God is an awesome God; he reigns from heaven above; with wisdom, power, and love; our God is an awesome God.”[4]

Alongside that image is another one that is equally important. Revelation also speaks of the one who stands at God’s right hand: “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead” (Rev. 1:5). Again, there is a whole theology about Jesus packed into that phrase, and it takes the rest of Revelation to explain. One of the most important images of Jesus in the Book of Revelation is that his is the lamb who was slain and who has triumphed through his death. As in our day, so also in that time, sacrificing one’s life was seen as weakness, not power. But the Scripture contradicts that point of view by proclaiming that, as a result of his death and resurrection, Jesus is “the ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5).[5]

In the first-century world, Christians had to face alternative visions of what life is all about just like we do. The ideal in their day was defined by Rome, and it was a dream of power through conquest, exploitation, and domination.[6] The presence of Roman legions throughout the Mediterranean world constantly reinforced that vision. That posed a significant temptation for the Christians of the day.[7] Some of them had been excluded from families who could not fathom why anyone would turn their backs on the culture of power and glory, prosperity and success, and its “family values”. In their worship, the central affirmation was: “Jesus is Lord”! And yet, all around them were images that contradicted their faith.

So the book of Revelation was written to remind those Christians that at the heart of their faith was a very different vision of what life is all about.[8] It is a vision of the one who sits on the throne, who bends everything that happens, both evil and good, toward his purposes.[9] It is also a vision of the lamb who overcame all the so-called “powers” of the world by dying. And because of his death and resurrection, he alone has the right to rule over all the earth. And he is the one who will one day make the “kingdom of the world” into the kingdom of our Lord, and “he shall reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15)!

At the heart of the Christian faith is a vision of a reality that is more true than our present world defined by power that takes the form of violence and greed. What’s more, at the heart of the Christian faith is the conviction that this ultimate reality is already present and working in our lives—it already undermines all the boastful claims of the rich and powerful.[10] And the promise is that one day this ultimate reality, the reign of Christ, will overthrow all the false powers in our world and all people will beat their swords into ploughshares and the wolf and the lamb will lie down together (Isaiah 2:4; 11:6)!

I guess the question we have to answer is whether this vision is more convincing than what pretends to be power in our world. Things haven’t changed much—we can be just as deceived by grandiose displays as the people of that day. But the real question we have to address here is where we place our faith. If we place our faith in “chariots,” the Scripture reminds us that they will “collapse and fall” (Ps. 20:7-8). If we place our faith in “mortals,” no matter how powerful they may seem, we find that in them “there is no help” (Ps. 146:3). The Scriptures call us to place our faith in the God who is working right now to establish his kingdom and his justice, peace, and freedom for all peoples everywhere.[11] They call us to place our faith in Christ as our Lord, the one who exposed the sham of those who pretend to have power in this world by his death and resurrection. They call us to place our faith in our Savior who lives and reigns for all time. And one day he will be acknowledged by all creation as the “ruler of all."

[2] Theodore Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography, 522

[3] Cf. Richard Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation, 27, regarding the designations “First and Last” and “Alpha and Omega,” says, “God precedes all things, as their Creator, and he will bring all things to eschatological fulfillment. He is the origin and goal of all history. He has the first word, in creation, and the last word, in new creation.” Cf. Eugene M. Boring, Revelation, 75: “God is named as the one whose being and whose acts embrace all time.”

[4] Rich Mullins, “Our God is an Awesome God,” 1988, BMG Songs, Inc. Even though I take issue with the theology expressed in the verses of this popular song, I think the refrain is a sound expression of what the book of Revelation was seeking to convey.

[5] Cf. Bauckham, Theology of the Book of Revelation, 73, “Fundamental to Revelation’s whole understanding of the way in which Christ establishes God’s kingdom on earth is the conviction that in his death and resurrection Christ has already won his decisive victory over evil.” Cf. also Boring, Revelation, 76, where he says that this phrase “attributes to Jesus the title claimed by the Roman Caesars, whose claim to sovereignty John wants his readers to see as a false caricature of the real lordship of Christ.”

[6] Cf. Bauckham, Theology of the Book of Revelation, 34, “The Roman Empire, like most political powers in the ancient world, represented and propagated its power in religious terms. … In this way it absolutized its power, claiming for itself the ultimate, divine sovereignty over the world.” I would say that all empires throughout history, even those in the present day, engage in this propaganda to some extent.

[7] Cf. Boring, Revelation, 8-23, where he summarizes the challenges faced by Christian communities in the Roman Empire, including being caught up in Roman wars, social and economic discrimination, and the pressure to take part in the worship of the Emperor as a test of loyalty.

[8] Cf. Bauckham, Theology of the Book of Revelation, 7: “The effect of John’s visions, one might say, is to expand his readers’ world, both spatially (into heaven) and temporally (into the eschatological future), or, to put it another way, to open their world to divine transcendence. The bounds which Roman power and ideology set to the readers’ world are broken open and that world is seen as open to the greater purpose of its transcendent Creator and Lord.” Contrast Christopher C. Rowland, “The Book Of Revelation,” New Interpreters Bible XII: “Apocalypse demands a break from our present way of looking at things. It offers an alternative perspective—though not the authoritative, definitive statement for which we crave—that requires the recipient who understands to bear witness.”

[9] Cf. Bauckham, Theology of the Book of Revelation, 31, where he says that the “vision of God’s sovereignty in heaven” is what “makes it possible for John to enlarge his readers’ perspective on their own situation by setting it within the broader context of God’s universal purpose of overcoming all opposition to his rule and establishing his kingdom in the world.” This reign of God is “the true reality which must in the end also prevail on earth.” Thus Bauckham can also say, (ibid., 40), “The whole of Revelation could be regarded as a vision of the fulfilment of the first three petitions of the Lord’s prayer: ‘Your name be hallowed, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt. 6:9-10).”

[10] Jürgen Moltmann, The Church in the Power of the Spirit, 99: “with Jesus’ resurrection from the dead the power of death and all the domination built up on the threat of death have already been overthrown and their end is already in sight.” Cf. also ibid., 190-91.

[11] Cf. Shirley C. Guthrie, Always Being Reformed, 69-70, where he insists that confessing Jesus as “the way, the truth, and the life,” means that “he is the expression of God’s love not just for Christian believers but for all humanity, on one in whom God was at work to reconcile the whole world to himself. He came not to give his followers everything they wanted to be happy, successful, and secure now and forever, but to announce and usher in the worldwide reign of God’s justice and compassion for everyone.”

Tuesday, March 03, 2015

At Any Cost

1 Peter 3:18-22[1]

From my perspective, I’d have to say we are a people who don’t like to suffer. Most of us prefer our lives to be as comfortable and as pain-free as possible. And we expend huge amounts of money to secure for ourselves a life that is as free from suffering as possible. From medications, to entertainment, to other less healthy forms of relief, we find all kinds of ways to try to free ourselves from the pain of suffering. And yet this presents a curious paradox for those of us who profess to be Christians. We follow a Savior whose life was defined by suffering, and who called us to follow him in a life of suffering. I wonder how we who spare no expense to avoid pain can really claim to follow a Savior who gave himself for us at any cost.

In my opinion, this is a question that American Christians in general have not given enough attention. As we enter the season of Lent, I think it is no coincidence that many of our Scripture lessons for this season have to do with suffering—both on the part of Jesus and on our part. The fact of the matter is that the suffering of God’s love permeates the Bible. And suffering is a very real part of life that we all have to face at one point or another. We may try to avoid it by any means possible, but we will not succeed. We need a better hope than our various means of escape to sustain us in the face of suffering.

Our lesson from St. Peter for today addresses this, although in a very curious way. This text is one of the most difficult passages in the New Testament, with its talk of preaching to “spirits in prison”[2] and Baptism being likened to Noah’s ark. And yet, despite those thorny interpretation difficulties, this passage begins with suffering and ends with victory. St. Peter makes a declaration that Jesus suffered for our sakes, saying that “Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). And at the end of this lesson, he affirms that in his resurrection Jesus won the victory over all the powers in this world that would try to inflict suffering on us (3:22).[3]

Elsewhere in Peter’s letter, he talks about the lengths to which Jesus was willing to go to suffer on our behalf (1 Pet. 2:21-24).[4] He speaks about Jesus’ experience of being insulted and yet not insulting back. He speaks of Jesus suffering and not retaliating in anger or with violence of any kind. Rather he was willing to suffer for our sakes at any cost to himself. Peter says it this way, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross” and “by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). He accepted the cup of suffering that was placed before him. And in doing so, he made it clear that God’s love is a love that seeks to redeem us at any cost.

This is a very different approach to suffering than what we’re used to. Instead of avoiding it at any cost, the love of God in Jesus Christ sought us out and spared no expense to set us free from all the forces that can turn our lives into a living hell. What an incredible display of love. I think sometimes we may take all this for granted. But if you really think about it, who in this world would do something like that for you? We may have a handful of people who might seriously consider it. But at the end of the day, it really is amazing that someone would seek us out and embrace suffering at any cost in order to rescue us from the dark places into which we wander.

Perhaps the most difficult thing Peter says about all this is that we have been called to follow Jesus in this same kind of life![5] In fact, Peter says that Jesus suffered in this way to “leave you an example, so that you should follow in his steps” (1 Peter 2:21). How could it be different for those of us who follow a Savior who was executed in a most de-humanizing way? Jesus himself told his disciples that his path, the path of obedience to God’s will, the path of seeking God’s kingdom and God’s justice, was going to lead him to suffer and die. He was willing to accept that ultimate suffering in order to “bring us back to God.” He was so intent on that goal that we was willing to see it through at any cost. And he warned his disciples that if they followed him, they would have to be prepared for the same kind of suffering.

I’m not sure we’re ready to hear that. We think of those who passively accept suffering as in some way weak or powerless. But if you look at the way Jesus suffered, there was nothing weak or powerless about it at all. His willingness to suffer for us at any cost was a demonstration of a level of strength that is hard to imagine. And his suffering was not simply a passive surrender to the forces that oppress us. In fact, his willingness to accept suffering and even death on our behalf was the most powerful response possible. He allowed them to do their worst, and then he rose up from the grave to show them that they had failed to defeat him.[6]

I think there’s a dimension of our suffering that’s like that. When we follow Jesus’ example and accept our suffering—whether it makes sense or not—it becomes a kind of witness to those around us.[7] In a very real sense, when we embrace the suffering that may come our way, or even go the extra mile and take on the suffering of others, by our very lives we make a powerful statement to the world.[8] We are saying that we are not afraid of the powers in this world that may try to inflict suffering on us. We are saying that we trust in the one who paid the ultimate cost and won the victory over all suffering to deliver us safely in the end. We are saying that we are willing to follow Christ at any cost.

[2] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, In the End—The Beginning: The Life of Hope, 149, where he comments on this difficult text, “We are not told how that can come about, whether the dead hear the gospel of Christ and, like the living, can arrive at faith. For us, it is enough, after all, to know that death can set no limits to the saving gospel of Christ, and that in faith in Christ there is hope for the dead too.”

[3] Cf. David L. Bartlett, “The First Letter of Peter,” New Interpreters Bible XII:297, where he says, “To be sure, Christ suffered as Christians suffer, but in his resurrection he not only overcame suffering but he also raised his flag of victory over the evil forces that bring suffering on the just and the faithful.” Cf. also Paul J. Achtemeier, 1 Peter: A commentary on First Peter, 251, where he says that the point of this passage is to emphasize “the objective ground and cause of salvation that is the basis of the readers’ confidence that despite any unjust suffering which might seem to point to the contrary, Christ by his passion and resurrection has emerged victorious over all opposing powers, a victory in which faithful Christians will also share.” Cf. similarly Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics, 4.3.2:211.

[4] Cf. Mary H. Schertz, “Radical Trust in the Just Judge: The Easter Texts of 1 Peter,” Word & World 24 (Fall 2004): 232: “For the communities to whom this letter was written, the crucial meaning of the cross is Jesus' two-step decision, articulated in 2:23. His first decision is not to retaliate, not to revile in return for reviling. But his second decision is even more important because it grounds his first decision. His second decision is to entrust himself to the just Judge.”

[5] Cf. Jürgen Moltmann, The Church in the Power of the Spirit, 97: “The whole church lives from Christ’s self-giving and in self-giving for the reconciliation of the world.” See also ibid., 284: “The way of life of the messianic era is stamped by messianic suffering.” See also Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.3.2:636-40, where he talks about this in terms of suffering “under the shadow” of Jesus’ cross.

[6] Cf. Schertz, “Radical Trust,” 232, 234: “This is not suffering for the sake of suffering. This is not condoning suffering. This is not giving up to suffering. This is not God making Jesus suffer. Rather, the life and ministry of Jesus, what he has been moving toward since at least the temptations, culminates in this testimony that reconciliation—between God and people as well as among people—is not a matter of containing evil but of transforming evil. It is a freely chosen, decisive action. It is a simple but powerful decision to break the cycle of violence.”

[7] Cf. David L. Tiede, “An Easter Catechesis: The Lessons of 1 Peter,” Word & World 4 (Spring 1984): 198, where he suggests that 1 Peter 3:14-15 “may sound the keynote for the passage: ‘Have no fear of them nor be troubled, but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord.’” The idea is that when they do that they will be able to bear witness to the new life they have experienced through their faith in Christ. Cf. also Bartlett, “The First Letter of Peter,” NIB XII:296, where he says that when Christians suffer for their faith, “They join the struggle against oppression by speaking honestly and powerfully of what they hold dear, making their defense unapologetically.”

[8] Cf. Schertz, “Radical Trust,” 240, where she says that when we follow Christ’s example in this way, “there is an indestructible theological power in this obedience.”

The Waking Dreamer