Saturday, October 15, 2022

 

Saturday, October 15, 2022


Psalm 104:1-25

Ezra 6:1-15

1 Peter 2:18-25


For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.


Once a year, every year, the main street of every town and city in the country is filled with men in uniforms marching to impressive-sounding military music. ANZAC day has become, for better or worse, a national carnival of remembrance. Everyone who has ever had even the slightest passing involvement with the defence of the nation comes together for a couple of hours to march with shoulders back and chins up in front of crowds and cameras. The other national day for veterans, Remembrance Day, is somewhat different. This is the day for quiet reflection, and tears. We see two different expressions and understandings of the concept of honour.


To be honourable can mean one of two things. (The two definitions are mutually exclusive.) The first looks upon the perception other people have of the self. One’s honour is defined by how other people see them. Or, in Peter’s example, defending one’s honour against a harsh master. The second definition of honourable depends on someone else. To be concerned with the honour of someone else, to the point where one’s own level of honour doesn’t matter at all, is a holy honour.


Just like how Remembrance Day services spend more time reflecting upon the sacrificial aspect of military service, Peter wants us to remember not so much the glory we have received for our own sake, but to remember the One who is honoured by giving us that glory. We are to follow Christ; and Christ was concerned with the will of His Father. Christ Jesus loved His heavenly Father so much, He was happy to be sent here to bear our sins in His body on the cross.


To give up everything to follow the interests of the One who is better than us gives honour to the One we follow. Through the emptying of our own interests, we also receive honour. This dynamic can be spoilt by thinking of ourselves: the slave who opens his mouth against his master, instead of trusting the One to whom he has entrusted everything, is acting dishonourably.


Peter justifies all of this by paraphrasing Isaiah 53:5-7. This is a section of an ancient prophecy that predicts Jesus’ crucifixion. This is how our Master won our freedom, and, in turn, the pattern of God we are to follow in our lives. Trusting that God loves us enough to carry us through suffering. Trusting that God will have the last word. Looking at where God found us, and seeing where God has brought us, and understanding that this proves the infinite love God has for us, demands a certain attitude to life that, by this trust, is set free from worldly concerns of personal honour and brought joyfully into the loving presence of the all-powerful God who uses that power for good.



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