I am comforted and challenged by the opening words of 1 Peter in the New Testament:
"To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered..."
For those of us who are followers of Jesus, we have a unique calling: To be "resident aliens" in our world. This is very personal and existential to me.
I am more of a nomad than a settler - always have been, probably always will be. So the idea of a temporary location as a sojourner fits me well.
The challenge that 1 Peter communicates is a close-knit community of Christians who, together, are aliens in the world. Peter is speaking of the Body of Christ living on earth in a way that is thoroughly different than the rest of the world.
The community that Peter is speaking to is spread all over Asia Minor. They are culturally diverse, politically and socially diverse, rich and poor. The unifying factor is their allegiance to Jesus Christ and the common persecution they experience because of that allegiance.
No doubt this community of "aliens and strangers" had its internal differences - Republicans and Democrats both following Jesus perhaps! But they were bound together "in Christ" (a favorite phrase of the Apostle Paul). This allows us to differ greatly over issues such as gun control, taxation, and a slew of otherwise divisive issues.
Tax collectors and zealots learning to love each other and be resident aliens in community together!
P.S. To read an outstanding reflection by my friend Brian Rice on being in the world, against the world, for the world, and witnesses to the world, click here.
"To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered..."
For those of us who are followers of Jesus, we have a unique calling: To be "resident aliens" in our world. This is very personal and existential to me.
The challenge that 1 Peter communicates is a close-knit community of Christians who, together, are aliens in the world. Peter is speaking of the Body of Christ living on earth in a way that is thoroughly different than the rest of the world.
The community that Peter is speaking to is spread all over Asia Minor. They are culturally diverse, politically and socially diverse, rich and poor. The unifying factor is their allegiance to Jesus Christ and the common persecution they experience because of that allegiance.
No doubt this community of "aliens and strangers" had its internal differences - Republicans and Democrats both following Jesus perhaps! But they were bound together "in Christ" (a favorite phrase of the Apostle Paul). This allows us to differ greatly over issues such as gun control, taxation, and a slew of otherwise divisive issues.
Tax collectors and zealots learning to love each other and be resident aliens in community together!
P.S. To read an outstanding reflection by my friend Brian Rice on being in the world, against the world, for the world, and witnesses to the world, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment