TheoTrek — A Journey with God in Discipleship
Hope in Divine Presence
Appomattox Ministerial Association Lenten Service
1st Peter 3:13-22
Many are hopeless. Life has become filled with despair and the senseless rush of worry. Too many have so little to live for, making a purpose out of survival while hope and meaning lay cast aside. Where does the gospel message of hope ring out? Is there hope left in a nation torn by conflict over morality, terrorism, religious expression, political corruption, and corporate scandal? What good is the hope in the gospel amid the turmoil of life today?
Peter’s message is timeless, but his words arise from a counter-culture stance. The gospel was not under persecution and attack as some claim it to be in America. The position of Christianity was wholly different. Many viewed Christians as atheists working not simply to overthrow Rome, but to undercut the very fabric of society. Believers in Jesus were deemed enemies of culture, society, stability, law, and order. Like the Jews, they seemingly had no gods, for the Gentile mind equated worship of the divine with what we term idolatry.
To the societies of the Roman Empire, atheism was more than simple disbelief in the existence of deities. Atheism was equivalent to treason and punishable by death. Atheism was deemed an attack on the very foundation of society—a crime against humanity. Throughout the Roman world, pleas were established to bequest benevolence on the part of the plethora of gods. They deemed that these gods must be appeased in order to maintain stability on earth. Whims of the gods were necessary for rain and sun to appear in proper proportion, allowing for food, water, and fertility of life. The world of the gods was a dangerous realm in which the good of humanity depended on the whims of beings giving little import to the needs of humanity.
Fear of an uncertain future dominated the societal perspective on survival. Life depended on keeping the gods appeased through participation in cultic ritual. Failure to participate in the festivals might cause the gods to incite war or send disasters as easily as to ignore petitions for divine favor. Atheism was not important in terms of belief. It was participation in the appeasement rituals that was so essential for national survival.
Christians did not participate. They seemed to ignore the needs of the larger society, actively undermining the common good. They were not looked upon as dissenters, but as terrorists plotting against the social structure.
Peter reminded believers to be prepared to defend their hope. They had hope that the world all around did not share. They did not participate in idolatrous cultic festivals, yet not with treason as their motive. They abstained as an extension of their hope and confidence in God. While society lived in anxious fear over survival issues, believers lived confident in the hope of God’s care over their lives. They need not fret over the uncertainty of survival, for Christ had ushered them into God’s presence and immediate care.
Amid accusations from a society in turmoil, believers held a message of hope. If they were brought before a court and accused of treason, they had a greater responsibility than to defend their actions. There was an issue more pressing than saving their lives by offering incense to an idol. They had hope the world desperately needed.
Peter reminded them that the reason for defending their hope should not be selfish. They were to grant hope to others. A gentle and reverent defense would reveal assurance through the character of one’s actions. If one’s hope is indeed eternal, coming from God, it should rise above fear. If it is worth one’s while, it is worthy of sharing as sufficient security for one’s existence, current and future.
We have been brought near to God by Christ Jesus, Peter claims. This was the purpose of Jesus’ life, ministry, and sacrifice. His gift on our behalf grants assurance of hope’s reality. Our hope entails that we have no need to fear the concerns of society all around. We have a different security than that on which the world depends. We have a future extending far beyond the concerns of a society seeking protection and survival. True hope arises from the presence of God in our very lives.
We are surrounded by voices today who sound less like Peter than the society of Peter’s day. It is the voice of fear which claims that problems like homosexuality and abortion undermine the foundation of society. Not that the issues are not problems. Rather, they ignore matters of the heart. They seek stability through participation in the external rites appropriate to a worshipping community. They equate external prescription with worship, whereas God looks upon the heart. Cries of terror and fear at the excesses of society completely miss the point of the hope in Peter’s words.
Our hope is not in externals that might be legislated. Peter reminds us that our hope is in Christ Jesus. Christ has brought us into God’s presence. It is in God’s care and grace which our hope lies. Our hope is in the grace of God, not in matters that lie outside the heart. Hope calls us to action flowing from its inner reality. This is the action and hope that will make a difference in our world. This is the hope our people need to hear, see, and understand.
Rome tried to force participation in cultic rites that could never bring true security. Peter reminds us that true security springs from an inner reality. It is of God, not the product of human action. This is our good news. This is the gospel we have to proclaim. In Christ, God has drawn near in fellowship, granting us a hope of eternal consequence.
Peter calls us to prepare to defend our hope. He did not call believers to defend their lives, nor their way of life. It was their hope that the world needed to understand. This hope is already within the child of God. We have hope—a hope the world needs, but cannot grasp. What will we do with this gospel of hope? What will we do with the message of God’s loving presence? Are we prepared to share this message with the hopeless all around?
Is God so busy watching sparrows that He cannot care for us? Rather, am I too busy counting sparrows to share the hope in Christ Jesus? The world needs to hear the good news. It is hopeless without our witness.
—©Copyright 2006 Christopher B. Harbin