Sermon on 1 Peter 4:7-11, for the 7th Sunday of Easter 2018 (1 YR lectionary), "Who am I?"

            In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today’s reading from 1 Peter asks the question of how are we to live our lives, while the end of the world is in view. And by that, I mean that ever since Jesus ascended into heaven, we await His coming return at any time. Our attitude should be “always ready.” Today I want you to reflect on this question as we wait for the coming end: “Who am I?” The answer wraps us up in our identity in Christ, our future in Him, and who we are to be here and now.

            When the apostle Peter declares to us from the pages of Scripture that the “end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded, for the sake of your prayers”—what’s our reaction? Does a 2,000 year old warning seem to lose its urgency? Do we scoff and say: “Where is the promise of [Christ’s] coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation” (2 Pet. 3:4)? Do we take it seriously enough that the end is near? Perhaps you do take it seriously, and live with a readiness of repentance and a confidence born in Christ. Or maybe you realize that you may be blessed to live maybe 70-100 years in this life—but in any case your own individual days are numbered, and we ought to always live ready for the judgment, even if Jesus doesn’t return first.

            Self-control and sober-mindedness should mark us. Not idleness—there’s work to be done. Relate the end of the world to this example. A ship loaded with passengers, is beginning to sink in the deep waters, far from land. The ship being the world, and the passengers symbolizing all humanity. As the great ship begins to list and sink beneath the perilous waters, the cry goes out: “Abandon ship! Every man for himself!” Freeze that moment; how would you respond?

A real life account of this was when the British warship HMS Birkenhead struck a rock off the coast of Africa in 1852, and began to sink. As the crew that survived the crash and efforts to save the ship assembled on deck, the ship was clearly lost, and the lifeboats were already full. Twenty women and children were aboard, in addition to the soldiers. When the captain knew the ship was lost, he cried out that every man who could swim must save himself and swim for the lifeboats. And why not? At a time like this, “you gotta do what you gotta do” to save yourself. Right? However, chaos did not ensue with each one pushing past another to make it to the lifeboats. Instead the commanding officer of the British soldiers aboard the ship refused to heed the sentiment, “Every man for himself!” They knew that if they rushed the life boats the women and children would be swamped. With valiant self-control the soldiers stood their ground and sank with the ship—those who could swim then clinging to wreckage, for the sake of letting the precious cargo of the lifeboats get to safety. Only 193 of the 634 people on board survived. My point isn’t to point out the virtues of chivalry, as they may be—but rather that in the moment of peril, they considered the lives of others more important than their own.

            So if the end was near and our ship was sinking, which of the two would we be? Would we look out only for ourselves and leave the others to their own fate? Or would we recognize that we owe something to those around us? If the world is a sinking ship, and we don’t know how much longer it will last—what will we do to warn our fellow passengers? The natural thing would be to look out for ourselves. Paul describes the Christian attitude of “Who am I?” in these words: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Phil. 2:4). This is who we ought to be—how we ought to love one another. Christian love is not first self-interested, but also sees what we can do for others, and what they need.  

We’re wired in the opposite way, however. Even Christian faith gets individualized, as our “tech society” makes it easier and easier to withdraw into our personalized worlds of videos, entertainment, games, news, etc. If we don’t make a major effort to get “out of our bubble”, its very easy to ignore those around us. Even those very near to us. Many people today even struggle to explain what we need church for. It’s become so commonplace to talk about “my personal relationship with Jesus,” and thinking about having our “felt needs” met. So is the church something more than just a place for individuals who have a private relationship with God to gather?

Peter called on them to “keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins”. He added “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” Hospitality involves community, welcoming, and attentiveness to the needs of others. Without grumbling implies that our service does not depend on the awards or praise we receive, but that it comes from a generous spirit that is willing to serve freely, for the good of others. And he calls all of us to use the gifts that God has given us in service to one another. We’re meant for life together; community—not individualism and disconnectedness. God has given us varied gifts, not to keep for ourselves, but to bless other.

No self-interest directed Jesus as He went to win our redemption at the cross. Sinful humans had sabotaged our own “ship,” the world, causing it to sink. We even mutinied against God, our captain, and rejected His Son, sent to rescue us. He could’ve left us to ourselves, to sink in the sea of our own destruction, but he didn’t seek to save His own life. Rather He sacrificed His life so that our sins wouldn’t be held against us. His love covers a multitude of sins. He did not flee from community with sinful humans, but He sought and created community with us!

The one we crucified with our sins, pleads to God for our pardon. He died so that we might be buoyed up to life and safety by the hope of His resurrection. Baptized into His church we’ve boarded lifeboats and are being rescued. And there’s more than enough room aboard the lifeboats for everyone! But having been rescued—the end is not yet here…the ship has not yet sunk. So are we simply to drift aimlessly in the lifeboats until Jesus returns to take us into the good harbor of heaven? Are Christians to float safely in our churches while ignoring those who are sinking in the sea around us? No, rather the church is created to be a caring community that extends love and hospitality not only among ourselves, but to others.

Even on the cross, as He gave up His life for us, Jesus knew that we would need each other. He had taught His disciples to depend on one another and He urged them to go out and make disciples, to spread the good news of forgiveness and hope, and to build the church to be a refuge for the community of believers. On the cross, when Jesus said to Mary, “Woman, here is your son,” and to John, “Here is your mother,” He gave us a purpose for caring for one another.

So in answer to the question we began with, “Who am I?” we find the answer that God has called us to be a caring community in Christ. We’re brought together by God to use His gifts in love and service to one another. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about how service to one another can often be inconvenient. He said that no one was too good for the meanest and lowest service. “We must be ready to allow ourselves to be interrupted by God. God will be constantly crossing our paths and canceling our plans by sending us people with claims and petitions. We may pass them by, preoccupied with our more important tasks, as the priest passed by the man who had fallen among thieves, perhaps—reading the Bible. When we do that we pass by the visible sign of the Cross raised [across] our path to show us that, not our way, but God’s way must be done.” As followers of Christ, following the banner of His cross, be prepared to have our plans interrupted for the need of serving someone else. We exist as this caring community, because we are to bring help and hope to those who are in danger or despair—so lend your arms and voices, and bring them to rescue and safety! In Jesus’ name, Amen.

            Now the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, unto life everlasting. Amen.