Sermon on 1 Peter 4:12-19, 5:6-11, for the 7th Sunday of Easter, "The Christian on Trial"
Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Last week we heard in 1 Peter 3 about the Christian living their life with good conscience, despite persecution and opposition for their faith. The theme continues in today’s reading. We’ve talked before this year about how we don’t experience persecution anywhere on the order of how millions of Christians in foreign countries do today, or early Christians. Yet Peter almost took it for granted that persecution was a basic reality of Christian life. Our reading opens with, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you.” This challenges us to consider why we don’t experience more persecution. Is it because we enjoy a period of relative peace in our country? Or do we see warning signs that the “goodwill” toward Christianity is fading in society? Or does it tell us we aren’t speaking up or witnessing ...