1 Peter 2:19-25 (NRSV)

1 Peter 2:19-25 (NRSV)

¹⁹For it is to your credit if, being aware of God, you endure pain while suffering unjustly. ²⁰If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, where is the credit in that? But if you endure when you do right and suffer for it, you have God’s approval. ²¹For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.
²² ‘He committed no sin,
   and no deceit was found in his mouth.’
²³When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. ²⁴He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

I acknowledge my indebtedness to William Barclay for this reflection.

This is probably one of the passages of Scripture that was abused in the past to justify non-resistance to the injustices of slavery and apartheid (and others) and is another reminder that we need to tread carefully and prayerfully when attempting to discern the truth in Scripture. Yes, there is truth here, but it is subtle and needs careful attention.

On the surface this passage calls us to be willing to endure suffering and that we gain God’s approval especially when it is unjust. But, I believe the key lies in the example set for us by Jesus, who offered his life for our sake. But we need to take the whole example of Jesus: he made a stand against injustices against women, foreigners, the side-lined and even displayed righteous anger as he cleared the temple. I do not believe that this passage is suggesting that the great sins including racism, prejudice, economic injustice etc. are things we need to simply endure silently and let the perpetuators get away with, but rather that sometimes in unjust situations we need to sacrifice our lives for those thus treated. Maximillian Kolbe is a good example where in a prison of war camp, he offered his life (that of a single man) in the place of another married man’s life.

This passage is referring specifically to the incident of the final days of our Lord, and if we find ourselves in similar situations, then we should do likewise – like Kolbe and many saints who opposed slavery and apartheid in similar ways.

Central to the message of Christ is that every person is precious in the sight of God and needs to be treated with the greatest dignity and respect. Only when passages like this are not seen within the context of the whole message that it can be abused as it has so often been in the past.

Within the Church, social barriers are broken down. Many of the early Christians were humble people, but even the humblest were able to rise to leadership and some were even slaves. Peter is urging his readers – in this context – to be ‘good slaves’. Christians work to the best of their ability – because it is as if they are working for Christ. So, this raises the question: “What does a Christian do when they are treated unfairly?” Peter replies that this is exactly what had happened to Jesus, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 and we need to follow the example of Jesus. But we suffer in a holy way and this does not mean that we do not sin and we never tell lies or any other deceit; when we are abused we do not return the abuse; we suffer in such a way that our abusers are shamed into changing because of the holiness of our response.

Perhaps one of the best examples of this comes from that great Hindu, Mohatma Gandhi. His satyagraha (non-violent protest) showed such dignity and holiness that the soldiers and leaders eventually had to back down. He of course inspired the wonderful example of Martin Luther-King and the Civil Rights movement in the USA and the unknown Robbie Robertson, who started the first non-racial Presbyterian Church in South Africa in 1962 (and which I attended until 1969).

This is where I parted company with organisations like the ANC and PAC who adopted armed resistance, because this cheapened the value of human life and which is a reason why (I believe) there is still so much murder and violence in South Africa today. Non-violence does not accept injustice, it provokes a response and through its holiness and goodness prods the deepest sense of shame in the offender that their humanity is reawakened and the injustice needs to end.

I complete my reflection on the Epistle by focusing on the last verse where Jesus is referred to as ‘... the shepherd and guardian of your souls ...’ As always, William Barclay is brilliant when it comes to looking at the importance of specific words and titles, and I acknowledge my indebtedness to his work.

Shepherd: This is one of the oldest names for God 2.g. Psalm 23 The Lord is my Shepherd still one of the best known of all passages of scripture. But the Old Testament is cluttered with other examples as well: Isaiah speaks of God as the shepherd who will feed his flock; Ezekiel’s reference is Messianic. Jesus adopted the title and spoke of himself as the ‘good shepherd and one who would lay down his life for his sheep. In the East this would have been a vivid and precious image referring to ceaseless vigilance and self-sacrificial love of God for us – “We are his people and the sheep of his pasture.” (Psalm 100:3)

Guardian of our souls: This is interesting because I never realised before that ‘guardian’ is a translation of the word episkopos. In secular Greek, this word was used in The Iliad when speaking of a guard, one who keeps wives and children safe. In Plato, the word was used for an overseer of games, one who fed and educated children, supervised personal conduct and administered punishment. Episkopoi refers to a complex set of different ideas – all noble – protector, guardian of honour, truth and honesty, overseer of education and public morals and administrator of public law and order. God is all this.

Jesus – God incarnate – is all this – he is our Shepherd and the Guardian of our souls. Barclay concludes:

“In his love he cares for us; in his power he protects us; in his wisdom he guides and directs us in the right way.”