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1 Peter 5
So, we’re almost done with our series on Peter. This is week 6 of 6 so I thought it might be good to recap where we’ve come with Peter and how that mirrors our own spiritual journeys. And I think the message I want all of us to really remember about Peter is this: If there is hope for Peter, than there is hope for us. When we first met Peter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, he wasn’t too impressive – just an average ordinary guy who liked to fish – not unlike most of us. But after Jesus called him to follow and we begin hearing more stories about Peter, we realize that while he does have some admirable qualities – Peter was in desperate need of redemption. He probably talked too much, he made all kinds of mistakes, he disappointed Jesus time and time again, and his personal life needed healing because he was taking care of a sick mother-in-law. I think all of us can identify with this side of Peter because we all know what its like to fall short and to make mistakes and to experience pain. Peter was very raw and in need of some shaping and molding…so that’s what Jesus started to do with him – shape and mold him into the leader of the disciples that Jesus wanted him to be. In other words, Peter had to grow up in his salvation. And while Peter talks about what a painful process this growing up and molding was, he also discovered an incredible gift through all of it – the gift of Christian community. It was through this gift of other Christians where Peter found support and encouragement, and it is in this gift of Christian community where we can also find our support and encouragement in times of struggle and hardship. And last week we learned two very important things – We need Jesus and Jesus needs us. We need him to save us and he needs us to be the church and to be his witnesses in the world. So, just as he sent Peter out filled with the Holy Spirit, he sends each of us out into the world. I hope you’ve found it somewhat interesting to discover how Peter’s life and process of redemption is told through his memoir, 1 Peter. By the last chapter of 1 Peter, chapter 5, Peter is nearing the end of his ministry, and just as Jesus handed the ministry over to Peter, Peter must now hand it over to the next generation of leaders. And I love what Peter tells the up and coming leaders. Remember back to Jesus’ last conversation with Peter on the beach, Jesus asks Peter three times, “Peter, do you love me?” Each time Peter says, “Yes,” and then each time Jesus comes back with the statement, “Take care of my sheep,” or “Feed my lambs.” Well, it seems that through Peter’s ministry, he’s learned a thing or two…it finally sunk in. Look at the final instructions that Peter gives to the next generation of leaders: “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers – not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be…” Be shepherds. Take care of God’s flock. It seems that Peter’s life has become congruent to Jesus’ – his message and actions are the same as the Lord’s. And one of the things we must do as followers of Jesus, and as those who are following in the footsteps of Peter, is to learn how to be caretakers of God’s flock – how to be shepherds of the world. So what does this mean? How was Peter a shepherd to God’s flock and how can we all be shepherds of God’s flock? Well, I don’t think it’s that complicated. Being a shepherd means that we simply take care of the sheep. We feed them, we love them, we learn their names, we protect them, we teach them. These are things that Peter devoted himself to after he received the Holy Spirit. The part I think that we often struggle with is who are the sheep of God’s flock. I think we often take a very narrow approach to this and say that we should only take care of other Christians, but that’s not what Peter did. He took care of the other Christians, but he also saw it as his responsibility to take care of the community and the rest of the world. Basically, as shepherds of God’s flock, we are to take care of anyone we are connected to, to help anyone in need that God has placed before us. Oasis Food Pantry is one of the best ways we can do this in St. Charles. And as the client list for Oasis keeps growing, so does the flock that God has entrusted to our care. Right now Oasis has asked us, as Hope Lutheran, to bring as much peanut butter and jelly as possible. This simple food staple is essential to feeding the hungry in our community. I also think that part of God’s flock that God has entrusted to our care are our brothers and sisters in Haiti. God has connected to our congregation to House of Hope orphanage in Port au Prince and has given us the means to really help the people in that desperate country. With the current worldwide food crisis, our brothers and sisters in Haiti are literally starving to death, and through House of Hope, we have a great opportunity to feed those who have no one else to help them. You can read a little more about this in the Weekly and you can help immediately by providing Happy Meals for Haiti. I think it is these kinds of things that Peter had in mind when he echoed Jesus’ message to “Be shepherds of God’s flock that he has entrusted to your care.” I think Peter finally got it, and if there is hope for Peter, there is hope for us. Peter, who started off as an ordinary man, but perhaps a bit bold, arrogant, mistake-ridden, and unwilling to let Jesus suffer, look how he continues with his message in chapter 5, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” And I love this next part. Peter, who started with no self-control and even fell asleep when Jesus prayed, at the end of his life he writes, “Be self-controlled and alert.” I think Peter learned that life isn’t just about Peter, that there is much more to live for, to look forward to, that redemption really is possible. Through the storms of his life, by experiencing the grace and forgiveness of Jesus, by sharing in Christian community, by remaining close to Jesus – he finally got it. He was changed and transformed from a screw-up to a saint, and this only happened through the power of the Holy Spirit. If there is hope for Peter, there is certainly hope for all of us. God gave him salvation and redeemed him through Jesus Christ. Jesus took a broken man and made him whole. Jesus took a sinner and helped him do good in the world. Jesus took a screw-up and made him a saint. Jesus can do the same thing for you. He can use whatever you bring to the table, he can shape and mold you, he can help you grow up in your salvation. Jesus gives you a Christian community to help you and he needs you go out into the world to share his message of grace, love, and forgiveness. Jesus is here to offer you redemption and a chance to pass on that redemption to other people. I think the story of Peter and the message of 1 Peter can be summed up in a story about Starbucks. A guy I know named Matt works at Starbucks told this story about working there. One day, the customer in the drive-thru window told Matt that he would like to pay for his own drink but also pay for the order of the car behind him. Matt kind of looked at him puzzled, and he said that he just wanted to do something nice for a total stranger today. So the guy paid for the two orders and drove off. When the next car in line came up, Matt told her that her drink was paid for by the car in front of her. She was like, “Wow! Really? He paid for me? That just made my day! I’d like to pay for the person behind me so that they can have the same feeling that I have.” So she paid for the car behind her and drove off. The next car came up to the window and Matt told him that his drink had already been paid for. He asked why. So Matt told him about how the first car paid for the second car. And the second car paid for him, the third car. And he said, “Wow! I guess its my lucky day!” And he drove off without even looking in his rearview mirror to see if there was another car behind him. Here’s how this little story sums up Peter. Jesus is like that first car – he paid for Peter’s salvation, redeemed him, and saved his life. Peter got to experience this salvation and redemption, and was like, “Wow! Really? He paid for me? That just made my day. I’d like to pass that on to the people behind me.” So Peter passes on that hope and message of redemption to us. We are in that third car. Our sins have been paid for, we have been given salvation, and one of the last things that Peter writes is a passing on of that salvation. He says in chapter 5, verse 10, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” Jesus made Peter strong, firm, and steadfast. Jesus restored Peter and called him to an eternal glory. And now Peter is passing that on to us. Jesus wants to restore you and is calling you to an eternal glory. What are you going to do with that message? Are you going to pass that message on to the car behind you or are you just going to say, “Wow! I guess its my lucky day!” and drive off. Amen.
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