"Fortifying the Family" Series, Week Four: The Family Suffers Together

The seventeenth sunday after pentecost

Shepherd of the Hills Ev. Lutheran Church (WELS)

1 Peter 4:12-19

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” 19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (NIV)

The newly-promoted manager shared the exciting news of her promotion with a close group of friend. Afterward, everyone shared her happiness and congratulated her on the achievement.  That is, everyone except the Debbie Downer in the group, who was quick to deflate the groups shared joy by pointing out all the added responsibility and the stress and the extra scrutiny that she’d be under as a result of the job promotion.  Few people can depress a group as quickly as those with the unique ability to find something negative in everything.  Most of us probably know a person or two who fits this description.  In fact, we probably even do our best to avoid them, as they have such a tendency to rain on other people’s parade.  This is the kind of person who doesn’t just tolerate gloomy or depressing news, but actually expects it.  They assume it’s a matter of time before something bad is going to happen, and if nothing does, then they manage to find it one way or another. 

The majority of people, though, aren’t like that.  Most of us don’t look for bad things to happen.  Most don’t assume that suffering and hardship are the norm, but rather the exception.  We don’t expect suffering to happen on a routine basis.  That’s why we can relate to the shock that Peter’s readers must have felt when they read his words, “Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” (v.12).  Imagine their responses.  “You mean this is the new normal?  Suffering is going to be the status quo?”

For Peter’s first audience, the answer was yes.  One shudders to recall the horrible atrocities that were committed against Christians in the early years of the church.  As Christianity grew, so did hostility toward it.  Roman Emperors outlawed it and didn’t hesitate to persecute its followers with torture and death.  Although Christianity eventually received recognition as a legitimate religion, persecution would simply follow it as it spread around to another part of the world.  Whether the eastern religions saw it as a threat to their own, or the communists tried to eliminate it altogether as merely a foolish philosophy, suffering has followed the cross wherever it has gone.  For that reason, the cross is such a perfect symbol of Christianity. Not only does it first and foremost beckon us to consider Christ and his sacrifice, but by its very nature it is also a symbol of suffering, which Peter reminds us is our lot in life as Christians. 

As shocking as it must have been to hear Peter tell them not to be surprised, that was really only the tip of the iceberg.  It’s almost as if Peter was merely trying to soften the blow that was to follow.  Not only should his hearers not be surprised at the prospect of suffering, but they should take it a step further and… “rejoice” (v.13).  Being told by Peter to expect suffering is one thing, but it’s quite another to be told to rejoice at it.  But as we consider the verses before us this morning, we do in fact see sufficient cause for rejoicing in the face of suffering – even as families that suffer together.  Fortifying our families then is not about doing all we can to avoid the suffering that will inevitably come from God, but rather to grow in his grace to see the benefits of such suffering, and then to rejoice in it.

And let’s be clear about the kind of suffering Peter is addressing.  He is not referring to any and every inconvenience that arises in the life of the Christian.  In other words, your favorite television series being cancelled does not constitute suffering, neither does the closing of one of your favorite stores or restaurants, or your favorite team losing.  No, the kind of suffering to which Peter is referring is that which comes because of our connection to Christ and his cross.  It might be the backlash we receive sharing our Christian perspective on a social issue.  It could also be any kind of loss that is experienced that leads us to doubt, question, or second-guess Christ’s love for us and/or God’s gracious promises to us.  It might be the consternation that results from having to make a decision that brings about a conflict between worldly interests and the best interests of Christ’s kingdom.  These are some examples that would fit the description of suffering which Peter is addressing.

And he has the same thing to say about all of them: rejoice.  The first reason Peter gives is this: “But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed” (v.13).  In a way, Peter’s point follows a very popular technique used in advertising, the celebrity testimonial.  If you show a popular and well-liked celebrity using a certain product, people want to identify or relate to that celebrity, so they go out and buy that product.  As Christians who have been made new, having been brought from darkness into Christ’s light, God has rewired us so that Christ has top billing in our hearts.  As we then ponder the tremendous depth of Christ’s suffering and sacrifice by which he redeemed us, we don’t shy away from any suffering that in some way connects us with him.  He willingly suffered on our behalf, and we seek to imitate that same willingness to suffer for his sake, for it is such a clear – and very much needed – reminder that we do not identify with the world, but with the one who rescued us from it.

Really, Peter is echoing a concept that Paul also shared in Romans, where he wrote, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory” (Romans 8:17).  As added incentive, Paul then immediately adds that our suffering here on earth cannot even begin to compare with the glory we’ll experience when finally home in heaven (Romans 8:18).  So in suffering we can rejoice, for it identifies us with Christ, and serves as a continual reminder of the glory that will come to us all because Christ suffered for us.

The family that suffers together can also rejoice in that suffering which comes in the form of insult.  Peter wrote, “If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you” (v.14).  The headlines for the past several weeks have been dominated by the violent protests by Muslims in multiple places throughout the world.  Why the extreme behavior?  Because supposedly they were insulted; insulted by a movie that belittled their prophet and their religion.  What a contrast from Peter’s words here!  Noticeably lacking is any call to arms or encouragement to immediately take action and right any wrong when insulted because of Christ.  Instead, Peter says to consider it a blessing!

Being insulted and ridiculed directly because of your faith is a blessing, because it serves as additional evidence of our relationship with Jesus.  It isn’t just a figment of our imagination or just a perceived relationship we have with Jesus if in fact others are actually taking notice and insulting us because of it.  That means they see and acknowledge us as followers of Jesus, as his disciples, or, as we see it, his precious children.  Such insult is no time to get even, but to rejoice, because it clearly indicates that “the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you.” 

Peter points to a third way that we can reflect a joyful attitude in the face of suffering: “if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name” (v.16).  Admit it.  Deep down inside, at some point in your life, you were just a little bit ashamed of being a Christian.  Now here’s the thing: you may deny ever feeling ashamed, but without even thinking, you showed it.  You show it when you fail to speak up and defend others who come under fire for standing up for the right thing in the face of those who clearly prefer the wrong.  We show that we’re ashamed when we lament that our church “isn’t doing enough” because all we ever hear is the same stuff about Jesus and his cross over and over and over.  We show that we’re ashamed when we fail to invite others to join us for worship because “they wouldn’t like it” or “we’re too old-fashioned.”  In these cases, and others like them, we may not feel ashamed, but aren’t we really showing it?

And if so, what are we really saying but that we don’t need what Christ came to bring?  After all, to be ashamed of something is to want to be free of any association with it.  To want to be free of any connection with Christ is, by default, to be content with the association with and consequence of our sin.  For that reason Peter again turns us around and says do not be ashamed of our Christian faith in the face of suffering, “but praise God that you bear that name.”  Why?  Because to bear that name is to recognize that Christ’s blood even covered my shame and embarrassment at being associated with Christianity.  Time and again in our being ashamed, we bite the hand that feeds us every gracious blessing, but that hand comes back each and every time to extend another helping of grace and forgiveness.  Billions of people in this world right now don’t have the privilege of knowing that hand of grace.  You do.  Praise God that you bear the name Christian, and rejoice in it.

Furthermore, because you do bear that name, judgment, which will come for all people, will bring about a different outcome for you than for everyone else.  “For it is time for judgment to being with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And, ‘If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (v.17-18).  We are saved by a hair, as Luther said, for the only guarantee for salvation is faith in Jesus alone.  Every effort on the part of man without faith will fail.  It’s simple, yet to believe that faith alone in Jesus saves is such a hard truth to believe.  Having that knowledge provides a wake up call for us to guard our faith, and it also compels us to take the good news of Jesus to others, for Peter reminds us that our suffering here on earth pales in comparison to the suffering that will be experienced after judgment by those without Jesus.

To do that – to take the gospel to others – is just one of the ways we can apply Peter’s fourth method of rejoicing in the face of suffering: “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good” (v.19.).  Show we rejoice even as we suffer by doing good and entrusting ourselves to our faithful God.  Because Christ dwells in you, your eyes are open to all the good you can do around you, even in the face of suffering.  You can commit yourself to your faithful God, while enduring suffering, and know that he won’t dessert you.  All the more reason to show him thanks by doing good, both as individuals and as families, even when the family suffers together. Amen.

“For the freer confidence is from one’s own works, and the more exclusively it is directed toward Christ alone, so much better is the Christian it makes.” (Luther)