Hope in the Air

Hope in the Air

1 Peter 3:13-18 - Year A - Sixth Sunday of Easter

I was pleasantly surprised and encouraged as I watched the recently launched online TV show SGN—meaning some good news, a sort of talk show hosted by John Krasinski. And, of course, good news are much needed in this time of Covid-19 and the prospect of a gloomy and uncertain future, which pretty much no one alive today has experienced something like it. What is encouraging about the show, is the genuine expressions of hope displayed by John and participants, both celebrities and regular folks, all interacting—to the surprise and excitement of people being able to connect their favorite famous men and women. In the specific episode that brought encouragement to my heart, I sensed that hope was in the air. Krasinski performed an online wedding gathering family, friends, the cast of The Office almost in its entirety via one of the onscreen telecommunication systems, and, of course, we, the audience watching on TV. In the privacy of homes for a short period of time we were able to witness the celebration of a wedding with tears, excitement, and joy, and the promise of love and hope in the future. There are “some good news” amid the ongoing pandemic.

Amid the harsh reality of people becoming sick and dying, the prospect of an economic downturn, the loss of millions of jobs, and the way in which this crisis affects everyone, especially the most vulnerable and the poor, a word of hope is necessary. The first letter of Peter does provide a message of hope in the midst of suffering. The author is addressing an audience spread throughout the confines of the Roman empire; women and men members of the church or churches are under the overwhelming social, political, and religious pressure of such an oppressive empire. It is not necessarily a persecution, yet their commitment to their Christian faith and values puts these believers more than at odds with the dominant culture of their time.The  situation prompts Peter to address the question of suffering, suffering because of their profound commitment to being unconditional followers of Jesus. Something that reminds us that an uncompromising belief and commitment to the liberating work of God, in Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Spirit, might (or should) put us at odds with the mainstream culture of our time. In fact, in the global world of late capitalism, immigrants, refugees, and most of those who live under conditions of abject poverty survive (or not) undergoing extreme suffering. It is way beyond the typical maladies of affluent societies; anxiety, emotional stress, and trauma, with the sometimes indelible marks they imprint in the lives and bodies of the poor of the world, are exponentially greater. This struggle for survival is more than the social pressure that committed Christians can experience for assuming the values of the Kingdom of God with the potential stress and the difficulties encountered in the attempts to accommodate to the dominant culture. The poor suffer because they are hungry, homeless, sick, abandoned, and oppressed, yet, the Christian poor know how to celebrate life--and can teach a good lesson to the well to do believers of America.

Suffering, therefore, goes much deeper than social pressure. The depths of human suffering and the question of why there is so much and how often appears so unjustly distributed has no satisfactory answer. And Peter offers no theodicy. In today’s Lectionary passage (1 Peter 3:13-18) he simply offers some pointers as how we can undergo the pressure of the times, cope with the present suffering, and at the same time encourage others. Let me share a couple:

First, we cannot fail if we do good, not once, or twice, but all the time. Peter says, “who will harm you if you are eager to do what is good? But even if you suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed.” The wide range of attempts to articulate what means doing good in our present situation can be overwhelming, especially when we are confined to stay home in quarantine. Yet, there is so much that can be done at a distance; our God given creativity and imagination can help us come up with ideas of what to do for our neighbor and doing right in this world is no rocket science: God takes the side of the immigrants, the poor—especially women and children, and the oppressed; God “thwarts the way of the wicked” (Psalms 146:9). The spreading of the coronavirus is affecting at a much higher degree the poor throughout the world and, so it seems, being on the right side of things is not a difficult choice, is it? But we might only be able to take baby steps. As a start, we can regard others as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2:3) by being mindful of their health and wear a mask when we go out. It is not about protecting ourselves; the masks can only prevent us from doing harm to others. It is, perhaps, just a symbol that we care. So as Peter suggests, let us not be intimidated by those who claim their right not to wear a mask; let us do good by caring. And this is just a token about what it means to do good but a starting point nevertheless.

Second, in times of crisis, or disaster, or pandemic, or war, or perhaps “whether the time is favorable or unfavorable” (2 Timothy 4:2a) as young Timothy is charged, we proclaim the message, the good news of Jesus Christ and God’s realm, God’s future of love, peace, and justice. The current Covid-19 crisis is a special time to witness to our hope. Peter, calls the believers in the dispersion throughout the empire to account for the hope that is in us. And the powerful reminder comes at the end of today’s lectionary passage: “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.” The weight of the event of the cross in all its profundity is a liberating act that cannot be emphasized enough. The cost is painful and beyond measure; God’s self abandonment at the cross opens the gates of life; real life, which for the time being does involve suffering, though it is better to suffer doing good than falling into the trap of evil, which also entails suffering. Witnessing is not easy in our time and culture and we very often hear of people being abused by “gospel” preaching from folks who don’t get it and end up slapping folks in the face with “answers” or prescriptions they don’t want to hear. Peter’s admonition is handy: our witness must be done with “gentleness and reverence.” So, again, doing good we cannot fail; and doing good with gentleness and reverence, and no fear, will bring the message across; the message of liberation for all, the oppressed and the oppressors.

This is a time to live our lives in fullness in spite of the constraints of the shelter-in-place and the restrictions imposed to protect ourselves from the reach of the coronavirus. We can read, write, pray, walk, contemplate the greatness of God’s creation, paint, dance, play with our dogs, allow our cats to play with us (if they please), have Skype meetings, study, watch movies and, very specially, encourage one another another on account of our hope in Jesus Christ. We can do good helping those who are in refugee camps or out of work; supporting doctors, nurses, health workers, and other essential workers. Suffering will still be there but The Living God is with us. And last but not least, as Paul was admonished when commissioned to the ministry, remember the poor, which the Apostle declared he was eager to do.

Horacio Da Valle