Friday 15 September 2017

Psalm: Psalm 81

Background

This letter can be viewed as a sermon preached by a formidableelder of the Church. The chapter begins with a greeting and ablessing for the people to whom Peter is writing or speaking. Andthen the words seek to bring about a deeper understanding of thepower of the Holy Spirit, although it is not written in thoseterms.

Using his own experience and relationship with Jesus, Peterseeks to encourage the people to recognise the promise made by him,that if they come to faith in him, they will escape from thecorruption of the world and be able to be more Christ-like. Hetells them what he means by living in this way and how he thinksthe Church should be. He has clearly moved on from a freeunstructured form of gathering into what could be seen as a moreformalised body which we might recognise as Church.

Peter spells out to the people how they should be as peopleinspired and living with the influence of Christ. It would appear,in the tradition of the time in which they are living, that he isharking back to his own experience in preparation for his death. Inthese early verses he is reiterating what he said in the previousletter about the need for self-control and godliness (1Peter 1:13-15), reminding them of the centrality of love withinthe Christian understanding of God which will lead them to beeffective fruitful disciples of Christ. In verse 15 he justifieshis words by asking that they remember what he has taught them whenhe has gone to his death, which he anticipates will happen beforetoo long.

To Ponder

• How far is love for one another and for the world still centralto the message we preach today, or are we more inclined to seek forpersonal salvation rather than that of our neighbours?

• How often do you share your own experience of meeting Jesus, inwhatever way that has been, in explaining why Christians are thepeople we are?

• To what extetnt are Peter's words as important to us today asthey were for the Early Church? Why?