As with many Biblical texts, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact time, and author of First Peter, but it is safe to assume that the audience for which this passage was written lived in a very different world than the one we live in today. Most notably, the author of first Peter was addressing an audience who lived with great persecution because of their faith.  Although there are people all around the world who are persecuted for their faith today and I’m sure there are some in this room who have made “unpopular” choices because of their faith, the United States of America is not a nation where Christians regularly live in fear of death because their belief in Jesus Christ.

But that doesn’t mean that we don’t know what it’s like to suffer.  It doesn’t mean that we don’t experience pain, tragedy, devastation and loss.  Some understand what it is to suffer more deeply than others, but we all know what it’s like to experience hardship.

The difference between the hardship we experience and the suffering that is referred to in First Peter is that there was true persecution there for those in the Christian church who lived counter cultural to the societal norms because of their faith in Jesus Christ.  And more often in today’s society in the United States, the church tends to reflect the societal norms of our time and so we often find ourselves trapped in the stresses of the world.

But, there is another difference that we can’t overlook – the persecution that the people in the early church experienced didn’t squelch the church or even slow its growth, persecution actually resulted in a stronger, faster growing church.  Yet, today in America, mainline denominations are shrinking at an alarming rate.  We are free to worship, yet our membership, our commitment, and our impact in the world is at an all time low.

I read of one pastor who said to his congregation one Sunday morning after lamenting what he saw as a lack of commitment in the modern church, “what we need these days is another good round of persecution where we would have to put our lives on the line for our faith!”

Now I don’t think that’s the answer… I am glad that I have the freedom to worship when and where I want to.  I cherish the fact that I have been able to experience and learn about a wide array of faith traditions and feel blessed that I can provide that same openness for my son without fear of persecution.

But if we don’t want to go back to the way of persecution for our faith, can we learn anything from today’s text that talks of suffering in the name of faith?  Obviously, I think we can or I wouldn’t have chosen this text…

When I shared this passage this week in a few small group settings, some people expressed appreciation for this idea of having a good conscience in everything we do.  They recognized that while we might not always know what the “right thing to do is” the important thing is that we try to make choices in line with our beliefs.

Others heard in this passage a message of hope that while life may not always be easy when we place our hope in Christ we can get through anything.

Still others were drawn to a sense that we are called to spread the message of Christ’s love with gentleness and reverence.

All of these are important messages that we can gain from this text, but, first, I think we need to go a little deeper.  After all, the church is dying – not because we as Christians are being persecuted and not because Christians today don’t know what it means to suffer.  What this passage can do for us today is remind us what it means to believe in something greater than ourselves.  It reminds us of the promise that we make in baptism, confirmation and each time we call ourselves Christian.  It reminds us that everything we do, everything we say and every choice we make should be in line with the commandments of Christ.  It reminds us about what our faith should look like.

Perhaps the reason the early church flourished and the church today is shrinking is because we’ve lost sight of the hope that our faith tradition rests on.  We’ve held on to the language and traditions a little too tightly and lost the radical nature on which our faith is based.

Do me a favor, take a look at your typical week – how many hours do you spend watching TV, on the computer, playing games, worrying about your future.  Now, how many hours do you spend in prayer, sharing God’s love, working for justice?

Look at your checkbooks and credit card statements – where does your money go?  How much of it do you spend on coffee, eating out, clothes, material possessions, sporting events, debt?  What percentage of your income can you honestly say goes toward living out your faith by bettering the world?  I know that when I look at my own life, I can be pretty comfortable in the fact that I make sacrifices every day to provide for my son, I give to the church monthly, and I have devoted my career to serving God. But can I honestly say that that I’m doing all that I can?  How much am I really willing to sacrifice?  How much trust do I really put in Christ?

I have to believe that the church is dying because too many of us think that we do enough.  We try desperately to keep up in our fast paced society yet we forget what it means to suffer for our faith.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that God wants us to suffer for the sake of suffering.  I’m not saying that there aren’t situations that are abusive and harmful that we should avoid.  What I am saying is that the faith we have been given, the hope that we claim as Christians is worth sharing – even if it means we might be ridiculed or misunderstood.

Let me put it this way – when was the last time you really cared passionately about someone or something?  Perhaps there’s a person in your life who you would do anything for.  A spouse, a parent, a child, a sibling, a friend.  Maybe there was a cause, an injustice, a political candidate, a job that you put all the time and energy that you could muster in to.  Think about the sacrifices you were willing to make to ensure success in those situations.  That’s how this passage is calling us to feel about our faith in Christ.

It tells us to believe in such a way that it is worth suffering for.  It says to be ready to defend our hope in Christ with our whole being.

The problem in the progressive church today, is that we have been so turned off by exclusivism, close mindedness and hatred that has too often represented our Christian faith that we run away at any suggestion of sharing our faith or evangelism.  We know all too well that the type of “in your face evangelism” that we’ve frequently seen in our time does not attract people to Christ, but turns them off.  I’m reminded of a situation I encountered just last weekend when someone at the park gave me a bottle of water seemingly for no reason.  My first response was that it was a pleasant surprise, until she gave me her card with the name of her church on it.  Once I read the name of the church I couldn’t help but feel skeptical at her motives.  Not because of anything she did or said but because of where she was from.  In retrospect I see that I was no better than the stereotype I had placed on her because of where she was from.  I realized that I was letting my baggage get in the way of what was truly a courageous act of hospitality and love from someone who was willing to risk a few eye rolls, snickers and even sneers in order to share Christ’s love with others.

Too often we think that we have to choose between defending our faith and being accepting but this passage calls us to do both.  It calls us to defend our faith but to do so with gentleness.  Instead, we tend to shy away from the chance to share our faith with others because of fear of how we might come across when in truth, we should be defending the core values of the Christian faith that we have experienced and embraced.

That will mean that sometimes we need to stand up for things that are wrong… we need to say yes to the teachings of Christ and no to the easy way out.  We need to look beyond our own best interests and make decisions based not just on what is best for our immediate family but on the good of all people.  We need to forgive those who wrong us, love even our enemies, give all we can and stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.  We need to stop wasting our time, energy and resources on the things that the world tells us to focus on so that we have enough energy and passion left for the things that really matter.

There are people – some of you, many of you – who do these things every day.  There are individuals among us who have devoted their lives to helping those in need – some by profession, some as volunteers.  Some of you have dedicated years of your lives to educating, caring for, and advocating for children of all cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.  Some of you care for the sick in a variety of ways.  Some of you are committed to care for the earth that too many of us have abused.  There are people among us who have taken seriously the congregational commitment that is made each time a child is baptized by teaching the children and youth of our church.  Some of you have spent many weeks of hard labor away from your own homes building and fixing homes for others.  Many of you spend hours upon hours advocating for and helping people who have been overlooked and stepped on.  By giving to North Broadway United Methodist Church we all give to organizations that alleviate pain and injustice throughout the world.  By adopting an identity statement that welcomes all people into our faith community we have begun to break down the barriers and walls that have diminished the loving nature of our gospel for too long.

There are a lot of good things happening here, but I believe there is more that we can do both as individuals and as a community.

Some of you may doubt that you have anything left to give.  You may be thinking to yourself, I can’t spread myself any thinner than I already am.  I can’t give up any more time with my family.  I can’t physically do what I used to do.  There are only so many hours in a day.  And I’ll be the first to admit that the last thing most of us need is one more responsibility, one more commitment, one more thing to fill our days.

The truth is, in order to do more, most of us are going to have to let go of something else first.  In order to make time in our lives for the greater good we will have to say no to some of our guilty pleasures.  We need to rid our lives of those things that cause us unnecessary stress.

We’re also going to need to let go of some of our emotional and material comforts.  In order to stand up for those in need, we have to be willing to forego some of the benefits that we enjoy.  In order to teach our children about forgiveness we have to let go of the anger we have towards those who have hurt us – and that’s not always easy, in fact it’s downright hard, impossible at times.

But, that’s where the good news comes.  The author of first Peter understood the sacrifice that Christians are called to make and reminded his audience and modern day Christians alike that though our call is challenging and our obedience to that call may result in some suffering, we are not alone in our journey.  God has promised to be with us in times of joy and in times of sorrow.  We also have the gift of each other – of this faith community.  Only you and God know whether at this given moment you are doing all you can to follow Christ, but I can tell you that if and when you decide to do more, make a bigger commitment, pray more often, or take an important but unpopular stance for your faith, you have friends in this room who will support you on your journey.

When we put our faith in Christ we cannot be assured that our suffering will cease, in fact, if we are truly following Christ’s commandments we can be pretty certain that our suffering may increase.  But we do know that God, through Christ and the Holy Spirit, walks with us, lifts us up and gives us hope.

That hope comes to us through the water of baptism which celebrates our right relationship with God.  This gift of grace that God offers to us through the power of the Holy Spirit assures us of the strength and power that we have in Christ.  We are called to make unpopular choices every day and can hold on to the hope that even through our suffering we are offered new life.