Reflections on “Next Steps” I Peter 2: 19-25; Psalm 23

In the early prep work, this sermon started out well.  Then, I started working with the historic connection to slave theology.  Suddenly, it seemed important to include that in the sermon.  Plus, I began focusing on "next steps," but the central point of the passage is suffering.  I ended up with too many points to make and no coherent theme.

We sang Psalm 23 for the first Scripture reading in worship, which was a nice change of pace.

 “Next Steps” I Peter 2: 19-25; Psalm 23; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; April 26, 2026; Post-easter Peter series

I Peter 2: 19-25

19 For it is a commendable thing if, being aware of God, a person endures pain while suffering unjustly. 20 If you endure when you are beaten for doing wrong, what credit is that? But if you endure when you do good and suffer for it, this is a commendable thing before God. 21 For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps.

22 

“He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

23 When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. 24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross,[a] so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds[b] you have been healed. 25 For you were going astray like sheep, but now you have returned to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.

Introduction: As we mentioned last week, this 1st letter of Peter is written to early Christians who are trying to figure out what it means to be followers of Christ.

Move 1:  the letter shares with those early Christian’s 

and with us the need to take our next steps in shaping our lives to be more like Christ.

a.  Peter’s letter pushes us beyond just believing that Christ has been resurrected from the dead,

but challenges us to live our lives accordingly.

It is not enough to believe in the resurrection,

That belief must shape the way you live your life.

1.  In vs. 21, we are given a wonderful image of what it means to model our lives after Christ.

When the letter tells us that Jesus leaves us an example,  the Greek word for “example” is hypogrammos 

A hypogrammos was a model of letters that a student would trace to learn how to write. 

That brings back memories of learning to write and then helping teach my own kids how to write, or maybe just observing as their teachers taught them.

I’m not sure if they do it anymore, but there used to be worksheets with the letters outlined in little dotted lines, so you could trace over the lines to get the feel for what each letter was.

As you practiced tracing the letter, you learned how to write the letter correctly. 

2.  Life as people of the resurrection calls us to practice living our lives in the way Christ did.

We work to trace his ways, if you will.

3. How might you trace the life of Jesus in your own life?

You begin, of course, by picking the aspect of Jesus’ life you feel called to trace over in your own life,

Jesus extended himself to others, even strangers.  How might you trace that in your own life?

Jesus acted as a good shepherd toward others? Caring for them, providing for their needs.  How might you trace being a good shepherd to others in your own life?

Jesus challenged those whose actions seem more concerned with controlling others than allowing others to grow into the person God calls them to be?  How might you trace that in your own life?

Or Feeding the hungry?

Or bringing hope to those who feel helpless and hopeless?

It would be overwhelming and unattainable to trace the perfect life of Jesus so that we become perfect ourselves.

But, just as you learn to write one letter at a time, we can pick one aspect of how Jesus lived his life and work on tracing it in our own lives.

Today, what aspect of Jesus’ life do you want to trace in your own life?

Move 2: In the passage we read from 1 Peter this morning, suffering is a specific way in which those early Christians are called to trace the life of Jesus and follow his example.

a.  You may recall earlier this year, we reflected on the prophecy of Isaiah, which includes images of the suffering servant.

1.  This letter ties images of the suffering servant with the actions of Jesus, who suffered for the sake of others.

2.  Remember, this letter is being read by household servants, who struggle with why they sometimes have to suffer at the hands of their masters.

This letter urges these servants who suffer to maintain their allegiance to God, which frees them from being controlled by the suffering that is inflicted upon them by their earthly masters.

4. The point is not that they should choose suffering in a masochistic way, but that the suffering does not control them and their ability to follow Jesus.

Their master’s cruelty does not bind them in a way that keeps them from being able to follow Jesus, because even in their suffering, they are linked to Christ, who himself suffered.

b.  The example of suffering like Christ brings with it many challenges, one of which is that historically, this was one of the favorite texts slave owners used to justify slavery and demand absolute obedience from enslaved people.

1. In fact, the lectionary deliberately leaves out vs 18 in this week’s reading because of the way this passage has been used to promote the institution of slavery.  

hear vs.  18:   Slaves, be subject to your masters with all respect,[a] not only those who are good and gentle but also those who are dishonest.  

which leads right into vs 19 and its comment about suffering unjustly.

1.  In the 18th and 19th centuries, this I Peter passage became a cornerstone of what historians call "Slave Theology" or "Proslavery Christianity.”

It contains The Command to Submit, Verse 18, which was used to argue that the hierarchy of slavery was divinely ordained. By framing submission as a duty to God, slaveholders made disobedience a sin against the divine, not just a violation of secular law.

The "Harsh Master" Clause also grew out of this passage, arguing that even a cruel master must be obeyed without complaint.

Slave theology also romanticized the suffering of enslaved people. By equating the pain of slavery with the suffering of Jesus, owners told enslaved people that their endurance of misery would lead to spiritual rewards, effectively using the Gospel to discourage rebellion or escape.

In fact, special versions of the Bible and religious instructional books (catechisms) were created for enslaved people, prominently featuring this passage from 1 Peter. 

2. I think we can unequivocally say that, as this text calls us to the next steps, those next steps do not involve 

telling those who suffer at the hands of others,

like those caught in abusive situations, to just put up with the suffering and follow Jesus 

Next steps do not include telling ourselves that we should stay in abusive relationships so that we can trace the suffering of Jesus in our own lives

Next steps do not involve treating other people as slaves, using our power to control others

Next steps do not include inflicting suffering on others

c.  But, we can learn from this letter that the next steps do mean following Jesus in ways that defy any categories the world imposes,

Next steps can take place in any circumstance we find ourselves.

1.  As we try to trace Jesus’ life with our own lives, we announce that no one and nothing can keep us from choosing to follow Christ.

2.  Notice the implicit statement made by this letter -

the slaves, who do not control the circumstances of their own lives,

who do not have freedom of choice,

who may even suffer at the hands of their masters

These household slaves can still live and choose to model their lives after Christ.

No one can control who they choose to follow.

3.  Obviously, in our own context, we have more power and more choices than those household slaves to whom this letter was first addressed.

And yet, we live in a world that makes demands on us;

We live in a world with constraints placed on us.

We live in a world where we often feel like we have little control.

We live in a world where we can find ourselves suffering in real ways.

4.  But in our very different context, it is still true that no one 

And no circumstances can dictate to us whom we choose to follow.

Every day, we can choose to model our lives after Jesus,

Or we can choose other models that the world has for us.

When you imagine how you are going to trace the life of Jesus in your own life, you do it within the context in which you find yourself.

d.  As we trace our lives after Jesus, 

as we take those next steps,

We move toward the shepherd.

The Good Shepherd who loves his sheep,

who knows them by name

who calls them to the hope and promise of salvation, which the shepherd has already given to us through his own suffering.

Conclusion:  Amen.

Reflections on “The Inheritance” I Peter 1: 3-9; John 20: 19-31

I am a little late posting this sermon.  It was the first sermon of a 1 Peter lectionary-based series.  I have not preached much from 1 Peter through the years.  This first week went fairly well.  I've been trying to see how AI can help in my sermon preparation.  The Karl Barth story used in the sermon was a direct result of using AI to see if Barth had ever commented on 1 Peter.  One of the challenges about using AI, I have already learned, is that it produces a lot of information to be sorted through, probably more information than I can handle in my sermon prep time during the week.  

“The Inheritance” I Peter 1: 3-9; John 20: 19-31; St. Andrew Presbyterian Church; April 19, 2026; Post-easter Peter series

Between Easter and Pentecost this year, the sermons will come from texts in the first letter of Peter.  

I would be surprised if I Peter was on anyone’s top ten list of books of the Bible, so a few opening comments with background about I Peter. 

I Peter was written to early Christians who were trying to figure out what it meant to be a Christian as a minority group.  

A minority group that often found itself as a minority both within the Roman power structure, but also among their neighbors.

As these early Christians lived out their discipleship and allegiance to the one they proclaimed as both the Son of God and the resurrected one, they were often shunned and ostracized by others.

Traditionally, the church accepted that I Peter was a letter written by the apostle Peter, 

or perhaps Peter sort of dictating the idea and thoughts to Silvanus, who may have acted as Peter’s secretary, which would explain the high quality of Greek that might not be expected from a Galilean fisherman (New Interpreter’s Bible)

Later scholarship suggests that 1 Peter was probably written by some of Peter’s followers writing in Peter’s name,

in part because the theology seems to reflect influences from Paul’s letters, which would give it a later date,

and also the suffering mentioned may reflect events that occurred during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian, which took place after Peter died.

Some scholars also believe that this first letter to Peter might have originated as a baptismal liturgy or sermon or tied to the baptismal teachings of the early church h  because of its heavy focus on "new birth" and the washing of the soul.

I Peter 1: 3-9

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 5 who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice,[a] even if now for a little while you have had to suffer various trials, 7 so that the genuineness of your faith—being more precious than gold that, though perishable, is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Although you have not seen[b] him, you love him, and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.[c

Introduction:  The days after Easter always bring with them the challenge to figure out how to respond to the empty tomb,

the challenge of what to do when confronted with the possibility of resurrection,

Basically, what it means for you 

for me

to follow the resurrected Christ.

If you hear nothing else in this sermon,

hear this question:  what does it mean in your life that you follow the resurrected Christ?

Move 1:  So, what are you doing after Easter? 

not Easter, like the Easter gatherings,

but 

but are you doing in response to the resurrection of Jesus Christ?

a.  That’s what Thomas is trying to figure out in the story we heard in the gospel of John.

1.  He has heard stories about the empty tomb.

2. He has even heard stories about the resurrected Christ from people he has learned to trust.

3. But he is not quite ready to commit to believing and following the resurrected one.

4.  He announces he needs proof:  “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

to which the resurrected Christ responds by coming through closed doors to see Thomas, 

and inviting Thomas to touch the wounds in his arms and his legs. 

To which Thomas proclaims -  “My Lord and my God.” 

Thomas, now ready and willing to follow the resurrected Christ.

b. That is what the early church communities to whom Peter’s letter is addressed are trying to figure it out as well.

1. What does it mean to follow the resurrected Christ?

2. They are being this minority group of believers trying to make it in the  Roman world that does not really care about these new Christians.

They are being shunned and ostracized by others in their communities because of their belief in the risen Christ.

3.  But unlike Thomas, the people to whom the 1st letter of Peter was addressed did not have the opportunity to see the resurrected Christ and touch his wounds.

4.  Instead, they have to decide whether to step out in faith or not based on 

the stories they have heard about Christ;

or the ways in which they have seen the lives of others changed by faith in the resurrected Christ.

or on their own sense that God is indeed calling them into discipleship.

 

so that they turn in hope, trusting that God is indeed a God of resurrection.  

5.  Perhaps you know that feeling?

In the aftermath of easter,

Are you ready to step out in faith and place your hope in the resurrected Christ?

Move 2: Sometimes it seems to me that believing in the resurrection may be the least faithful thing we can do.

hear me out, don’t start texting your friends that the Presbyterian minister has gone wacko and is saying believing in resurrection is not very faithful.

I say it because what other options do we have if we do not choose to believe in the resurrection of Christ?

If you do not want to put your faith in the God who has the power to resurrect.

a. Would you rather base your hope for the future on whatever political party is in power in the United States?

Or do you want to put your trust in whatever dictator is in control in Russia, or China, or North Korea?

Or do you want to place your hope for the future on whatever religious authority is in power in theocracies in the Middle East?

Or would you like something more?

a.  Something more is what this first letter of Peter offers the early church.

1.  “A living hope.”

Peter writes to the early Christian community and to us about the living hope into which we have been born.

Living hope based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Living hope that believes that the God who resurrects continues to be at work in the world.

Living hope that pushes us into the world to follow the resurrected Christ.

2.  Karl Barth, the Reformed theologian, looked at the brokenness of Europe after WWII and the horrific acts that had been perpetrated in WWII and argued that the only hope the world had was the living hope that Peter describes in this letter. (Dogmatics in Outline, Karl Barth)

Imagine what the world must have looked like at the end of World War II

atomic bombs were a real thing

war-torn Europe was decimated after years of fighting

The rise of communism was taking place in Russia

The horror stories of concentration camps in Europe and prisoner-of-war camps in the Pacific revealed how humans could perpetrate evil on others. 

As he looked around and saw the world before him,  the only hope Barth could find was in the God of resurrection.

3. As we look at our world and see the  violence and bloodshed;

the unwillingness of people to choose peace and love;

the divisiveness among people both near and far

the challenge of being a world so closely connected that any conflict between parties has implications far beyond those two groups;

as we wonder where we can turn to find our hope;

We hear the call to have a living hope that comes to us through new birth in the resurrected Christ.

4. We can see, of course, how this letter is connected to our baptismal liturgy in which we proclaim that in the waters of baptism we are united with Christ in his death and resurrection,

a truth that becomes our living Hope.

b.  This is a hope that cannot be taken away

1. Those hearing this call from 1 Peter understand the rules of the world:

Your earthly status can be stripped away by the Roman authorities.

They can take away your citizenship

They can take away your health

They can take away your wealth

They can even take away your life, as the crucified Christ can attest.y

And your neighbors can ostracize you

or ignore you.

2. But no one can take away the inheritance that is described as “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading.” which is kept in heaven.

No one and nothing in the world can touch this inheritance.

Those early Christians can dare to hope in the God of resurrection because they live in the assurance of their inheritance that waits for them.

We can dare to hope in the God of resurrection because our inheritance waits for us in heaven.

3.  I’ve always been a reader.

I like new books.

New authors.

Not sure how the plot will develop.

I admit I like it sometimes if I have figured out - makes me feel smart

It’s also kind of fun sometimes to have surprise endings.

sometimes I get to the ending, and I think, lwow, I never expected that”

Or sometimes I get to the end and think the way that book ended was not worth all the effort put into reading the book.”

sometimes, I even read a book I’ve read before, 

Some books I’ve read multiple times.

because sometimes I feel like reading a book where I know the ending - 

no surprises, just that assurance of knowing how the book will end.

4. the 1st letter of Peter reminds us that we know the ending of the story.

we may not know how every chapter of life on earth will play out, 

There may be some glorious chapters,

There may be some hard-to-live-through chapters, 

But we know how the story ends:

with us receiving our inheritance in heaven.

Move 3: Sometimes, would you rather put your trust in the God of resurrection who promises you this inheritance? 

Or in some other person or idea floating around our world today?

a. That is the question being asked of those early Christians.

That is the question being asked of us.

Are you willing to not only believe, but commit your life to living in response to that belief?

b.  And we know how the letter describes an ongoing way of life lived in response to believing in the God of resurrection?

1.  for you are receiving the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

2.  We do not just hide and wait for the end of time to receive our inheritance in heaven as if our time on earth has no meaning or no opportunities to live into our calling as followers of the resurrected Christ.

3.  We are receiving, now, the outcome of our faith.

4.  If we believe in the God of resurrection, 

Then we live in the world as people of the resurrection.

People of the resurrection who believe that love can overcome hate and work to love others to overcome that hate;

people of the resurrection who believe that peace is possible, even in a war- filled world, so we work tirelessly for peace even in the face of war.

people of the resurrection who believe God’s justice and mercy are for all people so we work to do God’s justice and show God’s mercy.

5.  Choosing to believe in the God of resurrection and follow the resurrected Christ means not only knowing that our inheritance waits for us,

But seeing our lives of discipleship, we live each day as connected to what God is doing in the world.

Conclusion:  Believing in the resurrection brings with it challenges and responsibility.

But do you have a better option?

John 20: 19-31  When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors were locked where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

24 But Thomas (who was called the Twin[a]), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”

30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue[b] to believe that Jesus is the Messiah,[c] the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.