Wednesday, November 30, 2022
- Reflection by Susan Rohan
1 Peter 1:13
Therefore prepare your minds for action; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed.
I am a first year first semester seminary student. I won't tell you that I am a Biblical scholar or know much about much. Christmas is coming and there was this email in my inbox to write some advent devotionals, so I felt called to sign up for a couple of them. A couple slots turned into four. One for each of the four: Hope, Peace, Love, and Joy. The first is Hope. Then you pick your own verse? Huh... I almost backed out of this crazy endeavor... Almost. Because it seemed odd to me to pick your verse to contemplate on for the advent season when they are so clearly laid out for us... To the internet! Type in Bible and Hope... scrolling and scrolling and scrolling... Yep, there is one that seems obscure enough to use as is what I do in my daily life. I like the odd and obscure. The one that I read first said something about being sober. I really liked that. When are we sober these days? And I am not talking about sober from alcohol alone. I am talking about from technology and from all of the "things" of life. This translation says: prepare your minds for action and discipline yourselves.
We often spend our time on social media scrolling through others posts looking for something better or we see the things that others are accomplishing that we want to be accomplishing instead of disciplining ourselves for what is truly precious. Make phone calls about people who tic us off. Speak badly about others to each other about things going on to make ourselves look better. For what? A little glory? We hurt each other intentionally or unintentionally. And then at Christmas time we put it all aside and say that we were good children of God and that we all deserve the goodness that is brought with the coming of the king.
We need to look in the mirror. This is what Peter is telling the people here. It is as true then as it is today. The things that have changed are the ways in which we hurt each other. Well, some have changed, but by in large most have stayed the same. We continue to marginalize each other and hurt each other. I am a white woman and had a conversation the other day about my whiteness and how sometimes I feel like I can't say anything without being shut down and yelled at because I don't get to have an opinion because I wouldn't know what it is like to be insert any alternate race, gender difference, etc here. And there is truth there. But until everyone comes to the table and truly sees each other as beautiful where will we be? What hope is there? Thankfully Jesus comes to the table. Jesus teaches gives us hope for a better future.
God gives us people like Martin Luther who saw injustices and did something. God gives us people like Martin Luther King Jr who said: I have a dream... And what a dream that was and I have a hope that his dream will become a reality for not only races to come together, but also for the LGBTQIA, for the homeless, for the foster care children, and for all who are marginalized.