Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Bible Study - 1st Peter 2:11-25

Welcome to the next installment of our Bible Study. Like last week, this will be a recap post instead of a preview post. We've had mixed results with the Bible Study so far. I think myself and another guy in the group expected a whole lot more out of it and expected it to be mind-blowing. So to us, it hasn't lived up to expectations. But I think others enjoy it for what it is - a small group of faith, food, and fellowship with two kids crawling and one 3 year old.

However, to try and make the Bible Study a little better, we decided to use questions Ignatius Press provided on their website. The results were better, but with all things spiritual, it could always stand to use some improvement. Now for my commentary/thoughts/ramblings.

In verses 11, we see elements of spiritual warfare, something the Catholic Epistles are known for in their writings. We are also reminded that we are aliens or sojourners in this world, meaning that we are required to live in the world but not be of it. This is not always easy to accomplish as we get pulled in many directions, but we must be aware at all times that our ultimate goal is Heaven.

Verse 12 is where we discussed the first question, "What is the day of visitation?" In layman's terms, this is the final day of judgment at the end of the age (not the end of the world as the world doesn't end). We see Jesus make reference to this day in Luke 19:44 when Jesus was rebuking the Pharisees (Shocker I know!) because they were criticizing him for riding a donkey like a king aka Palm Sunday. We also see the day of visitation reference in Sirach 18:19-27.

Verses 13-17 are a little tough to swallow living in our current culture. We are told to be subject to governmental authorities. In those days and in other places throughout the world, there is very little chance to have influence on rulers and the government. My U.S. and others readers that live in a democracy can make a difference though. We are supposed to show respect to rulers, because they are in charge and in a way by showing respect to them we show respect to God.

However, this does not mean we are supposed to be pushovers in unjust governments. We need to get Obama or any pro-death/pro-abortion candidate out of office. We have to do it by legal means though and that means doing our Christian and civic duty and showing up to vote. Many people take that right for granted, which is a shame because it is not afforded to everyone throughout the world.

Verses 18-25 deal with slavery. In Roman rule, slavery was a reality as there were hundreds of thousands of slaves with no chance of bettering their lot in life. Peter didn't tell them to overthrow their masters and kill them. No,  he said to be subordinate to their masters, good or bad ones and to their face and behind their backs. It's easy to be subordinate when your master is in front of you, because you might think you can win points or curry favor. But they were called to be subordinate at all times. Why? Because although they couldn't escape slavery, they could better themselves and their life/heart and by doing so walk the path to Heaven. Verses 22-25 are interesting in that it mirrors passages in Isaiah 53, also known as the Suffering Servant section.

That's all I have for today. Tune in next Wednesday for the start of Chapter 3 when we discuss the passage on Husbands and Wives (Verses 1-7) and Peter's Exhortation to Unity, Love, and Humility (Verses 8:12). Have a blessed rest of the week, and I'll see y'all on Friday when I post my next CRE lesson.

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