[AI translation] Dear brothers and sisters! You may have expected that today I would read the next part of the book of the prophet Jonah, but I thought that since two weeks from today is already the Sunday of the flowers and the following Sunday is already Easter, there would not be enough Sundays before Easter, enough time to finish the explanation of the remaining parts of the book of the prophet Jonah. That is why I have now chosen another verse for this Sunday. Perhaps a verse that is more appropriate to the Lenten season into which we have entered, the time of the Church year, the journey. And God willing, and we are alive, I would like to continue the explanation of the book of the prophet Jonah on the Sundays following Easter.In this passage that I have just read, the apostle Peter takes up and tackles one of the most sensitive issues of his day, namely the slavery issue. In the text we read, "you servants". But in the original text it is not just servants, but the most oppressed in society, slaves specifically. From the New Testament and other ancient writings, we can see that the first Christian churches were joined by many of the poorest, most oppressed, slaves, because even then the gospel of Jesus could have been a truly liberating message of joy for the poor, the dispossessed, the disenfranchised. Perhaps that is why there were so many slaves in the early Christian churches. Well, slaves at that time were not protected by any law, they were completely outlawed. They were almost not even considered human beings - almost not even animals - but only objects of use. We know from contemporary accounts, comedies, tragedies and narratives that these unfortunate people were treated cruelly and unjustly. They were scolded and beaten for every little thing, and their masters could even punish them to death for some minor offence, if they so wished. Now, then, it is into this very bitter misery of slavery that the apostle Peter speaks here, in this verse which he reads. What he is saying would perhaps not be satisfactory to a modern sociologist - and certainly not satisfactory - but it is nevertheless of great significance, precisely from a social point of view, brethren, that this is the only voice on the slave question at that time, and the first voice of any kind.
Of course, the apostle Peter does not speak to the slaves with the ideology of a social reformer, but with the pastoral love of a pastor. And what he says here is an eternally valid word, and an empowering, encouraging message for all people who are forced to bear the cross because of life's little injustices - because that is what this passage is about, undeserved suffering, as you heard in the Word. So it is when someone is unjustly mistreated. It's a case of someone carrying bitterness in their heart on the part of heartless people. And there always has been, always will be, as long as there is a man in this world. For in this life on earth we not only give wounds to each other, but we always receive wounds from each other. Over and over again, there are situations, situations in life that we would not have thought of, that we find offensive, that we find unfair. And in a way, human beings can tolerate many things: physical pain, various forms of mental suffering, grief, material burdens, but one thing they cannot tolerate is the feeling of being treated unfairly. He rebels against it with every nerve in his body, and he is not willing to let it go. Now, then, it is to Christian conduct in such a situation that the apostle Peter instructs his readers, the churches, in this letter.
It is a wonderful thing that the word of God intervenes so concretely in the daily life of each one of us. What does it say? Look, first of all it says that anyone who suffers from another person in any way should first of all examine very seriously whether they are really suffering undeservedly. Is he really suffering unjustly? For he says, "what glory is it if you suffer to sin and to be smitten in the face". That is, if you are beaten in the face because you have sinned. If that slave was beaten in the face by his master because he was lazy, then he obviously did not suffer unjustly. Perhaps his punishment was more severe than his transgression, but he must still bear the consequence of his transgression. And if he gave cause for the chastisement by his unfaithfulness and neglect of his duty, then the punishment which he had to suffer for it was not unjust, but bore the consequence of his own fault. It is good to dwell on this a little, brethren, because we too must be very careful lest Satan should tempt us: for in the judgment of justice and injustice we have all become unheard of impaired in our discernment. It is very easy for a man to think, to imagine, that he is now suffering unjustly, that he is being unjustly wronged. He thinks that he is surrounded by malice on the part of men, when if he were to examine himself he might find that he is distrustful of men. He thinks he is being unjustly mistreated, mistreated in an undeserved way, and perhaps if he examined himself he would find that his own brutality is being reciprocated by people. The only thing that radiates back at him is the evil, the distrust, the brutality, the malice, the bitterness and the unlovingness that he radiates at other people. I have heard many times such outbursts as: Please, I am not harming a fly, and yet people are so bad to me! I always advise him to try to look more introspectively, and perhaps then he will realise that it is not the people around him who are bad, but the effect of his own aloofness, his smile-freezing moodiness and pessimism, which he sees in other people - and that is not injustice. It is what the apostle says: 'what glory is there if you suffer for your sins'. He who suffers some sort of abuse from men because of his sin, who suffers all sorts of abuse because of his own incompatible, intolerable, hateful nature, should not lull himself into thinking that he is being treated unjustly and is now suffering unjustly, but should rather repent and examine whether he himself is not the cause of the way in which he is treated by men. Perhaps he very much deserves the hurt or the treatment he is complaining about from people. First of all examine yourself brother, are you really suffering undeservedly? Because you may not be suffering undeservedly.
Of course, there is unjust suffering, there is unjustly inflicted suffering, and that is what the apostle Peter is talking about when he says that "you do good and yet you suffer". So when one does good and yet has to endure some suffering because of it. There is such a thing as being treated really unjustly. There is such a thing as really not getting what you deserve from people by your treatment of people. Oh, how much such undeserved suffering there is within a family! A spouse suffers undeservedly at the hands of his spouse. Or perhaps the tenant suffers so much undeserved suffering from his roommate, his co-tenant. Or perhaps the subordinate from his boss, or the student from his teacher, or vice versa - in a myriad of ways. Often the person is really wrongly ignored and put aside, and a great deal of bitterness is inflicted on him for no particular reason. So what should be the answer in such a situation? The apostle Peter says a very strange thing. He says that it is a thing pleasing to God. Perhaps it is strange, because it is not at all pleasing to us, but God has very different tastes from ours in many things. And if the apostle says that such unworthy suffering is pleasing to God, it is worth thinking a little about why.
It means, brethren, that if it is pleasing to God, it is not something for which man should feel sorry for himself. For we human beings are very prone to compensate for the wrongs we unjustly suffer at the hands of others by feeling sorry for ourselves and feeling sorry for ourselves. We are willing to live into and pretend to be a martyr. Every man is welcome to see the invisible martyr's crown on his own head, which he, if not others, at least puts on his own head. The apostle says that you should not seek to glorify yourself in such situations, but seek to glorify God. To suffer for the good: that is the greatest privilege in this world. And it is a sign that the path of my life is beginning to bend towards following Jesus. For then I begin to walk the path that Jesus walked before me. What does the apostle say? "For to this you were called: for Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, being rebuked, yet was not rebuked, neither was he threatened when he suffered; but left it to him who judges righteously" - to God. Dear brethren! Jesus walked this path before us, and whoever wants to follow Him, should not be surprised if the path of His life turns in this direction, that He also suffers for the good. He does not suffer only for the wrong. He suffers not only for his wickedness, not only for the echoes of his own cruelty and heartlessness that reverberate back to him from men, but He suffers for good. Perhaps he suffers for his love. Even his goodness is misplaced and misrepresented to him by people. Look, can a disciple have better things to do than his master? Do I want to enjoy, do I want to experience benevolence in a world in which Jesus was crucified? Is it not a more natural thing that His followers should also take His fate? And what was His fate? Slavery. Unworthy treatment, suffering from the manger to the cross, a lifetime of suffering. Suffering unjust treatment all the way, uninterrupted. And how did He walk this path? Quietly and humbly. Blessing and helping those who mistreated Him. Without complaining, without grumbling, without threatening, leaving it all to the justly judging God. And now the apostle says you are called to follow in His footsteps.
Brothers and sisters, it is a terrible thing when one grinds under the unjust treatment he has received. I know very well that it is very difficult to say something encouraging to such a tormented soul. But if the Word of God tells a person in such a situation to look up to Jesus, the only truly innocent sufferer, and follow in His footsteps, then this must be the best advice for all people in such a situation! This is God's advice, not my advice. Let us see what it means practically to follow in His footsteps. This is so important because unmerited suffering is one of the best breeding grounds for all kinds of sin. For example, someone who suffers unjustly will very quickly become bitter. Or he may feel anger in his heart, thinking with hatred of the person who has treated him unjustly. He may become revengeful, or hardened, or envious, or even outright envious. So something bad is brought out of him by the unjust treatment. And it is very often the case that a person does not even realize how much evil is brought out of him when people treat him badly. And yet this same undeserved suffering could be the means of experiencing even more grace.
For, brothers and sisters, if we allow ourselves to be led by God in the pain we have to bear, that pain, that suffering, will always become a disciplinary instrument in God's hands for us. So something good comes out of it. If we keep our pain in our own hands, if we want to deal with it in some way - in any way, so whether it is by fighting back or by suppressing it in ourselves - we very quickly become cynical, bitter and complaining. But if one accepts God into one's pain, and lets God act, lets God deal with that pain, that suffering, it always becomes a means of unfolding a fuller, richer spiritual life in God's hands. So a better person comes out of it. It is for the good of man. So the suffering that the other person causes can lead to an increase of sin in me, but it can also lead to a cleansing from sin. And the wonderful thing is that God is so powerful, brothers and sisters, that He can bring so much good into injustice that it benefits the one who suffers because of it. He can also use the evil that the devil produces to make us God-inspired human beings. With God, even our defeats can be turned into victories. Therefore, it is not important that life be fair to you - don't expect life or people to be fair to you - what is more important is that you get the strength to use what you are offended by in life for your own good, to grow and discipline yourself to be a more human person.
Someone who has experienced this very seriously said, "Since I have accepted Jesus into my suffering, the same pain that was hitting me before is now embracing me. The same suffering that used to make me relaxed now makes me happy. The same suffering that once made me bitter now makes me grateful. I realize that these sufferings and hurts are not my enemies, but my friends. They are my help, they are my benefit. I have learned that it is not important where it comes from, what evil source it comes from, but more important where it leads. Where it takes me and what it shapes me into. And I realized that oh, how true it is that all things work together for good to those who love God! This life always puts crosses on us. But it is through the cross that we can come into an even closer relationship with Jesus and that relationship changes us for life. So it is not pain and not suffering that ennobles, but the way a person bears it. In this connection, brothers and sisters, I found a little poem, perhaps familiar to many of you, a very simple but very true little poem. It is about misunderstood good friends.
Erzsébet Túrmezei: Friends of the half-travelled
Then I will be really happy,
when I'm ready to suffer,
when I'm happy even to pain
I smile with a reconciled heart.
When I can really see it,
that they mean well for me:
They'll push me towards my goal.
They are not depriving me of anything else,
Except that which hinders me...
and they are all my good friends.
Grim-faced, strange friends!
While we fight them bloody
And fight with ease,
we only wound our own hearts.
Then we are amazed to realize:
"Our coming is a blessing and not a curse!
Then through our tears
We wonder at the sender.
We see his scarred hand,
and we fall to our knees in thanksgiving,
For sparing our lives,
wounded, beaten, loved so.
We smile at the grim ambassador:
We see Him Himself.
Then the other thing we read here, which specifically helps us to follow in His footsteps: 'In His mouth was found no guile, no reproach, no threat'. So when he was offended, he did not scold, he did not threaten, but what did he do? Well, we all know: he prayed. And he prayed for those from whom he had to endure and suffer so terribly cruel and unjustly. This is very serious and very practical advice, brothers and sisters. I could not say better than this: try to pray once for the one from whom you are suffering. Try really praying for them. Believe me, it is much harder to hate someone for whom you have prayed once. Once I have asked a blessing on someone, I can never curse them again. Prayer takes the resentment out of the heart. Whenever you think of the person, always bathe your soul in prayer first. For a thought without prayer becomes a senseless thought. So try to pray for him.
Then we also follow in His footsteps, if we think, if we think carefully, how I can do something good to the one who hurts me. So I could almost say, sneak up on the heart. He's armed and waiting for you to strike back, and you strike him where he's defenceless: his heart. Persuade the evil one with good, and the more evil that comes from him, the more good will flow from you to him. When we love him that smiteth us, and when we turn the other cheek to him that smiteth us, we have overcome our enemy. Then we have overcome him. Or if we have not won, we have won our own souls. So in both cases we have won: either over him or over ourselves. So the victory is definitely ours. And finally we read that Jesus did not threaten, but left it to God to judge righteously. Do not have the last word, it is not important. Let God have the last word. In fact, it is best if we do not answer the abuser ourselves, but let the Lord Himself answer for us - and He will surely answer. And what he answers will be an answer that will solve the problem. Let Him win where we cannot win. Feel free to entrust all your grievances to the One who turned the world's greatest defeat into the world's greatest victory - right there on Calvary.
So you have seen, Jesus has given us an example to follow in His footsteps. But he did not just give us an example, he gave us more than an example: he also gave us the opportunity and the strength to follow him. Behold, the apostle concludes, "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sins and live unto righteousness: by whose wounds you were healed." So His unworthy and unjust suffering was not only an example, but an atoning sacrifice and vicarious satisfaction. He bore our sins in His own body on the tree. On the terrible tree of slavery, of retribution: the cross. And there, on that tree, sin killed His body, but His death killed sin, because He suffered the retribution for it, and because He obtained forgiveness for us through it. By His wounds our spiritual wounds are wonderfully healed. Try it! By His wounds our spiritual wounds are healed. And through Him we are delivered from one of the most insidious traits of our human nature, that as the other relates to me, so I relate to the other.
Under the guidance of the Shepherd and Overseer of souls, as the Scripture says, there is no need, therefore, to repay offence, unjust offence, with a similar coin. We may lay this also on the shoulders of him who came to bear the sins of the whole world. Let us therefore pray that
I would be like him,
Humble, meek,
To follow faithfully like him,
My Father's commandments.
I want to live with him,
Where the heavenly host
In glorious harmony'
Eternal prayers refrain,
He's chanting an eternal prayer.
(Canto 459, verse 4)
Amen.
Date:March 5, 1967.