Musings on 1 Peter (5:1-5)

Chapter 5
1-5: As Peter comes to he end of his letter, he turns his attention to his fellow elders, his fellow shepherds. He reminds us, in these verses, that the office of elder is a high office. To be an elder is a high calling, not one to be thought of lightly. It is not an office for the educated, or for the experienced based solely on their acquired education or experience. It is not an extracurricular activity, something to do in your spare time. It is not even a part time deal, something done on the side. To be an elder means to live before all men. To be an overseer means that every aspect of your life is lived in full view of a watching congregation. To be a shepherd one must live with the sheep. To be a pastor, one must live with the people. This is the thrust behind Peter's encouragement to live as a pattern, or as an example, for all to be encouraged by. The word for pattern is our word 'type' that we saw in Chapter 3. The literal sense of the word is this: All that Peter has been talking about, suffering with hope and serving without deference to self, is the mold that shapes that which is cast. And that which is cast is shaped as a picture or as a reflection of what living as God's people should be. It is a type. This is what Peter tells his fellow elders they need to be. Types that show in real time what it means to trust God. Models that reflect in every day life the joy and contentment that trusting in God produces. Pastors that practice what they preach, in other words. This is what it means to be a type, or a pattern, or an example. To model on behalf of the congregation the hope that you are trying to instill in them through the proclamation of the Word.

Now obviously some qualifications need to be made. We still live on this side of glory, where fallen natures battle redeemed hearts and minds. So no pastor can achieve this perfectly, because no human being can achieve it in this life. It is not meant for us achieve perfection this side of the grave. The goal of this life is to find rest in Jesus in spite of the sin that remains, and to share the good news that peace is possible with all the world. So a congregation cannot and must not expect a perfect type when seeking elders. What they should be concerned with is finding a man who desires every area of his life to be transformed and laid bare before the cross of Christ. As mentioned above, the office of elder is not a side gig, something to do on the weekends or the first Monday of every month. It bears a resemblance to the way healthy eating is achieved. One cannot simply eat whatever they want without moderation, and then diet to regain a lost level of health, only to repeat the cycle all over again. That swing from excess to starvation back to excess leads to physical breakdown. The better path lies with a lifestyle change, where everyday is approached with moderation and self control. In this way a healthy balance is achieved. Same with our spiritual lives. You cannot live not trusting God for 6 days out of 7, hoping that the 1 day of spiritual diet is enough to keep you healthy. Everyday must be lived honoring God as God, and thanking Him for it. Every moment of everyday provides an opportunity to exemplify this for others. This is the high calling of eldership.

We, by nature, are imitating creatures. We learn by imitation, even from day 1. The good Lord has seen fit to provide us with not only His Word which is rich with examples, and His world, which functions in a particular way, also exemplifying God's nature, but also with Fathers and Mothers, both biological and spiritual. From our biological parents we learn to walk, talk, to believe, to enjoy, to laugh, and to cry. From our spiritual parents we learn how faith works through the entire loaf of our life, transforming how we approach every situation. As fallen creatures we are born with a natural set of instincts. These include, but are not limited to, self-preservation, self-enrichment, self-satisfaction, and self-importance. One readily sees the unifying theme, and it's not simply hyphenation. We are born with a predisposition to love our own self more than anything else in this world, to place on the throne of our heart and mind, our own self. This is the root of sin, and it is the orientation that Christ challenged on the cross. And so we are born having to learn how to take our eyes off our own needs and see the needs of others as more important. This can only be achieved, by grace, through imitation of others. And those we have been given to imitate are our parents, both biological and spiritual. Here lies our office of elder. A spiritual father, who, among other things, is given to the Church to live before them as a guide, as someone who has traveled the hard path and has returned to lead others along the cliff's edge.

Peter also encourages his fellow elders to be cheerful in this task, to do this willingly with alacrity. It is not an office fit for the one who grudgingly serves. It is not for the man who feels forced to participate, or guilt-tripped into it. This is why the office of elder involves the whole man, the whole time. There isn't a compartment that an elder is allowed to partition off for private thoughts and attitudes. You play as you practice. How you act in private is how you eventually will act in public as the years of false pretense droop with age.

In light of the context, Peter's fellow elders were overseers of suffering congregations. These were hard times for the Church. Prolonged periods of persecution, long seasons of suffering. The Christians dispersed throughout the empire lived hard lives, with little comforts. The people looked up to their elders for guidance and leadership. These men would need to have been hearty and tested, tried and found firm in the faith. These were men not in it for the money, or any such "shameful gain." These were fathers and brothers who knew the story behind Peter's choice of the word 'shepherd.' For to be an elder was to act like Jesus, the Great Shepherd. They were to show Jesus to their flock, willingly and with great eagerness. And what qualities did the Great Shepherd show? Compassion, strength, fierce protection, and, among others, love beginning and ending in sacrifice. This was their calling. This was to be their job description. Compassion steeped in empathy. Strength that withstood the accusations of the roaring lion. A protector who watched the walls surrounding his flock and guarded them fiercely from false teachers. Love that saw the needs of others as more important than his own. And when the Chief Shepherd comes again, an unfading crown of glory will be given to those who would have done it even without the reward.

To be fair, these are pretty high words, and a steep standard. Obviously there must be wisdom involved. We are but frail, finite creatures, even our pastors and elders. Wisdom must dictate the when, where, and how much of ministry. It would be easy for an elder to give himself faithfully to the standards here listed, and no longer be of use to anyone within a twelvemonth. Therefore one must exercise great caution, but caution without fear.

It is a common story in the early centuries of Christianity for men, who would later become Church Fathers, to be dragged, kicking and screaming, and forced into their leadership roles. However, once ordained, they performed their duties with enthusiasm and great care, giving their all to their post. They truly understood the weight of the position and what it meant. It was not something they sought after, for they knew the implications. They knew they would become the solitary beacon on the cliff. They knew all eyes would be looking to them, that their lives would be an open book from that point on. Lonely is the road that leads through the multitude.

Therefore the onus is on us congregants, on us sheep, to make their job easy, to make their burdens light. Peter admonishes us to show honor to our elders, to show deference and respect. We need to understand the high calling that has been laid on them, to understand the weight of their position before God as teachers and preachers of the Gospel. To feel the gravity of the standard to which they are held. This should be the posture of our honor. In other words, as Peter continues, be humble, all of you. Lets not have any glory seekers, or anyone elbowing for the best seats, even if its the one behind the pulpit. Rather, be adorned with all humility, again putting the needs of others before your own. This means us congregants putting the needs of our elders before our own. And not simply expecting and waiting for the elders to put our needs ahead of their own. Again though, we are an imitating people. Monkey see, monkey do. Same with sheep. Therefore, everyone act like a Christian. But, of course, for this we need Jesus. We need grace upon grace upon grace. With a little extra grace on the side.