Exile Isn't Escape

Sojourners and exiles — present in the world, but not absorbed by it. Peter's closing warning is a call to stay engaged without losing yourself. The Resurrection is what makes it possible.

Transcript

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Good morning. This is Northword. You're not supposed to leave the world. You're sent into it. And there's a difference. Good morning. This is North Word, the World, The North, Your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith in collaboration with the Anglican family. I'm your host, Father Aaron. Peter says in his epistle, Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. Sojourners and exiles, the image Peter is using is of someone living in a country that isn't theirs. Someone who knows they belong somewhere else, but who is fully present in the place they've been sent. I've lived in cities, in small towns, I've lived in New York, I've lived in Northwest Territories, I've lived in Nunavut, I've lived in Germany, I've lived in Switzerland, I've been to many different places. And so, you know, I understand what it feels like. It's not comfortable. There's a constant pressure to fit in, to let go of your distinctives, to slowly become whoever the new place needs you to be. And before long you look up and you realize you've lost something and you can't quite name it. Peter's warning is so real. The world has a gravity to it. And the Christian life isn't about escaping into a spiritual bunker. It's about staying in the world, loving its people, serving its needs, being fully present without losing yourself, without losing your Christian identity in the process. That's the tension. Not isolation on one side, not absorption on the other side. Exile. Present but distinct. Engaged but rooted. And the only reason any of this is possible. The only reason we can strip away the old self, be built into a living wall, carry the priesthood into the world, live as a holy nation in exile, as Saint Peter teaches us, is because the cornerstone is alive. The cornerstone is Jesus Christ. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is not a metaphor. Christ didn't just die well, he went through death and came out the other side. And in doing it, made it possible for every stone that touches him to live. This week, you were a sojourner. You lived in the world and you carried something with you. Did you know that you were sent into this world for a purpose? A God-given, grace-filled purpose. Let that carry you into this weekend. This has been Northword, the Word, the North, Your Week, a daily podcast from St. John's Fort Smith, in collaboration with the Anglican family. I hope you've enjoyed your time with us. Please feel free to use the text us link in the description to reach out. And until tomorrow, God be with you. In the name of Flower, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.