At one time in my family's history, all of us were scattered. One sister lived in Alabama; one sister lived in South Carolina; our brother lived in Colorado; and I lived in Kentucky, attending seminary. Our mother would write to us faithfully. Her letters were full of family news, menus that she prepared to serve guests or take to shut-ins, and general information about her activities with Dad. These letters came as often as three times a week. They began with "Dear Ones" and ended with "Love and Kisses, Mother." They were single-spaced and took up an entire page. Mother typed them using carbon paper and rotated the original between us. She sometimes included words of wisdom, but mostly her letters reminded us that we were never far from her thoughts and prayers. When we received her letters, we knew we were holding tangible encouragement.

When the believers received Peter's letters, I think they received tangible encouragement as well. First and Second Peter comprise two of the seven general letters found in the New Testament. This means these letters were read in one congregation and then passed to another community of faith within the same geographical region. Because the letters rotated, they are not addressed to one particular church but to the larger Christian community.

The addressees are referred to as "exiles of the Diaspora in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia" (1 Pet 1:1). In the Old Testament, any exile was considered a continuation of Israel's separation from their true home. It usually meant Jews were forced to live as slaves among Gentiles in foreign lands, where they were tempted to adopt new cultural mores and religious practices. They experienced civil strife and persecution from friends, associates, and family. When local authorities were not harassing the Jews, others who longed for these believers to return to their former habits often taunted them. This alien status is best described in the Testament of Asher 7:2: "You will be scattered to the four corners of the earth; in the dispersion you shall be regarded as worthless, like useless water, until such time as the Most High visits the earth."¹

Through the years, the idea of exile has evolved so that contemporary interpreters view those exiled to mean Christians separated from Christ because we live in this world.2 We too know the temptation of returning to our lives before we knew Christ and of losing hope for redemption in the face of persecution because of our beliefs. The purpose of 1 and 2 Peter remains true even today. Rather than a social justice or political appeal, Peter's purpose is a theological one. With a vision set forth of the transformation that occurs within us because of our conversion, Peter constantly reminds us to respond to harassment with holiness and rebirth and sanctification. The ultimate hope is that how we respond to our persecutors will bring about salvation in those who taunt us. Just like the example of Jesus, our call is to be found faithful to God's grace in spite of persecution, temptation, alienation, or social oppression.3 As it was to its original audience, Peter's encouragement for us to stay true to our Christian beliefs is a welcome drink of cold water in a spiritual desert.

The authorship of 1 and 2 Peter is greatly debated. While tradition dictates that Peter wrote the first letter (about ad 64), few scholars would support this as fact for 2 Peter. The dramatic literary differences and the strong dependence on Jude as a source for the second letter cause most to believe 2 Peter was written much later and by one who viewed himself as among the last of the apostolic witnesses. The major issue in the second letter deals with Gnostic false teachings regarding the second coming of Christ, which likely dates the letter to about ad 140--150. Regardless of the authorship issue, 2 Peter was written in an effort to recall the spirit of Peter's teachings and to provide some stability during a time of turmoil caused by false teaching.⁴

When our mother died, one of my jobs was to clean out her desk. As I went through drawers and organized paper clips, you can imagine my delight in finding three years' worth of letters of which she had saved copies. These letters were duplicated and given to all of my siblings. As I handled those pages of onionskin, I came across another letter she had saved. I recognized my own handwriting and, upon seeing the date, remembered that I had written this letter during my seminary days. It was written to thank my parents for all of the educational opportunities and experiences they had afforded me. Mother had saved it all those years for her own tangible encouragement.

As we make this journey through 1 and 2 Peter, may his words reach across the centuries to bring tangible encouragement to us.

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