Journal of European Baptist Studies, Volume 7, No. 3, 2007

cent Research’, Charles H. Talbert, ed., Perspectives on First Peter, NABPR Special Studies Series, Number 9 (Macon: Mercer University Press, 1986), pp. 13-14. 14 Marshall, 1 Peter, p. 14. Marshall observes the fact that the slaves are addressed, rather than the masters, and that addressing wives is substantially longer than addressing husbands, which for him communicates something of the make-up of the letter’s readers. 15 Reinhard Feldmeier, ‘The “Nation” of Strangers: Social Contempt and its Theological Interpretation in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity’. Trans. David E. Orton and Alan Mos, in Mark G. Brett, ed., Ethnicity and the Bible (Boston: Brill Academic Publishers, 2002), p. 252. 16 ‘Pavargusi sirdie’ (original text W.H. Bellamy), in Giesmip vainikas, No. 194. 17 Feldmeier, ‘The “Nation” of Strangers’, p. 258. On Being Called-out Strangers in the Land 29 Or, in the words of another song we sing: You will have many troubles in the world And often will be humiliated; Sometimes the neighbour will make you suffer And friends will hurt you, But if you will press yourself to Jesus And will tell him of all of your troubles, You will then feel a wonderful peace - 1 8 Only remain watchful and brave. So far, so good. Or, perhaps, this is too strong a statement: ‘suffering’ and ‘good’ do not easily go together. However, it would be difficult to straightforwardly object to any of the above, even if we might not like the message in terms of its application to ourselves. I should perhaps also mention that songs such as those quoted above are not sung too often nowadays in my community. It might have something to do with the unpleasantness of the message in relation to the current shape of our lives in which we are much encouraged to avoid suffering, or, alternatively, to choose the kind of suffering we prefer. Both of the quoted songs are old; the new ones that have been translated and added to the hymnal tend to reflect the standard themes dominant in today’s songs in the English- speaking world: individual’s response to God’s love, forgiveness and grace; ‘inward’ and ‘other-worldly’ spirituality, all in victorious even if humbly- presented overtones. 19 Thus part of the challenge of remaining faithful to the message of 1 Peter today is holding to the reality and normativeness of suffering, singing these old songs as well as supplementing them with new ones, expanding our identification of suffering and putting it into more concrete pictures, thereby continuing to struggle with that difficult companion of the Christian life. Pain and distress need space to be spoken of and acknowledged so that, in the way of the Psalms, they eventually can turn into wonder and jubilation. I am reminded here of my recent conversation with some members of the Northumbria Community on one of their visits to IBTS, who shared with me that one of the greatest compliments the Community received was t