NOTES for Pe1 5:1-4

At first glance, these are instructions for the leaders of Christian communities, but if we think about them, they apply to all of us, who are to some degree not free from the passion for power and who often succumb to the temptation to manipulate those around us for our own purposes, which are not always noble. But Peter recommends living not lording it over others, but submitting to one another, and here he anticipates an objection to those who, for centuries and with considerable success, have sought to introduce the social norms of a sinful society into relationships among Christians and would like to see the Church as a structure resembling the state. But even if its external organizational forms may resemble the organization of earthly human communities, its inner essence immeasurably surpasses them. It was created to unite people not by coercion and external discipline, but by unity in faith and love. And if this is indeed so, then Christ’s words are not only heard but lived: “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (Mk 9:35). Such were many saints and ascetics, from the apostles to Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh and other worthy pastors of our day.