This performance and commentary comes from Myriam Gutierrez, a student who was part of a group that performed James and 1 Peter. Enjoy her sincere performance and thoughtful commentary!
Performance Notes:
This passage from 1 Peter reveals significant truths about the nature of Christianity initially intended for an audience characterized by their suffering and their inability to properly understand these circumstances. Thus, within this performance, we witness the messages Peter provides in order to effectively encourage his audience and redirect their understanding of the faith they possess. With this, we not only are able to gain insight into the nature of Peter’s theology, but also possibly realize the relevance that this piece of scripture has to today’s world.
An Experience Shared with Christ
When taken in full context, 1 Peter 3:13-4:11 reveals Peter’s efforts to provide his audience with encouragement as they struggle to properly comprehend the meaning of their suffering. Specifically, he describes the true nature of their faith and situation by directing their attention towards Jesus who, just like them, endured persecution and ill-treatment in his life (3:18). With this, it is interesting to note the language Peter uses when referencing Christ. Though subtle, he intentionally captures and illustrates the divinity of Christ which, in turn, expresses the true nature of Christianity (3:22). That is, Peter wants his audience to know that, as Christians, they should expect to endure hardships. Despite the challenge it presents, he is confident that his audience can endure, especially since Christ offers the example to imitate. As Peter declares to his audience: “Since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude” (4:1).
Peter continues to parallel his audience to Christ by offering repeated references to body and spirit. These ideas, in particular, are only mentioned twice within the passage, but they are present in a way that frames the discussion. Peter introduces the image of “body and spirit” when he first refers to Christ within the discussion and describes his identity as one who was “put to death in the body but made alive in the spirit” (3:18). Near the closing remarks, he points to the image again, but this time in relation to his audience who are to be judged in the body but must live according to God in regard to spirit (4:6). These connected ideas serve to further illustrate how Peter recognizes the significance of his audience’s suffering and how that relates them to the one they risk persecution for.
For a performance, it is important to communicate these thoughts through appropriate gestures that highlight the key images. Personally, I drew the audience’s attention to “body and spirit” by gesturing my arms to the side with closed, then opened hands. When this was used to refer to Christ, it provided a visual that referenced his crucifixion and death, briefly reminding the audience of the pain and suffering he endured within his final moments of life. When I used the gesture again for 4:6, it not only provided a continuation of a previous movement, but the outstretched arms prompted the hearer to refer back to Jesus and, therefore, realize the connection Peter tries to communicate to his original audience.
Coming Together
Although we see Peter call his audience to imitate Christ, plenty of them probably wondered what exactly that looked like. Fortunately for them, the closing remarks of the passage briefly capture his expectations for his audience’s behavior and actions, given their new-found knowledge. Here, he considers the importance of love, service, and hospitality (4:7-11). When considering these concepts, it becomes clear that in order to imitate Christ and demonstrate lives for God, the community must embrace the act of coming together. With this, Peter suggests that the nature of Christianity requires a selfless attitude and, to fully experience the glory of their faith, his audience must consider their existence beyond themselves. Therefore, for Peter’s audience, Christianity was a group experience rather than a personal journey.
In order to communicate the significance of this section, it is important to use effective facial expressions and tone. Within my performance, you may notice that there are very few movements and gestures used throughout this portion, and this is to avoid distracting from the main point. Peter’s words for the community, though spoken to the entire church, must resonate with each individual member present. In order to replicate such an act, one’s tone should be authoritative yet gentle. It would help if a storyteller would employ a sense of urgency to their voice so that they can demonstrate how vital this understanding is to the audience’s lives. In addition to this, I made sure to choose members of my own audience to speak to directly. This is aided by an intentional use of eye contact and facial expressions that demonstrate the genuineness of the speech.