Travis B. Williams, «Reciprocity and Suffering in 1 Peter 2,19-20: Reading "caris" in Its Ancient Social Context.», Vol. 97 (2016) 421-439
Scholars have long debated whether "caris" in 1 Pet 2,19-20 should be understood as the unmerited favor which is divinely bestowed upon those who please God, or whether it represents a human action that secures a favorable response from God. What interpreters have continued to overlook, however, are the ancient social dynamics which underlie this passage. By interpreting "caris" within the framework of reciprocity and gift-exchange in the Greco-Roman world, this study brings fresh perspective to a problem which has long divided scholarship, and also suggests a new direction for understanding the letter's theology of suffering.
438 T.B. WIllIAMs
of suffering. On a theological level, attention has been paid to the call
for joy in suffering, on the paradigmatic nature of a slave’s mistreat-
ment, and on the believer’s imitation of Christ’s afflictions. While we
would not deny any of these aspects of the author’s theological con-
struct, the obligatory nature of suffering in connection with popular so-
cial conventions is a key feature that has been consistently overlooked.
evaluated from the perspective of the ancient system of reciprocity, 1
Peter portrays unjust suffering as a binding responsibility which has
been placed on the readers in view of the bountiful munificence which
God (their divine benefactor) has lavished upon them.
By employing a common topos from Jewish and Christian literature
(viz., God as benefactor), the letter portrays the audience as recipients
within the system of ancient gift-exchange. But instead of asking his
readers to reciprocate God’s bounty through traditional means, the au-
thor shifts the normative categories by defining the appropriate response
as non-retaliatory endurance. Not only does this strengthen one of the
letter’s key ethical admonitions (cf. 1 Pet 3,9), but it also reinforces
the social identity of the readers. This is particularly enlightening, since
the author employs a similar strategy of social creativity elsewhere in
the epistle 32. The shame and humiliation which threatened the Christian
communities have now been valorized in that it is defined as a counter-
gift to be returned to God. This marks one more way that the author
places a positive spin on persecution, and it represents the initial step
toward establishing Christian identity as that of “a sufferer” 33. In this
way, the Christian identification with suffering takes on a new dynamic.
Patient endurance during times of trial is not simply a means of achiev-
ing divine favor; it has become the very definition of how a Christian
relates to God.
Tusculum College T.B. WIllIAMs
Greeneville, TN 37743
U.s.A.
32
see further WIllIAMs, Good Works in 1 Peter, esp. 260-270.
33
Cf. J. PeRkINs, The Suffering Self. Pain and Narrative Representation in the
early Christian era (New york 1995).