1 Peter 2:1-10
1 Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and 5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 For it stands in scripture: "See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." 7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner," 8 and "A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.
9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
1 Peter and 2 Peter
Although the historical Peter, the guy originally called Simon that Jesus renamed Peter or Rock (Rocky!) definitely did not write the pair of letters or epistles 1 Peter and 2 Peter, I enjoyed writing this sentence because today's scripture passage says so much about rocks and stones.
By the way, 2 Peter was one of the seven books Martin Luther considered "leftovers" that in his opinion didn't belong in the New Testament canon.
Virtual and Live on Easter 5
Easter is 50 days, a week of weeks, 7 times 7. Today is the fifth Sunday of Easter, the 29th day— so Happy Easter, even as this year of grace inclines toward the Day of Pentecost, that's also the fiftieth day of Easter.
Many if not most churches have continued virtual Sunday worship the COVID pandemic forced people to initiate, though almost all have returned to in-person worship in some form, almost all somewhat modified from their former usual.
Rocks. Stones.
Scripture uses many pictures, similes, and metaphors for our relationship with God and for the lifestyle God calls us to. Stones, rocks, bricks, granite, adobe, concrete, and related building materials convey a sense of hard, heavy, solid, and safe. Some actually are quite porous (marble that I'm familiar with), others really are impenetrable. Whether natural stone or composited from natural elements, we sense stability, permanence, of something that won't easily decay.
Building foundations usually are made of these dense materials. This is earthquake country! How does initial construction and possible retrofitting affect how we experience the world around us when the ground beneath us and around us shakes? We can parallel insecurity during an earthquake with insecurities during times our society, family, finances, jobs, income, kitchen and household basics (remember when?)—everything literally is shaky.
The world still remembers the January 12, 2010 M7.0 Haiti earthquake that left the country in shambles; three months later, the M7.2 April 4th Sierra el Mayor / Easter EQ south of the international border in Baja California caused only minor property and construction damage. Contractors in USA and Mexico use rebar that reliably reinforces building materials that to some degree are stable and secure by themselves, but won't endure without added strengthening.
Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 2:5
A large sense of this passage from 1 Peter is about our spiritual strengthening—spiritual rebar? Like Jesus Christ, we need to be firmly situated where God has placed us, but we can't stay stable and secure very long without reinforcement from the Holy Spirit and from Spirit-filled, Spirit-led community.
• 1 Peter 2:4 Jesus, a living stone
• 1 Peter 2:5 us, like living stones
What does it mean for us as individuals and for us together as a community of faith to be "living stones"? How about writing a poem?
Chosen – Royal – Holy – God's Own
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people.
1 Peter 2:9
Verses 9 and 10 of 1 Peter often are called a baptismal hymn as they highlight aspects of our baptismal identity. What a time to consider this scripture, with the coronation of King Charles III this weekend!
What are your word associations and/or definitions? I've suggested some approximations; you may have additions or enhancements:
• chosen – select, picked, desired
• royal – noble, esteemed, privileged
• priest – mediator, go-between
• holy – sanctified, set apart, sacred, consecrated
• nation – ethnicity, people, tribe, generation, population
How do you relate to your individual and corporate identity and call as God's own people? KJV reads peculiar people; in an echo of a distinctive Old Testament title for God's people, some translations call us God's special possession.
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