Thoughts going in, Sunday May 22nd

1Peter 2:1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by human beings but chosen by God and precious to him-- 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, "The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone," 8 and, "A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall." They stumble because they disobey the message--which is also what they were destined for. 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (TNIV)

This week we continue looking at 1Peter in a sermon series entitled, “Easter, don’t just celebrate it, LIVE IT.” The emphasis now turns to one of the more well-known passages of the New Testament—particularly among Lutherans (and Protestants in general), as this is the passage that led to the great Lutheran emphasis on the “priesthood of believers.” This week’s emphasis will be all about “living as God’s PRIESTLY PEOPLE.

As one would expect, over the centuries following the Lutheran reformation, the fallout from the renewed emphasis on the priesthood of all believers has been both positive AND negative. The upshot has been that **when people have been motivated to practice their religion, they have been able to do so with the same deep sense of ‘vocation’ that, heretofore, was limited to those of the special ‘religious class.’ The downside, however, has been that **many people have used this teaching as an excuse to view themselves as ‘spiritual admirals’ of their own ship. There’s no need to come to a ‘formal church service,’ I’m my own priest; Luther said it, I believe it, and that’s good enough for me. Of course this isn’t AT ALL what Luther (or Peter in the text) meant, but when it comes to absenting one’s self from the worship life of the community, it’s a proven fact that any ol’ excuse will do. It bears mentioning, however, that the passage should be read at least once either in the KJV or old ASV—if for no other reason, so as to grasp the multiple appearances of the little word “ye.” The text is **not addressing us as individuals; it is addressing the ‘ye’....the whole big group of people. If Peter were a southerner, he’d be saying “all y’all...” In short, these instructions are not intended to teach INDIVIDUALS how to be individually priestly people in a vacuum, but rather for the WHOLE GROUP to function as God’s priestly people TOGETHER.

What does that look like at ground level? What happens when God’s priestly people function together in their vocation? These thoughts come to mind.

Vs 2 crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow
--They give & receive NOURISHMENT (grace/spirituality)

vs 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices
--They SACRIFICE **together (aka in the cultic/worship sense) be active pt 1; Christianity isn’t a spectator sport

vs 6 For in Scripture it says: "See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame." 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious.
--They’re GROUNDED; (in sound doctrine) be rooted in Christ, our cornerstone

vs 9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession
--They SPREAD; mission-minded/mission oriented; being God’s outpost there. Be active pt 2

Cheers,

TM