Some of you know, that I (Nate) started a degree program this year. It has been challenging to do what has turned into all online classes. Even classes that would have been in person for a week long module were all online. The reading has been wonderful as have the chances to deeply study ideas that are also practical to ministry. My last class had the somewhat bland title of "Research Methods." As a lot of the classes taught by the school are biblical studies classes(there are a few different degree options and this class is required for all of them), this class also had a strong focus on biblical interpretation. The major paper for the class was an exegetical paper. Because we did the paper in stages, I was able to spend a lot of time in the book of 1 Peter, and in my specific text, 1 Peter 2:4-10. There is a great deal in those few verses, but one of the main themes is one of hope.
We have hope in Christ. He is the living stone, rejected by the builder but chosen and precious to God. We are being built up like living stones into a holy temple, a place for God to dwell and be worshiped. Christ was dishonored in his death and burial, but his resurrection brought him great honor. We too experience dishonor, but we are a royal priesthood, a new people for his possession.
This connection to and drawing on Christ is not new in the New Testament, but Peter succinctly pulls together this new reality. He answers the main question, what does it mean to follow Christ? It means a brand new identity, given to you by God and brought together with all of those who believe. It is a sweet and pure expression of unity, at a time when mud and insults fly across the interwebs without much thought. Peter is unapologetically centered on Christ as the answer to the shame and alienation that his readers felt.
The two main purpose statements in the text also give us a picture of what our role in this whole thing is. The first is in verse 5, where we are told that we are built up "like living stones into a spiritual house...to offer spiritual sacrifices." Later on in verse 9 we are said to be "a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him, who called you out of darkness." The sacrifices seem to be closely linked to the theme of suffering before others in the letter itself. We display God's faithfulness in the way we suffer, and we also proclaim what God has done, bringing us out of darkness and into light.
These two purposes give me a great deal of hope. We want to be people that proclaim who God is in word and deed. These are not easy times to live, whether in the US or else where. So much is uncertain and there is a lot of fear, but we know the living stone. We are built on the cornerstone, a firm foundation. We can rely on the foundation, the one who keeps his promises. On Christ the solid rock I stand.
