The Third Sunday of Easter (NT)

1 Peter 2:1-12

So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ² Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵ you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture:

       “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,

a cornerstone chosen and precious,

       and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

⁷ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

       “The stone that the builders rejected

has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and

       “A stone of stumbling,

and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

⁹ But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies 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.

¹¹ Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. ¹² Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.

You know I often quote verse 9, I even would venture to say it is quoted extremely often in reference to each of us as individual priests. But it almosts seems weak by comparison to earlier in the text. Verses 4 & 5, you all are stones, each stone rejected because of your sinfulness. Yet each stone is precious in the sight of God, God sent his only begotten Son into the flesh to die for the forgiveness of all your sins. More over each of you all are stones chosen by God, and used to build upon the Cornerstone Jesus Christ a spiritual house.

This spiritual house made by many faith filled stones, becomes the priesthood. This holy Priesthood then has the responsibility to build and grow others in the faith. They need to drink their spiritual milk and grow strong in the true faith. They need to remain faithful and true. They will ultimately be called a Royal Preiesthood and Holy Nation, since they have been brought together and grow in the Faith.

But we do not always act like holy people. We could not stand the scrutiny of being Royal people. We are not above the rest, but rejected sinful human beings. We only deserve condemnation. But Thanks be to the stone the builders rejected. The stone the builders cast out. The stone that did not break but makes other stones conform to his perfection. Jesus Christ forgives you, redeems you, chooses you, and loves you. You are his precious stones, and his priesthood.