Rejected by Humans, Chosen by God—Lectionary Reflection for Easter 5A (1 Peter 2:2-10)

 

1 Peter 2:2-10 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

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 This honor, then, is for you who believe, 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 excellence 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.

                ********************* 

                To be a follower of Jesus was to live in exile. At least that is the way things worked in the early centuries of the Christian movement. The exile began with the execution of Jesus on Good Friday. It continued on until the fourth century, when, at least within the Roman Empire, Christianity became a recognized religious entity. Before long, it not only left exile but became the official religion in the Empire. We live in an interesting time. In the United States, Christianity remains the dominant religious tradition, though it is highly fragmented. Despite its hegemony, at least some Christians believe that they are suffering persecution, something that the letter we know as 1 Peter addresses. The difference between then and now is that the ones who feel persecuted today feel this way because they don’t control as many levers of power as they would like. The second reading for the Fifth Sunday of Easter, which comes from 1 Peter 2, speaks of the recipients of the letter as being "chosen people." Seeing yourself as chosen can be an ego booster, but it’s also rather dangerous. This is especially true if you’re a narcissist and hold the keys of power in your hands.

Our reading begins in verse 2, but it might be helpful to step back into chapter 1 of 1 Peter. In verse 23 of chapter 1, Peter writes: “You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God” (1 Pet 1:23). This is the good news that had been announced to them. Then in verse 1 of chapter 2, Peter writes: “Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander” (1 Pet. 2:1). If we connect the dots, Peter wants the reader to know that since they had been born anew upon their reception of the word of God, which is the good news shared with them (Christian witness/evangelism), therefore, they should behave differently and more authentically because they had been born anew. Being a follower of Jesus should make a difference in the way we behave. Now, we’re ready to hear the rest of Peter’s message about being chosen by God, even though we might be rejected by fellow humans.

Peter addresses his readers, calling them “newborn infants who long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation.” Babies require a specific formula, whether a mother’s milk or its equivalent, if the baby is going to grow and thrive. Just like a human baby, the newborn Christian requires spiritual milk to thrive. In other words, we don’t start fully formed. Formation takes a lifetime, which we sometimes forget to our detriment (see JD Vance debate with the Pope). Here is where Irenaeus’ understanding of human life comes in handy. Rather than viewing  God creating humanity (Adam and Eve) fully formed/perfect before a fall, Irenaeus understood humanity to be created innocent/immature. The same is true of us spiritually, such that having been born anew of imperishable seed, we grow/mature into salvation.    

                In verse 4, Peter changes metaphors, speaking of his readers as “living stones” who are called to join the living stone who was rejected by mortals, but being “chosen and precious in God’s sight,” they (we) can be built into a spiritual house. Then Peter adds another component. First, he envisions his readers as living stones joined together with the living stone (Jesus) who was rejected (crucified) but chosen by God (resurrected) into a spiritual house (temple). That second component involves their calling to serve as “a holy priesthood,” so they might offer spiritual sacrifices in that spiritual house/temple that are acceptable to God in Christ Jesus. It is interesting how Peter moves from newborn babes needing spiritual milk to being part of a holy priesthood who offer acceptable sacrifices.

                In each of these metaphors/examples, Peter speaks of chosenness. Though they are newborns, they are still chosen by God to experience salvation. That is, they taste that God is good. They are also living stones that God has chosen to join together with the “Living Stone” to form the temple. Finally, they have been chosen to serve as holy priests, offering sacrifices to God. Perhaps it is because the NFL draft takes place this time of year, it is worth remembering that players are chosen to be part of a team. Even if one is the first pick in the draft (Fernando Mendoza, welcome to the Los Angeles Raiders), they cannot thrive on their own. They have to fit together with the rest of the players to form a winning team.

                Having shared these different metaphors, Peter brings into the conversation three passages of scripture (Old Testament—LXX) that he believes support his premise that Christ is the chosen living stone on which God builds the temple. The first of the three passages is found in verse 6, which, drawing from Deuteronomy 28:16, tells us that God lays the cornerstone in Zion that is chosen and precious, such that whoever believes in this cornerstone (Christ) will not be put to shame. Now the author of Deuteronomy may not have had Christ in mind, but Peter interprets that passage to ground his message of Christ’s chosenness and his role as the cornerstone of God’s new temple. Peter then contrasts how those who believe in Christ and those who don’t perceive this precious cornerstone. When it comes to those who believe, this stone (Christ) is precious. For those who do not believe the stone God has chosen is rejected. This passage, which draws from  Psalm 118:22, simply states that “The Stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner. Not only that, but this stone “makes them stumble,” and is the “rock that makes them fall” (Isa. 8:14).  

                When it comes to these three passages of scripture, all of which come from the Greek translation of the Old Testament, they are read Christologically. Because Peter reads them Christologically, we need to remember that the original authors would not have had Jesus in mind. This is a theological appropriation of these texts, a theological midrash, that was common among early Christians, including the authors of the New Testament. But we need to be careful how we read the passages so we don’t make unwarranted assumptions about what the authors of the Old Testament knew when it comes to Jesus. With that notice, I turn to New Testament scholar Joel Green’s summary of Peter’s Christological interpretation of Scripture.

Peter's task is not to read the Scriptures christologically but to show how a Christological reading of Scripture guides the church in the formation of its identity and pursuit of its mission. To put it differently, and more accurately, Peter reads the situation of his Christian audience from the perspective of the career of Jesus Christ, and the career of Jesus Christ from the perspective of the Scriptures—specifically, from the scriptural plot line concerned with the vindication and glory of the rejected and suffering righteous. [Joel B. Green. 1 Peter (Two Horizons New Testament Commentary) (Kindle Locations 777-780).]  

When done faithfully, there is value in envisioning the ministry of Jesus through the lens of the scriptures that first-century Christians would have had before them. In that sense, this is a rabbinic interpretation.

                Our reading closes with a very familiar paragraph that speaks to the chosenness of the community centered in Christ. Peter tells his readers that they are “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the excellence of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9). These are qualities originally applied to Israel (see Isaiah 43:20-21 and Exodus 19:6), but now are appropriated by the church. This does not mean that the church supersedes or replaces Israel as God’s chosen people, but as Paul puts it, the church has been grafted onto the vine that is Israel in Christ (Rom. 11:17-24).  As such, Peter tells this community that God has called them into being—as living stones—to proclaim Christ’s excellence, who called them out of darkness into God’s marvelous light. In other words, God has chosen them (and us) for a purpose.

                The reading closes with this beautiful statement drawn from Hosea, which reminds the readers that once they were not a people but now, they are God’s own people. Why is this? It is because they have been recipients of divine mercy (grace). In other words, they have been invited to an expanded table. As such, they have a new purpose. The verses that follow serve to remind them that their new status will likely lead to exile from the communities they once inhabited. That exile might include suffering, but Peter warns them that no matter what happens to them, they should live honorably (1 Peter 2:11-17). This is the way of salvation.