1 Peter 2:2-10 (NRSV)
Read 1 Peter 2:2-10 on biblegateway.com
Verse 2Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation- Verse 3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Verse 4Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God's sight, and Verse 5like 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. Verse 6For 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." Verse 7To 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," Verse 8and "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. Verse 9But you are a chosen race, 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. Verse 10Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Devotion
More lessons about stones. Not for killing, not for protection, but “living stones,” and “a cornerstone” and a “stone that makes them stumble.” (v. 4, 6, 8) “Come to him a living stone, … and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house … to offer spiritual sacrifices…” (v.5)
David Livingston was a kind of “living stone” and one of the first missionaries in Zimbabwe. The name means “houses of stone,” designating the immense 11th century stone structures dotting the landscape. Today they are the national symbol of that stunningly beautiful country.
These words—spirit and stone—are not contradictory; rather, they modify and amplify the meaning of each other. Look around you when next you are in a worshipping community. Do you not see—in the faces familiar to you—tangible evidence that this parish is a “spiritual house” built of living, breathing, fallible yet enduring stones of faith?
Prayer
Dear God, we thank you that you continue to breathe the Life of your Spirit into churches throughout the world. We thank you that through these “spiritual houses” your Word goes forth into many cultures, languages and societies with power that can restrain evil doers, protect the vulnerable, strengthen the weak and bring down the mighty from their thrones of arrogance. Lord, let it be so. Amen.