CELC The Fifth Sunday of Easter

The Fifth Sunday of Easter – April 24, 2005

Peter 2:1-10

Do you ever think about the task of the preacher? Have you ever thought about what it is a preacher is supposed to do?

Some might say that the preacher is supposed to entertain them, tell a lot of jokes, cute little stories and send them home with some tidbit of wisdom. If all else fails, perhaps a preacher can read a poem and stir our emotions.

I confess that my understanding of the task of the preacher is very different. For me the task of the preacher is to introduce God to you. The task of the preacher is not to be the center of the message, but to keep God at the center so you love God.

To accomplish the task a preacher needs to know the Word. If the preacher does not know the text and what it says about God and about you, then they cannot preach. They might tell you a neat and sentimental story, but such a story won’t meet the requirement of telling you God’s story. It is the task of the preacher to be interesting, concrete and then expose the truth about God from the text before you. It is not an easy task, especially fifty or sixty times each year.

Preachers like 1^st Peter are an inspiration for preachers who do this task of introducing God Sunday after Sunday. The preacher writing 1^st Peter uses three illustrations in our lesson today to try and make clear who God is, what God is about, and how you can trust God.

The first illustration begins in verse 2 of the second chapter: “Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation- if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” There you are. Believers in Jesus Christ according to the preacher are like little babies looking for sustenance. Little babies trust their parent for what they need to flourish and grow.

1^st Peter tells you that you can trust God for what you need to grow in faith. Faith is a gift. You have been to the table where God feeds you, so you know that the Lord is good. You taste the presence of Jesus in the bread and wine, his body and blood, so you know the forgiveness of sins and the goodness of God.

Such is the first illustration by 1^st Peter. The writer next uses a second image in three different ways: the image of stones…stones used to build, to be the corner and to even be a stumbling block. What a preacher 1^st Peter is. The creative use of the image of stones exposes God for us to see.

1^st Peter says you are to be living stones, made by God because God has chosen you. God wants to build a spiritual house with you. Come to God then as living building blocks and God places you in a holy priesthood to serve God by serving others. You living stones now see that God is not only good, but offers you as well an important place in the kingdom. You are living stones.

1^st Peter quotes Isaiah 28:16. God is laying a stone in Zion, says Isaiah, and then notes it is a cornerstone. If the first use of “stones” is to tell you living stones you are being built by God into a spiritual house; now, 1^st Peter subtly changes the use of stone by saying God is doing even more, laying a cornerstone.

When you build you need the key cornerstone, the one that sets all the others in place. For 1st Peter it is clear that Jesus himself is the cornerstone. Psalm 118 is quoted to clarify that point. Through the cross and his glorious resurrection, Jesus has fulfilled scripture and become the cornerstone.

1^st Peter preaches further, though; you might say this is the “meddling” part. The cornerstone that heals and forgives is the same stone some folks will stumble over. This stone is a stumbling block for those who don’t believe. So says Isaiah 8:14. The cornerstone, Jesus, not only comes to call you into a living household, but also comes to reveal the brokenness of those who reject him.

The final image used by 1^st Peter is of a people put together by the grace of God:

“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.”

Verse 10 says God is a God who makes you a new people, people of faith who have received the mercy of God in the cross of Jesus Christ.

The result of the being made God’s people is you are now a “…chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people…” You now know that by the mercy of God you are a special servant people, God’s select. What a blessing.

The task for you then is to “…proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” You are called to do what every preacher does: introduce people to God. You are called to proclaim Christ for the salvation of all. You are called to invite others to meet God, to say, “Come and see.”

Think of your calling this way: five frogs are sitting on a log in a stream. Three of the frogs decide to jump into the water. Now, how many frogs are left on the log? Let me warn you, this is a trick answer! How many frogs are left? Five are left on the log because just deciding means the three frogs have not yet actually jumped.

You see it is not enough to know God calls you to be a living stone, a teller of the gospel. Taking a leap of faith and jumping off the log is necessary so you can actually say to another, “come and see.” Amen.

Pastor Robert F. Holley