Wednesday, May 10, 2017

The God Pause for Wednesday, 10 May 2017 The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States with the Scripture: 1 Peter 2:2-10



The God Pause for Wednesday, 10 May 2017 The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States with the Scripture: 1 Peter 2:2-10
1 Peter 2:2 and be like newborn babies, thirsty for the pure milk of the Word; so that by it, you may grow up into deliverance. 3 For you have tasted that Adonai is good.[1 Peter 2:3 Psalm 34:9(8)]
4 As you come to him, the living stone, rejected by people but chosen by God and precious to him, 5 you yourselves, as living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be cohanim set apart for God to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him through Yeshua the Messiah. 6 This is why the Tanakh says,
“Look! I am laying in Tziyon a stone,
a chosen and precious cornerstone;
and whoever rests his trust on it
will certainly not be humiliated.”[
1 Peter 2:6 Isaiah 28:16]
7 Now to you who keep trusting, he is precious. But to those who are not trusting,
“The very stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone”;[
1 Peter 2:7 Psalm 118:22]
8 also he is a stone that will make people stumble,a rock over which they will trip.[
1 Peter 2:8 Isaiah 8:14]
They are stumbling at the Word, disobeying it — as had been planned. 9 But you are a chosen people,[
1 Peter 2:9 Isaiah 43:20; Deuteronomy 7:6; 10:15] the King’s cohanim,[1 Peter 2:9 Exodus 19:6; Isaiah 61:6] a holy nation,[1 Peter 2:9 Exodus 19:6] a people for God to possess![1 Peter 2:9 Isaiah 43:21; Exodus 19:5]Why? In order for you to declare the praises of the One who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; before, you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.[1 Peter 2:10 Hosea 2:25(23)][Complete Jewish Bible]
-------Salvation comes as pure gift. Through God's mercy we are made into God's people. We who were on the fringes are chosen, brought into the royal family of our Lord and King, and set apart as a holy people. Part of the good news is that God continues to seek those on the fringes. Stones that the world would reject are called to be living stones to be built up, along with us, into a spiritual house. Those, including us, who were not a people are now God's people. Those, including us, who had not received mercy have now received mercy.
Will we seek to sequester ourselves from those who seem estranged from God? Will we cast judgment and shame on those who appear rejected? Or will we grow into the likeness of the one in whom we have received salvation by welcoming and engaging them? Will we seek to allow God to mature us and those who come in from the fringes with us into the center of God's mercy and the joy of a community that speaks, welcomes and lives salvation?
God, you call that which is not into being, life and community. Thank you. Amen.
Karl Hester, '01
Pastor, Christ the Good Shepherd Lutheran, Salem, Ore.
1 Peter 2:2 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 To 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,"
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 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.
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.
[New Revised Standard Version]
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The Luther Seminary
2481 Como Avenue
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55108, United States
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