Communal Transformation

Sermon by Rev. Mary Alice Mulligan. Ph.D.

Scripture: 1 Peter 2:2-10

First Peter is not one of the Bible’s most popular books, but the ideas are important and the language beautiful. Here’s a little background. First Peter is a letter written to encourage Christians under threat of persecution, reminding them of God’s unfailing companionship and power, calling them to trust the strength from their life together as church. One scholar says, “[They share the] difficulty we have in giving definition and identity to the church in society… [The letter reminds them] they are pilgrims, exiles, aliens in the world, but in the household of God they have a new family, a new home. The section we hear today describes a new Temple, a holy building whose cornerstone is Jesus Christ, but constructed of other stones, We are the living stones, followers of Jesus Christ, called to trust our mystical connection to Christ, who offers himself as nourishment. From the 2nd chapter of the 1st Letter of Peter, listen for the word of God.   

1 Peter 2:2-10

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.

Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 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. 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.” 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,” 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. 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. 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. 

Original hearers of Peter’s letter would have known the scripture from centuries before, where God instructs the prophet Hosea to marry a prostitute and live as a metaphor of the relationship between Israel and Yahweh. God loves Israel, but she goes lusting off after other gods; she is like Hosea’s unfaithful wife. When she bears children, Hosea is instructed to name them “Shown No Mercy” and “Not My People,” indicating the fruit of unfaithfulness is a broken relationship from God. But Hosea is promised the time will come when God will show mercy to the daughter named “Shown No Mercy” and God will say to the son named “Not My People” “You are my People.” The letter of Peter tells us, through God’s faithfulness names are changed. We are God’s people; we have received mercy.

Peter tells us that believers get connected to Christ. People who accept the faith become mysteriously joined to Jesus Christ. The love Jesus has for the church manifests itself in a mystical bond with each believer. Such a claim has roots in the most ancient biblical literature. Early First Testament stories speak of a confidence in the presence of God among them. Hebrew Scriptures often instruct believers to “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” But a person really can’t taste something unless they touch it. In order to “taste and see” the goodness of the LORD, Yahweh God must be present. To claim people can taste and see the goodness of the LORD is to claim that Yahweh is available to those who believe.

The writer of First Peter explains that our ability to taste the goodness of the LORD is a spiritual nourishment, for God’s holy food is spiritual. Believers are mystically connected to God, truly touching, human spirit to divine Spirit. And thus our souls are fed. Followers of Jesus Christ, Peter claims, are united with God in Christ at their innermost level, as assuredly as a baby clings to its mother, depending on her for every necessity of life. So followers also are to long for spiritual nourishment, because they know the goodness of God. Day by day they naturally yearn for the relationship which feeds their souls. But just in case followers forget how good the LORD is, in worship they are invited to the Table, for a tangible reminder to “taste and see” the goodness of Jesus Christ, who provides life giving sustenance to all who come. From the moment people begin to believe, they are intimately connected to Jesus Christ.

But, in Christ we are transformed. If we receive nourishment from Christ, we are going to grow spiritually. And growth means change because anything alive is going to change. Ask anyone who spends time with a newborn, then doesn’t get back to visit for 6 weeks. What is the first thing they say? “I can’t believe how much she’s grown.!” It’s the same for Christians. When we are in Christ, we can just plan on changing. Spiritual growth means we won’t stay the same.

For some people, when they first connect to Christ, they may give up some damaging habit, like excessive drinking. They may open themselves to other forms of spiritual growth by reading scripture or setting aside daily time for prayer or they may try tithing. Others may focus on developing some spiritual gift like compassion or truth-telling or self-control. Every person is different, so their spiritual path is distinct. What is common however, is how one’s belief in Jesus Christ can open them to being changed. We might imagine we put ourselves into God’s hands and let God have God’s way in shaping us. We connect to Christ and are transformed.

But it isn’t just individual change because God is forming a spiritual people. By the Spirit of Christ we become something new together. God shapes us into a holy household. Think of them into a wall. Some of the stones were huge, but no single one made a wall.

Just as one rock doesn’t make a house. But many rocks, held together with mortar, constructed by someone who knows what they are doing? Now that can be a marvelous house. But to build something meaningful, it takes many stones, all willing to be placed where the builder knows they belong.

Members of the church place themselves in God’s wise hands, and trust. Last week’s list of spiritual practices (apostles teaching, fellowship, Communion, and prayer) become mortar which God uses to hold us together. Then what results? Peter gives us a profusion of images. We become a spiritual house, a royal priesthood, a chosen race, a holy people. None of the images is about what one person becomes. We don’t individually become holy people. Together, we are built into God’s people. Peter means that when Christians open themselves to Jesus Christ and to each other, they should be prepared for a life changing encounter with God Almighty. Together we should expect to be spiritually transformed to the depths of our souls to become a meaningful communal structure. Who we are as church requires the participation of every believer because we become something new together. With Christ as our foundation stone, God builds us into a spiritual house.

So, then we can spread God’s vision. Our job is to share how God wants the world to be. As a congregation, a holy people together, we witness to God’s love and compassion by how we live as a community of faith. Like when a person comes needing a grocery store card to feed the grandchildren they are raising, we respond communally since the Samaritan Fund, which purchases those grocery cards, is a mission the whole congregation supports financially one month each year. So together we are providing that grocery card.

Our communal witness to God’s love and compassion is also manifest almost every day when 12-step groups are welcomed into the building. We don’t think it is a big deal that we welcome them, but their leaders tell us not every place the groups meet displays much welcome. During the height of Covid, we said they would have to meet outside, although they did come in to get chairs if they wanted. When we apologized, especially when it was cold or rainy or blisteringly hot, they told us most of their meeting places merely said they couldn’t meet there anymore and that was it. They were so grateful to St. Andrew for a place, at all. We felt bad, but they felt St. Andrew cared. We were just witnessing to God’s love and compassion.

But there is more to do. Beyond our compassionate acts, as a congregation we work to manifest God’s vision for the world which is based on justice and peace. Manifesting God’s vision is more challenging than mere acts of compassion. Dom Helder Camara said, “When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a communist.” God wants every person to have enough, to live towards wholeness and joy, which means we are called to dramatic acts of justice making, to support systemic change, even when the work is difficult or threatening.

So how do we make systemic change as a community of faith? We figure out actions which will make a difference. Something like a voter registration campaign is a start. Or we could pull out the coffee hour whiteboard to see whether we can do more towards improving our children’s education, like the free neighborhood movies. The possibilities are all around us; we just have to decide where to put our energy.

But just as a single rock can’t build a house, a single person usually can’t make systemic change. It takes many “living stones” working together to manifest our portion of God’s vision. How we live God’s vision is part of the journey to a shocking, bold presence we started talking about last week. Our job as a holy people, a royal priesthood, is to work to manifest God’s vision of how the world is supposed to be.

St. Andrew United Church of Christ, a spiritual house constructed of all these living stones, with Jesus Christ as our cornerstone. Once we were each merely individuals, trying to live the best we could, but God has shaped us into a holy congregation, God’s own people. We have been made church, claimed by God, in order that together we may spread the vision of God’s marvelous grace. And we get to work for the justice and wholeness God plans for everyone, so all may taste and see the goodness of the LORD.