1 Peter 2

Nowhere to Hide

Posted on by Betsy

Several years ago I ran a Half Marathon in the Outer Banks. It was a well-planned event, and it felt like the whole town came out to cheer runners on. People held up signs and rang cowbells as we trotted past them. But my favorite sign of the entire race was in front of the Kitty Hawk Police Station. It read: “You can run, but you can’t hide. Good luck from the KHPD!”

Our passage from Isaiah reads just like that sign. God warned the sinners and the scoffers who rejected his word that they could run, but they couldn’t hide from him forever. These leaders of Jerusalem and Judah thought they had made friends with death and could live their lives any way they wanted. Losing their dignity and indulging in too much wine gave them a false sense of security in their ability to avoid God’s judgment. They thought that because they did not believe in God’s covenant, God could not punish them. Using their falsehoods and lies like a refuge, they thought they were untouchable.

They thought wrong.

Isaiah 28 (Common English Bible)

14 Therefore, hear the Lord’s word,
    you scoffers who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15 You said, “We’ve cut a deal with death;
    with the underworld we made a pact.
When the overflowing flood passes through, it won’t reach us;
    for we have made lies our hiding place,
    and in falsehood we take shelter.”

God laid a building stone in Zion that would be sure, tested, tried, and solid. Upon this cornerstone God would build a people who would be straight and righteous. Those attributes would serve as the plumb line for the generations to come.

16 Therefore, the Lord God says:
Look! I’m laying in Zion a stone,
    a tested stone, a valuable cornerstone,
    a sure foundation:
    the one who trusts won’t tremble.
17 I will make justice the measuring line
    and righteousness the plumb line.

To the people of Isaiah’s time, this promised Messiah would come and annihilate the wicked who had temporary rule over Zion. Christians understand this to be fulfilled with the coming of Jesus, our sure and tested cornerstone: “You are being made into a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 Thus it is written in scripture, Look! I am laying a cornerstone in Zion, chosen, valuable. The person who believes in him will never be shamed” (1 Peter 2:5-6).

But hail will sweep away the hiding place of lies,
    and water will overflow the shelter.
18 Your deal with death will be dissolved,
    and your pact with the grave  won’t stand.
The rushing flood: when it passes through,
    you will be annihilated by it.

God surely detests liars. The scoffers who hide away in their sinful apostasy won’t get away with it for long. This comes as good news to those of us who have been the victim of someone’s lies. We live in a world and in a time when lying has become part of every institution and every system. Scientists speculate that people lie at least once every day.

Jesus came to be the way, the truth, and the life. We who follow him are expected to use that as our plumb line. The call to imitate his righteousness includes a call to truth telling.

Have you told a lie today? Have you heard a lie today? May we strive to build ourselves upon our Cornerstone and model his honesty and openness, with nothing to hide.

Nothing to Hide by Kathy Schumacher

Life’s Unfair

Posted on by Betsy

Parents of young children eventually have a moment when words from their own parents come flowing out of their mouths and they hear themselves saying, “Life’s unfair.” I heard it a thousand times and I said it a thousand times. The bad referee call, the lead part in the play going to the teacher’s pet, the boy dumping you for the popular girl … life is full of unfair moments. These moments aren’t confined to childhood. If you’ve ever been passed over for a promotion that went to a less qualified employee, been left by a cheating spouse, or suffered any number of inequities in your life, you understand.       

There are deeper causes of unfairness in life that occur as a result of institutional racism, social hierarchy systems, misogyny, ageism, generational prejudices, etc. These underground issues prevent people from operating on an even playing field. Sadly, unfairness is a part of life. How we deal with unjust situations, however, is up to us and is a measure of our relationship with Christ.

This is the subject for our reading today. Peter addressed the servants of masters who were often unfair in their dealings with them. He focused his argument by pointing out that the stripes that Jesus suffered on our behalf bring spiritual and physical healing to all who believe. When Jesus took the sins of the world on his body as he hung on the tree, it was the ultimate “unfair” moment, but his suffering there enabled us to live in righteousness and freedom. This life is indeed unfair, but our complete and final healing will come with our own resurrections, purchased with Christ’s blood on the cross.

1 Peter 2:24-25 (Common English Bible)

4 He carried in his own body on the cross the sins we committed. He did this so that we might live in righteousness, having nothing to do with sin. By his wounds you were healed. 25 Though you were like straying sheep, you have now returned to the shepherd and guardian of your lives.

This is an invitation to return to our original conversion moment and redirect our lives under the faithful watch of our Shepherd. Whatever unjust treatment we receive in this life will be equalized in the next. Jesus himself will restore us.

Are you being treated unfairly? Do you crave equity and justice in your life? Are you struggling under a “cruel master”? Take heart. Jesus walked that lonely valley before you and walks it with you today. When the world was unjust to him, he bore that suffering in his body so that you might live in righteousness regardless of your circumstance.

How we respond to life’s challenges is a measure of our relationship with Christ. He endured the treatment he received, knowing his Father was with him.He believed in a future with hope as Jeremiah had promised. Sometimes you have to raise you voice in protest; sometimes you have to just quietly leave. In either case, Jesus believed that we are not alone.

May we have such faith as well.

Some Days You’re the Seagull, Somedays You’re the Pufferfish by Michelle Robertson

Living Stones

Posted on by Betsy

When I was a kid, I was fascinated with stones. Every time we traveled, I brought home some kind of rock or stone in my pocket. One time we were camping at the Greenwood State Furnace in Central Pennsylvania, and my cousin and I discovered the jackpot of rocks. The old iron furnace that was on the property was surrounded by “slag,” which was a by-product of the iron smelting process that had taken place there. Slag was a glossy black and green glass-rock, and it could be tumbled and polished into beautiful objects. I probably had over a hundred pieces of slag stones.

In 1 Peter, we see Christ referred to as a “living stone.” This image contrasts the hard permanence of a stone with the qualities of living, breathing vibrancy. It is then expanded to include us, and paints a picture of a spiritual house being built with our sturdy, living stones:

1 Peter 2

4 Come to Jesus Christ. He is the living stone that people have rejected, but which God has chosen and highly honored. 5 And now you are living stones that are being used to build a spiritual house. You are also a group of holy priests, and with the help of Jesus Christ you will offer sacrifices that please God. 6 It is just as God says in the Scriptures,

“Look! I am placing in Zion
a choice and precious
    cornerstone.
No one who has faith
in that one
    will be disappointed.”

This is a beautiful image for us when we feel as though our own houses are crumbling around us. Life-changes such as death, job loss, divorce, and pandemics leave us feeling vulnerable and insecure. Remembering the sure foundation that is Christ, our rock, helps us to know that we are standing on his solid cornerstone. We cannot be moved.

7 You are followers of the Lord, and that stone is precious to you. But it isn’t precious to those who refuse to follow him. They are the builders who tossed aside the stone that turned out to be the most important one of all. 8 They disobeyed the message and stumbled and fell over that stone, because they were doomed.

My parents understood my fascination with the slag rocks, and took a small and particularly beautiful one to a friend who had a rock tumbler. It came back shiny and polished, and the tumbling revealed the marbleized streaks that were hidden under the rock’s bubbly exterior. My Dad had it mounted on a necklace for me. It was oddly shaped, but I loved it.

I proudly wore this the next time we went camping with our camping club. A somewhat tactless dad took one look at it and said, “What an ugly rock!” I was devastated. His wife chastised him, and the poor fellow spent the rest of the weekend trying to apologize for his hastily spoken words. My parents encouraged me to realize that not everyone saw beauty the same way. But obviously the sting of that critical remark stayed with me.

Rejection of our ideals and theology can feel that way. When a family member or good friend ridicules our faith, we feel the sting. Jesus isn’t precious to those who refuse to follow him. When that happens, and it will, try to remember that you are God’s chosen one. You are special to God. You belong to a royal family. Not everyone sees beauty the same way.

9 But you are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done. The Scriptures say,

10 “Once you were nobody.
    Now you are God’s people.
At one time no one
    had pity on you.
Now God has treated you
    with kindness.

On Christ the solid rock we stand…all other ground is sinking sand. Now go and tell all the wonderful things that he has done.

Greenwood State Furnace by Mary Anne Mong Cramer