It is always gratifying to receive a compliment. After all,
we all like to hear that we are doing something well! This letter from Peter
contains all kinds of positive statements about the Christian community to whom
it was sent. They are called a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy
nation. They are God’s own people, and they personally belong to God himself.
You can’t get a higher compliment than that! And, although we are living nearly
2,000 years later than this early Christian community, that compliment applies
to us, too. We are God’s holy people,
no less than these first Christians to whom this letter is addressed. But we
can’t rest on our laurels, sitting back and relaxing in the glow of being God’s
people. This letter reminds us that we have responsibilities that go along with
our status. As we live into our calling as a royal priesthood, we are supposed
to be offering “spiritual sacrifices” to God. And we’re a new kind of priest; the
old priesthood is gone forever. They’re the ones who killed bulls to offer on
the Temple altar in an effort to please God. Well, they’re all are out of a
job! The kind of sacrifices that God really
wants, says this letter, are spiritual sacrifices.
I don’t know what image comes to mind when you hear the
phrase “spiritual sacrifices,” but I think of some of our spiritual ancestors.
I think, for example, of spiritual giants like Julian of Norwich, who lived in
the early 14th century. After experiencing visions of God as a young
adult, she spent the rest of her life as a hermit, living in a solitary room
attached to the church in Norwich, England. She wrote about her visions and
what they had taught her about God in a book that survives to this day. So, are
we supposed to be like that? Does God expect us to behave like the saints of
old did? Should we all run out and get a subscription to Sainthood Today? I don’t think so. After all, this letter isn’t
addressed to a group of spiritual giants, but to a community who are very much
like we are. If you read the rest of the letter, most of the advice in it is
very ordinary. “Be shepherds of the flock that is under your care,” it advises
the congregational leaders. “Be an example to them.” (I Peter 5:1-3) “Love each
other, and offer hospitality to one another; and use whatever gift you have to
serve others.” (I Peter 4:8-10) That’s advice that applies to anyone, not just
to spiritual giants who see visions of God!
So, what kind of “spiritual sacrifices” should we be
offering to God as a “royal priesthood”? Maybe the sacrifices that this letter
is talking about are really very ordinary ones. Maybe these sacrifices are the
ones that all of us make when we’re members of a household. After all, our
congregation is like a household in several ways. We take care of one another, we
keep our house clean, we welcome guests, and we pay bills. Maybe instead of
taking out a subscription to Sainthood
Today, what we Christians should be reading is Good Housekeeping! Being a part of a household does require
sacrifices. After all, a lot of work goes into maintaining a household. We mow
the grass, and in a few days, we have to mow it again. After the family eats
dinner, they get hungry again. After we mop and dust and vacuum, the house gets
dirty again. And every month, we have to pay the bills for heating and cooling
the house, running the water, and being able to turn on the lights. Even though
we’d like to sit in the recliner and watch ESPN all day on the TV, that’s not
possible if we have a household to run!
And all these activities require sacrifices of time,
talents, and finances. We sacrifice to keep our own households in order; and we
have to sacrifice to keep the church in good order. But it all works out. The
members of our congregation have a variety of gifts and talents that they can
use for the good of the entire church. Some of us are able to do the physical
work of maintenance. Those folks can cut the grass, plant the flowers, and trim
the trees. They help us keep our house clean and attractive. Others of us are
good cooks. They help to feed the family. Does anyone want to skip all the
wonderful dinners that we have here? There’s a reason why our Facebook page has
a picture of a plate of food right at the top of it! Still others are
organizers. These folks make sure that things get done. They organize the
dinners and the clean-up days and the mission activities. When one of them
says, “Oh, I don’t do much,” don’t you believe it! And all of us can share our
material gifts. Putting a check in the offering plate may seem to be routine,
but it’s very important when the electric bill is due. While some of us are
able to give more than others, it’s up to all of us to share something.
Now, you might wonder why I’m calling all these activities
“spiritual sacrifices.” After all, people who aren’t spiritual do them every
day as they maintain their own households. They seem to be very unspiritual kinds of activities! But we
do them because we want to be faithful to the mission and ministry of the
Church. We need a place to gather as we listen for God’s word, and we need a
place to care for one another. We need a place where we can welcome others into
our midst. We need a physical place to do the things that physical creatures
do. And because we do them in the name of Jesus Christ, they become spiritual
sacrifices of the very best kind! They may be routine and unspectacular, but
they are a response to our call as members of the Body of Christ.
So let’s not worry about whether or not our spiritual
sacrifices are as spectacular as those of bygone years. We are God’s royal
priests not by seeing visions or living as hermits. We are a royal priesthood
because we take care of this little corner of the Church the very best that we
can in service to Jesus Christ, using the gifts and talents that God gave us. There
is no saint who ever did anything more important than that!
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