Chosen to Proclaim

                                                                          1 Peter 2: 1-10

 

 

         The last few weeks, we have been traveling through a review of the Essential Tenets of ECO, our new denomination. We actually have new signage up around town and on the church campus declaring us as this new Presbyterian entity. But what do we believe? What sets us apart? What do we have in common with other Presbyterians, other Reformed churches? It has been the goal of these messages to acquaint us with the answers to some of those questions. Today, we look at the principle of stewardship. ECO characterizes it as stewardship of all of life.

          ECO asserts that the ministries of the church reflect the threefold office of Christ as prophet, priest and king-reflected in the church’s ordered ministries of teaching elders, deacons and ruling elders. While true, do not attempt to draw straight line connections between the offices of Christ and the offices of the church. Even if you could, you would be omitting something elemental to the church and its mission—its members. That is not ECO’s intention. That is not the Bible’s intention. Quite the contrary.

          ECO literature goes on to add that every member is called to share in all Christ’s offices within the world beyond the church, called to a prophetic life, called to proclaim and enact the good news, called to share in Christ’s priestly work.

          That’s quite a handful for someone just looking to join the church. What if we told all our prospective members that they would have to be involved in duties as prophets, priests and kings? How would that look on a recruiting brochure? And yet, that is exactly what members of the bride of Christ are called upon to do. We don’t use the labels, but we need to be about the work.

          Was Jesus a prophet? He never actually claimed to be a prophet,  though he referred to himself that way indirectly a couple times. For instance, when warned to flee for his life by some friendly Pharisees, Jesus said he had to keep on his way because it couldn’t be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem [Luke 13: 33]. He was referring to himself as a prophet. But what is a prophet? There were many in the Old Testament, sixteen in all. They were speaking for God. That’s part of being a biblical prophet. They spoke of the future, most often in terms of what bad tidings awaited those who would not turn from sinful ways. They also spoke of what good things awaited those who were faithful. The messianic prophecies of Isaiah are like that, pointing to a time when God’s servant would come to save. So Jesus was a prophet by his own admission and by the fact that he spoke for God and warned both of consequence for those who did not follow and of salvation for those who did.

          How do we do that in the church? Jesus calls us to that. Our servant savior, the man who washed his disciples’ feet as an expression of that servanthood, sends us to do the same. The most famous sending is the Great Commission in Matthew 28, to go, teach and baptize all who will hear. Jesus called on his disciples to carry on that mission.  They did. Their effort is what is now known as the church.

          I like the way ECO puts this: “Every Christian is called to a prophetic life, proclaiming the good news to the world and enacting that good news.” You don’t have to go to seminary or climb in a pulpit or teach Sunday school. You just live your life in a Godly manner. This for many is their proclamation. They let their actions speak. They are in good company. Hundreds of years ago, Francis of Assisi is credited with having said: “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” Assisi never said it. We aren’t sure who did. And some preachers have a hard time with the concept. I don’t. Even the gospel of Matthew spends several chapters on the mighty deeds and acts of Jesus. His actions gave his words credibility. They do so for us today as well.

          Okay, maybe we can live a prophetic life, but we can’t be priests or preachers. That’s for the professionals. I don’t think so. The professionals have their place in the church. They are called to a different form of service. Do not mistake your own calling. It is not a lesser, but a different, calling. ECO says that every Christian is called to participate in the work of Christ, sharing in the world’s suffering and even offering intercession to God on behalf of the world. That too is a tall order.  But nothing is too big for God.  In Acts 2 in the early beginnings of the church, the members ate together, prayed together, devoting themselves to the teaching of the leaders and to their fellowship. They looked after those in need. They praised God…daily. And the church grew.

          Isn’t this the same task we face? We collect cans of food. We fill boxes for Samaritan’s Purse. We donate our blood. We take up offerings and spend part of our tithes on others. We help people in all walks of life. We pray. We even cry. We participate in the work of Christ, sharing in his suffering, offering intercession to God on behalf of the people we encounter.  This is priestly work.

The book of Hebrews tells us that Christ appeared at a high priest of the good things that have come…entering into the holy places by means of his own blood, securing eternal redemption. Listen carefully to the next verse: if the flesh is sanctified by the blood of animals, how much more will Christ’s blood, offered through the eternal Spirit, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God [Heb. 9: 11-14]. That’s how we can become priests. Our consciences are pure through the work of Christ manifested in us through the Holy Spirit, and our works come alive in Christ!

          What about kingship? The ECO literature is not helpful on this score. I like the passage in Mathew [21:5], borrowed from Zechariah {9:9]. Jesus quotes the prophet, who says:

 Behold, your king is coming to you,

 humble and mounted on a donkey,

 and on a colt, on the foal of a beast of burden.

 

I like it because it is our Savior quoting scripture which continues a description of a servant King. Great enough for royalty, humble enough for a donkey. This is royalty fit for the King of Kings, yet wearable enough for the least of his disciples.  If the earthly form of our King is that of a servant, then we too can fulfill that kingly example.

          The text for today’s lesson comes from 1 Peter. The letter is thought to have been written to Gentiles in the dispersion, in other words, to the churches spread all over Asia Minor. These are the church plants, the same types of churches that ECO wants so much to be part of in spreading the gospel. In this very poetic paragraph, Peter compares new Christians to living stones being built up as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood. Peter calls these Christians a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for Christ’s own possession. Peter is talking about the church, about Christianity. It is the high calling of every Christian to become a member of the body of Christ. When we do so, we in turn begin to engage in discipleship. We follow Christ’s example and that example is servanthood.

          That brings us to ECO’s second component of faithful stewardship. It says that Jesus teaches us not only the Great Commission, but also the Great Commandment. That can be found in all the synoptic gospels and it originates in the book of Deuteronomy. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind.  There is nothing else. We don’t get to hold something back for ourselves. It all belongs to God and we are to give all our love and commitment to that end. The thing is, when we give it up, we get it all back and then some.

          About this time, you might be asking yourself: How in the world can I do such a thing? How can I give up all of me? I just don’t know how to do that. If you’re asking yourself those questions, then come back next week. There is an answer, and it involves us, but a different brand of us, sort of a new and improved version. Here’s a hint. Discipleship cannot be done alone. Think about that.

          In the meantime, focus on the words of Peter. We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, called from the darkness to his light. We are chosen to proclaim the gospel of salvation. It is not just our good news. It is the good news!  It has been said that the church is the only “club” in the world that accepts as members only those who are not qualified to belong to it. But that doesn’t hold God’s grace back from its healing, salvific power to bring us into God’s work. Servanthood is discipleship, and that is our inheritance. It is meant to be given away.