Come to [Jesus], 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…
1 Peter 2:4-5
We all know the old children’s ditty: “Here is the church. Here is the steeple. Open the door, and see all the people.” It’s a nice rhyme, but I don’t think Peter would agree with its theology. You see, this children’s exercise implies that the church is the building that houses the people who are inside. Nothing could be further from the truth in Peter’s understanding of the nature of the church.
The early church would never have connected the term “church” with a building. There were no formal buildings reserved for people to gather. There were no structures exclusively designated for Christian gatherings and activities. The early believers in Jesus Christ met in house churches. As the name suggests, it was a gathering of believers that met in a house. The reality was the church did not CONTAIN the people; it WAS the people.
For Peter, the church wasn’t a place but a people. Church wasn’t a noun but a verb. It wasn’t a place to go but a way of living. In Peter’s mind, indeed, in the New Testament’s understanding, the church is created whenever the people of God receive and reciprocate God’s love offered in Jesus Christ. The church isn’t so much a location but a way people live in community with one another.
Peter’s image reminds us that God wants to take all believers and make them a part of a very special building. God wants to make a house, or better yet, a home, for God’s presence. Believers in Jesus Christ are the raw material God uses to make this special residence. We are living stones for the living, thriving, and serving home of God. Like a master mason, God is placing each one of us, in our own uniqueness, into a structure where God’s love is received and reciprocated.
God calls each of us, you and me, to be a part of this magnificent house called the church. We are a part of the family of God. We are the home in which God resides on earth. We are God’s household. We are God’s church. And we are linked together through the love offered in Jesus Christ and the common mission to share that love with others.
Peter also adds the image of priesthood to the metaphor of being a spiritual house. From a biblical perspective, a priest had a dual role as one with special access to the divine. A priest was entrusted to bring God’s presence, God’s love, and God’s forgiveness to the people. However, they also brought the people before God. They were called to lift up to God those who were hurting and in need of healing, broken and in need of wholeness, and sin-sick in need of forgiveness.
Putting these two images together, Christians are called to form a place where people can find a home in God’s grace. However, they are not passively waiting for people to arrive, but they are in the world, being the church and engaging with all who need the presence and power of God.
What does that mean for us? To put it bluntly, we don’t GO to church. We go to a church building. There we are formed into the church. There is no church apart from its members. Thus, we ARE the church. We are to embody and share God’s presence, love, forgiveness, kindness, mercy, and compassion with those around us. When we express Christian caring in the name of Jesus, God’s love is made real to another human being. When we offer compassion in the name of Christ by being with persons going through difficult times, God’s presence is made real to them. When we, in the name of Christ, walk alongside persons who are filled with concern, anxiety, or stress, God’s mercy is experienced by them. When we offer forgiveness or guide others to either forgive or accept forgiveness, God’s reconciling work is embodied.
May God bless us all as we seek to live into this high calling.