Christ is the cornerstone
1 ① So, give up all evil and deceit, hypocrisy, envy and every kind of gossip. 2Like newborn children, seek eagerly for the pure milk of the Word that will help you grow and reach salvation. 3Did you not taste the goodness of the Lord? 4He is the living stone rejected by people but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him 5so that you, too, become living stones built into a spiritual temple, a holy community of priests offering spiritual sacrifices that please God through Jesus Christ. 6Scripture says: See, I lay in Zion a chosen and precious cornerstone; whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.
7This means honor for you who believed, but for unbelievers also the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone 8and it is a stone to stumble over, a rock which lays people low. They stumble over it in rejecting the Word, but the plan of God is fulfilled in this.
9You are a chosen race, a community of priest-kings, a consecrated nation, a people God has made his own to proclaim his wonders. For he called you from your darkness to his own wonderful light. 10At one stage you were no people, but now you are God’s people,you had not received his mercy, but now you have been given mercy.
Live a blameless life
11 ② Beloved, while you are strangers and exiles, I urge you not to indulge in selfish passions that wage war on the soul. 12Live a blameless life among the pagans; so when they accuse you falsely of any wrong, they may see your good works and give glory to God on the day he comes to them.
13For the Lord’s sake, respect all human authority: the king as chief authority, 14the governors as sent by him to punish evildoers and to encourage those who do good. 15And God wants you to do good so that you may silence those fools who ignorantly criticize you. 16Behave as free people but do not speak of freedom as a license for vice; you are free men and God’s servants. 17Reverence each person, love your brothers and sisters, fear God and show respect to the emperor.
18Servants must respect their masters, not only those who are good and understanding but also those who are difficult. 19For there is merit in putting up with unprovoked suffering, for the sake of God. 20What merit would there be in taking a beating when you have done wrong? But if you endure punishment when you have done well, that is a grace before God.
21This is your calling: remember Christ who suffered for you, leaving you an example so that you may follow in his way. 22He did no wrong and there was no deceit in his mouth. 23He did not return insult for insult and, when suffering, he did not curse but put himself in the hands of God who judges justly. 24He went to the cross bearing our sins on his own body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live an upright life. For by his wounds you have been healed. 25You were like stray sheep, but you have come back to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
- 1 p 2,1 Two words stand out in this paragraph: stones and priests. They speak about what the new Christians will be. You are stones. God's presence in his people is the stone which stands out and on which, all those who neither saw nor took notice of him, stumbled (Is 8:14). In another sense, Jesus is the stone rejected by the builders, which becomes the foundation of a new building: this is the new people of God which arises from the remnant of Israel and then extends to all nations. Christians are the stones of this Church: living stones because each one shares the life of God, and because each one has an active part to play in the Church, the body of Christ (Eph 4:12-16). You will also be priests. To understand what this means, we must read God's words to Moses in Exodus 19:5. God decided then to become present in the world and to transform the course of history through a people of his own which would be Israel. Peter tells us: The real people of God, the true Israel, are you who have accepted Christ. We, who are baptized, do not form one more religion: we are an active minority and the leaven of the world. We are priests in the sense this word had for ancient people: those who know, those who risk coming close to God. We were made responsible for the mission of preparing men and women so that salvation may mature in them. People and nations may discover their common destiny and, in the end, admit that they cannot solve their problems without making the Gospel the Law of their whole lives. A Christian aware of his dignity as a priestly member of the people of God, by sheer gift and grace cannot but proclaim his wonders (2:19). This is what evangelization is all about. These Christians are a chosen race, a community of priest-kings called to proclaim the Gospel. 1 p 2,11 Here we are invited to be model citizens, workers and spouses. If we are slandered, that is one more occasion to show the beauty of Christian life and that those who slander us are wrong. If the authorities begin to persecute us, this is not an excuse to disobey the laws. Also see the commentary on Titus 3:1.
- 1 p 2,1 Two words stand out in this paragraph: stones and priests. They speak about what the new Christians will be. You are stones. God's presence in his people is the stone which stands out and on which, all those who neither saw nor took notice of him, stumbled (Is 8:14). In another sense, Jesus is the stone rejected by the builders, which becomes the foundation of a new building: this is the new people of God which arises from the remnant of Israel and then extends to all nations. Christians are the stones of this Church: living stones because each one shares the life of God, and because each one has an active part to play in the Church, the body of Christ (Eph 4:12-16). You will also be priests. To understand what this means, we must read God's words to Moses in Exodus 19:5. God decided then to become present in the world and to transform the course of history through a people of his own which would be Israel. Peter tells us: The real people of God, the true Israel, are you who have accepted Christ. We, who are baptized, do not form one more religion: we are an active minority and the leaven of the world. We are priests in the sense this word had for ancient people: those who know, those who risk coming close to God. We were made responsible for the mission of preparing men and women so that salvation may mature in them. People and nations may discover their common destiny and, in the end, admit that they cannot solve their problems without making the Gospel the Law of their whole lives. A Christian aware of his dignity as a priestly member of the people of God, by sheer gift and grace cannot but proclaim his wonders (2:19). This is what evangelization is all about. These Christians are a chosen race, a community of priest-kings called to proclaim the Gospel. 1 p 2,11 Here we are invited to be model citizens, workers and spouses. If we are slandered, that is one more occasion to show the beauty of Christian life and that those who slander us are wrong. If the authorities begin to persecute us, this is not an excuse to disobey the laws. Also see the commentary on Titus 3:1.
