March ALIENS IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
1 Peter 2
March 12 GOOD NEWS: REJECTION DOESN’T TRIP YOU UP.
A verse to remember:
“Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ.” Philippians 1:27
Gospel Story: Washing of the disciples feet John 13:1-18 “You will never ever wash my feet…”
From 1 Peter 2:4-8
4 You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor.5 And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.6 As the Scriptures say,“I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.”7 Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him,“The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.”[8 And,“He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them.
Reflection: So many of us, like Peter, resist, or even want to reject what Jesus wants to do for us. “You will never ever wash my feet!” Peter declares to the man seeking to care for him. “Unless I wash you, you won’t belong to me”. “Then wash my hands and head as well Lord, not just my feet!”… I love Peter’s passion. He definitely got the memo, “CRAVE JESUS” ABOVE ALL ELSE.
Remember this moment in Scripture and let it be a daily reminder that, “rejection does not have to trip you up”. Yes it’s true that people reject Jesus’ desire to care for them. But like Peter, we too, can learn from Jesus. Our gut reaction to “reject” the love of God revealed in Jesus does not have to trip us up or cause us to stumble. Crave Jesus.
Peter did and it opened up the realm of heavenly revelation for him. Think about it. Peter knew Jesus was from God. “You are the Christ”!! (Matt 16:16) Peter proclaimed. To which Jesus replied, “Flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven” (Matt 16:17). In this moment heaven and earth collide. Peter is learning what it means to be a citizen of heaven. The same is true in this moment where Jesus wants to wash his feet. What Jesus is “doing” is a heavenly revelation, a heav’y rev’y.
What does Peter learn in this moment? “A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean.” Being in relationship with Jesus makes Peter clean. This is God’s doing. Peter is “coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple”. Being disciple of Jesus makes him clean. Peter wants us to do the same. Why? Because when we do, you and I become new creations, “living stones, that God is building into his spiritual temple.” It gets even better. “What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God.”
So why the feet? What if i said Jesus doesn’t want “rejection” to trip you up. People may reject Jesus, it doesn’t have to trip you up. Even as a disciples we might want to reject what he wants to do for us, “you will never ever wash my feet!” But like Peter, give Jesus your feet-you’ll be less likely to “stumble”. Good News, we don’t have to let the “rejection” of Jesus trip us up. We can let Jesus do what he wants to do in our life. There is a new spiritual temple that God is building. Jesus wants us to be part of it.