Presence Weekly 12/9/2024, "The Paradox of Our Purpose: A Contrast of Vocation"

2 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. ² Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³ if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. 

⁴ As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, ⁵ you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it stands in Scripture: 

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, 
a cornerstone chosen and precious, 
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 

⁷ So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, 

“The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 

⁸ and 

“A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” 

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 1 Peter 2:1–8.

The Contrast of Our Vocation

Peter’s argument in this section revolves around the spiritual and real aspects of God’s redemptive plan for the first-century elect exiles of Asia Minor. In keeping with the theme of paradox, Peter sees the spiritual as real, not in contrast to real. Worldly cravings must be replaced by the craving for pure spiritual milk because proper nourishment leads to health and strength. Rather than building for our own glory, we are living stones being built into a spiritual house. But being built into a spiritual house is not the chief end of man. The end, as Peter points out, is that we are called “to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ” v.5b. 

A Holy Priesthood

Contemplate what he is saying. Everyone who is a part of the spiritual house is part of the holy priesthood. In the Old Testament, this office was reserved only for the Levites. When referencing the priesthood, the Old Testament frequently uses the phrase “set apart.” What was once reserved for a select few is now the universal vocation for the followers of Christ. 

What was the purpose of the priesthood? Their role was to mediate and direct the worship of God’s people, handle the observation and administration of the complex sacrificial system, and ensure the sanctity of the Tabernacle and, later, the Temple. But now that Christ has sacrificed his life as the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, there is no longer a need for us to offer blood sacrifices; instead, we are called to offer spiritual sacrifices.

Arriving at this revelation is where Peter wants to take them, and it is where he wants to take us. We exist to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. As the Westminster Confession of Faith declares, “the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever,” and there is no better place to get that than from this verse.

The logical progression of Peter’s argument is stunning. Craving pure spiritual milk matters because we are being built into a spiritual house, so that we can offer spiritual sacrifices to God through Christ. These spiritual sacrifices are intended to be seen as better than the sacrifices we make when we are busy building ourselves into a house that results only in our honor. As we grow up into our salvation, we enjoy salvation from the futility of making sacrifices that have only a fleeting value.

Work and Worship and Avodah

We are here to worship. Yet, our view of worship is often truncated to Sunday morning. That is never the view of the worship in Scripture. 

In Genesis 2:15, we read that “The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” (ESV). The word used here for work is the Hebrew word avodah. Immediately after being placed in the Garden, we are told that God’s intention for man was to engage in avodah. We should not be surprised to learn that this is only the first of many times avodah appears in the Old Testament narrative. 

After finding themselves in back-breaking chattel slavery in Egypt, making bricks without straw that will be placed into man-made buildings for the glory of Pharaoh, the people of God cry out for deliverance. That deliverance comes from God through Moses. The message that the God of steadfast love and faithfulness gives Moses for Pharaoh is, “This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.” (Exodus 8:1, ESV). 

Here, the word that Moses uses for worship is the same one he used earlier for work - avodah. The connection is clear: we were made to work as worship. God rescued his people out of slavery in Egypt from the futility of working in service to Pharaoh so that they could worship their true God instead. 

For those serving and leading in the public square, this message is especially powerful. In the frequent refrain of Faithful Presence, work in the public square is not about “Making America Great Again” or “Building Back Better” but about participating in Christ’s mission of “making all things new.” (Revelation 21:5). Work as worship through the Biblical concept of avodah means that increasing the efficiency of applications for unemployment insurance payments is worship. Establishing diplomatic channels with the new government of Syria is worship. Ensuring that Section 8 housing vouchers are accessible to everyone who qualifies is worship. Making sure that the schedule of members and appointees is properly maintained is worship. Removing unnecessary bureaucracy and regulations is worship. Protecting our domestic food supply is worship. Rewriting a speech for the twelfth time is worship. 

Giving and Receiving 

Perhaps the most pastorally helpful phrase for those serving and leading in the public square is “acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” No matter where you work, you have likely experienced discouraging or dismissive responses to your work from a coworker or your supervisor. Toiling for someone who does not appreciate your work, frustrates your work, and even takes credit for your work is devastating to morale. Thankfully, that is not the economy of Christ's kingdom. 

In and through our work as worship, we not only give honor to Christ but, as it says in verse 7, we receive honor from Christ. Our work, regardless of what value our colleagues or the public may assign to it, is acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Your labor is not pointless or futile, it is worship to God. 

The good news of the gospel is that in Christ we are made living stones who are being built into spiritual house to offer spiritual sacrifices to God. The good news of the gospel is also that those spiritual sacrifices are accepted, not dismissed. Peter’s message is that you were made for honor, and that honor is found in worshipping God. That worship does not just take place inside a building on Sunday morning. It takes place outside the walls of that building all week long. It takes place in how we build up one another in our families and in our workplaces. It takes place as we seek to glorify God in our vocations. It takes place as we seek to glorify God through the way in which we encourage what is good, restore what is broken, create what is missing and oppose what is evil. 

The fulness of the honor we receive comes fully at the consummation of the age when we are welcomed into the new heavens and the new earth. That honor and joy should be a strong motivation for shifting our cravings to pure spiritual milk. In this proclamation comes the reality that we will not be put to shame when Christ, the stumbling stone, comes to judge the living and dead. In that moment, we will be honored with life in communion with God and free from death, sadness, and sin. 

This is the paradox of our purpose: our purpose is of enormous magnitude yet frees us from the crushing weight of accomplishment.

As living stones, we must crave (real) pure spiritual milk, so that as we are built by our Father into a (real) spiritual house we can join the community of God's reconciled people in offering our (real) spiritual sacrifices through our vocations as part of a holy priesthood, which are accepted not by merit, but by through the grace of Jesus Christ.

Questions for application

How does the concept of avodah and seeing your primary vocation as offering spiritual sacrifices as part of a holy priesthood alter thinking and attitude about your work in the public square?

How does the way you receive and interact with the work of others communicate that you believe their work was intended to be offered to God as worship?

How could your attitude towards their work offer a foretaste of the coming kingdom and reflect the good news of the gospel?

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• Think Tank, Lobby group, NGO: The Sentencing Project advocates for effective and humane responses to crime that minimize imprisonment and criminalization of youth and adults by promoting racial, ethnic, economic, and gender justice.
• Weekly delegation: The Congressional delegation from the state of Indiana. 
• Personal requests: For someone mourning the official end of their marriage after years of working to save it. For several individuals who are slowly moving through the interview process for positions in the new administration. For two individuals preparing to leave their political appointment within the current administration. For someone experiencing their first Christmas with family for the first time in three years. For parents who will only have some of their adult children home for Christmas.
• News: Servants and leaders at the Commerce Department working on the recently announced awards under the CHIPS Incentives Program’s Funding Opportunity for Commercial Fabrication Facilities. According to the press release, “The Department awarded Absolics, an affiliate of the Korea-based SKC, up to $75 million in direct funding and awarded Entegris up to $77 million in direct funding.” 

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• Monday, December 9, 1 - 2:30pm ET, the American Enterprise Institute presents a hybrid event, Helping Parents to Help Kids: How to Reduce Addiction Among Families in the Child Welfare System.
• Thursday, December 12, 12 - 1pm ET, the Cato Institution hosts ​​Empowering the DOGE and Extending Pro-Growth Tax Cuts: How the 119th Congress Can Grow the Economy and Fix the Debt at the House Visitors Center.
• Friday, December 13, 1:30 - 2:30pm ET, The Trinity Forum presents The Strangest Story in the World: GK Chesterton and the Incarnation – An Online Conversation with Dale Ahlquist.
• Daily, 11:00 - 8:00 pm, The Downtown DC Holiday Market will occupy the street and sidewalk on F Street between 7th and 9th Streets, NW. Now in its 20th year, its bright lights bring Penn Quarter and Chinatown to life, providing a holiday spark to the neighborhood.
• Daily, 12:00 - 8:00 pm, The DC Holiday Market at Dupont Circle will feature 30-plus small businesses with artisans, boutique brands, worldwide handcrafts, and unique gift items from Nov. 22 to Dec. 23.

‘Tis the season for holiday parties and vibe music! While Michael Buble and Mariah Carey enjoy heavy rotation on most holiday playlists, Herb Alpert’s Christmas Album will set yours apart. For those who don’t know, Herb Alpert has sold over 72 million albums worldwide, and outsold the Beatles in 1966 with 14 million albums sold in a single year. Known for his Mexican-influenced jazz, staccato trumpet play, and crossover lounge-style instrumentation, Alpert’s offering to Christmas albums is the perfect mixer for any holiday party. The track list is as diverse as it is re-interpreted through Alpert’s arrangements, and includes, Winter Wonderland, Jingle Bells, My Favorite Things, and Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring.

Looking for the perfect Herb Alpert themed Christms gift? In 2025, Herb Alpert (who turns 90 in March) and the Tijuana Brass are heading out to tour in celebration of the 60th anniversary of their best selling album, Whipped Cream and Other Delights. Tickets would make a wonderful stocking stuffer!