Daily Lectio nary: Exodus 38:21-39:8, 22-23, 27-31, Luke 8:1-21

In the Name + of Jesus. Amen. You live in exile. You live as an outsider in the world. Sometimes it would just be easier to be an unbeliever. You wouldn’t catch quite so much grief from the political and celebrity elites that dismiss Christians as being dumber than the average bear. You also would not have to worry about being targeted as an extremist by federal law enforcement officers. In addition, Sunday mornings could be reserved for sleeping in. It wouldn’t solve all of life’s problems; you would still have to do homework and fulfill all your other commitments and responsibilities. Life would not be perfect, but it sure would be easier. At the very least, you would no longer be living in exile. 

This is exactly the kind of temptation that presented itself to the people that Peter writes to in our reading for today. He calls them exiles, not so much because they had been removed from their homeland, but because their faith had made them outsiders. The people they lived among had no respect for the faith or the faithful. Good citizenship and Christianity were considered incompatible. It would have been easier for them if they had just given into the things their culture was expecting from them and renounced their beliefs and blended in.  

In the face of cultural persecution Peter reminds his readers who they are. His words to them are also his words to you. You have been ransomed by the very blood of Christ. You have been washed in the eternal Word and fed with the very body and blood of that Word made flesh. You have an eternal status as a child of God. Nothing in this present world can compare to that. Nothing that our culture offers you has any lasting value. That which is  tempting you away from the faith is fleeting and transitory. It, like the grass and flowers, withers and fails. The Word of the Lord, the good news that was preached to you, the very new creation that you are will remain forever. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.