God’s People
A sermon by Currie Burris
1 Peter 2: 2-10
April 24, 2005
Who are we? Look around you here in this place and ask that question. What are we doing here? Why are we gathered here this morning? We come together every Sunday (nearly every Sunday), we sing hymns and songs, we pray, personally and together, hear choirs, and soloists, we share fellowship together before and after service, we study the Bible, we hear a sermon, we give our money, we engage in mission.
Some of us live close in this neighborhood; some drive many miles to get here. Most come from their home, but some come directly from work. For the most part we wear nice clothes, drive expensive cars. We are relatively well off. You know some of the people here. I don’t think there is anyone who knows everyone. Some you are very close to, your best friends, closest family; others you only know a name but not much else, some you don’t even know a name although you may have been worshiping together for years. Some come from the same part of the world as you, your home country or home town or village, some come from a time and place very different from yours. Some of you grew up in the church; some of you are new members.
So why are you here? You could have stayed home, read the newspaper, had a long brunch, spent some time with your family. You could have done something outside on a beautiful day like today (or not). Did you come out of habit? Out of obligation? To make mama happy? To be seen? To impress someone?
The apostle Peter stood before his congregation, much I suppose like I am doing today, and, in posing this same question, gave his answer:
“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” (1 Peter 2: 9-10)
You are the
Chosen. You may think that it was your decision to be a part of the church, to be a Christian, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. You drove by the church one day, saw the sign, and thought you might go in and check it out. You saw an ad for a church, were attracted by the title of the sermon, decided to come and hear it. You decided to join. You thought you had made your decision for Christ some years ago, or maybe just today.
I believe in the freedom of choice. God gives us the freedom to choose in our lives, to choose which way we will go, to choose right and wrong, to choose whom we will serve. But when we say “yes” to God in Christ, when we say “yes” to be a part of the body of Christ, the church, we say “yes” to an invitation already given. We are called out, named, chosen. We say “yes” or “no” to God’s call, but we do not make the invitation ourselves. You were chosen.
I remember so well many years ago when I was in elementary school. (That’s called primary school in some places—the first six grades of school). Every day we would have recess, thirty minutes to go outside and play. Often we would band together to play a game, kickball, softball, basketball, or touch football. We needed to choose up sides, so the two best players would be named as captains, and would choose their players, one at a time. We all would line up, shoulder to shoulder, and the captains would survey their choices. “Choose me, choose me” came the voices within each of us.
Inevitably the fastest, strongest, most popular would be chosen first, then the middle of the road players next. Then came the last, the ones nobody really wanted on their team, the slow ones, the awkward ones. I have never been able to run very fast, and in the third grade I was somewhat pudgy, and not very popular in sports. So I was always a part of that final group nobody wanted. And when it came to playing the game, I seldom got the ball, and then only long enough to give it to someone else.
On God’s team, you have been chosen. Your name has been called out. God has said I want you to be for me. Joe, you are mine. Mary, you are for me. Kathy, you are on my side.
William Willimon tells this story of his ministry as a Methodist pastor. He was traveling, speaking at the school some distance from his home, when after his talk a young man came up to him and asked “Do you remember me?” The young man looked familiar, but he could not quite place him. Then it came to him. In a church he served many years before, this was the young kid who was always getting into things, misbehaving, running up and down the hallways, making mischief, talking during the service. What do you say to the grown up version of the church cut-up?
Then the young man said to Willimon, “You changed my life. I will always remember what you did for me.” Searching his memory, he could not recall any incident that he may have been called to make an impact. Maybe all those sermons or lessons had sunk in. Willimon asked, “What was it that made such a difference, which sermon, which Sunday school lesson had changed your life?” “Oh, I don’t remember any of those. What I remember is that you always knew my name. You always called me by my name.”
I wish that I could remember all the names. I don’t do near as well as this pastor did. But in God’s house, in God’s life, in God’s mercy, God knows all the names. God calls out your name. I want you to be a part of a chosen race, a royal priesthood. Once you were nobody; once nobody wanted you. Now I want you. You are God’s people now.
To be a part of God’s people may seem to be an invitation to an exclusive club. It may seem to be setting up an in-group and an out-group, an “I’m-better-than-you group”, an “I’m-more-holy-more-loved-more-righteous-than-you” group. That’s not the church. When God’s invitation goes out, it goes out to everyone. We all are the first ones chosen in the line-up. You are the first one chosen. And the invitation goes out to all regardless of who is strongest, fastest or most popular. God’s call does not look for the best, the brightest, and the smartest. God calls everyone, even those who are not part of our race or tribe or culture, or country, our village, our language.
The church is the most inclusive of human gatherings because nothing that separates human beings defines who is in the church, not country, race, language, culture, gender or sexuality, not old or young, rich or poor, black or white. We all have received mercy. We all share the loving grace of God in Christ.
In response to that loving grace, we gather. In response to that call we come to this place to be a chosen people, God’s people. In response to that love, we worship and we serve. In response to that love, we are the church. That’s who we are and that’s why we are here. Thanks be to God.