Image by Nellie Garcia
Hear the devotional read here: https://bit.ly/2SyURBi
2 Like newborn babes, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up to salvation; 3 for you have tasted the kindness of the Lord. 4 Come to him, to that living stone, rejected by men but in God's sight chosen and precious; 5 and like living stones be yourselves built into 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 he who believes in him will not be put to shame." 7 To you therefore who believe, he is precious, but for those who do not believe, "The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner," 8 and "A stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall"; for they stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were no people but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:2-10 RSV)
May this be a terrific Tuesday for you, Friend. This is also Cinco de Mayo and you can bless the kingdom by not repeating the old joke of the sinking of the ship carrying mayonnaise! The main blessing of this day was the birth of my mentor in ministry, The Rev. José Galindo. He was my internship instructor, introduced me to, and officiated at the wedding to Nellie, and gave me confidence and encouragement that I needed, when I needed it. I had originally asked to be in El Mesias UMC because of the lack of preaching skills and the pastor there was known as one of the best, but as happens, he was made a district superintendent, and the outgoing superintendent, Rev. Galindo, was sent to Mission. I learned about preaching and every aspect of ministry because of his leadership. Sadly, Rev. Galindo died some years ago and I miss his counsel, wit, and humor more than I can say. But his witness blessed me and a multitude of others.
The above photo is of my now five year-old, Adabelle Grace Garcia. If you can't tell by her smile, she is one happy child, more so because in her pocket you can see a stone that she picked up. She went through a phase where every rock was "beautiful" and would help herself to all she could carry. This particular stone was from her daycare and her mom finally explained that if she took home all the rocks, the other kids would not have rocks to enjoy for themselves. This passage, from Peter, addresses Jesus as a "living stone," who though rejected by humanity then, was in God's sight, "chosen and precious." Peter goes on to stress that you and I are also "like living stones" to be built into spiritual houses, and to be a part of a holy priesthood, to live a life that pleases and glorifies God.
I remember our professor stressing the idea of a holy priesthood as a position of responsibility not privilege. To be a priest is to be an example of one set apart by God to live a life that demonstrates what all is involved in serving God. God initially offered this to the people of Israel so they could give witness to the other nations about God and God's plan for the whole world, but they chose not to. Jesus' coming was to re-establish the priesthood and use us for the important role. We began our journey as babes in the faith, enjoying the "spiritual milk" at our salvation and knowing the sweetness of God's kindness; but now as more mature believers we are living stones joining together to build a house, a part of God's kingdom. The people who rejected Jesus soon found out they were wrong, and they stumbled upon their own foolishness; but we who know Jesus to be the precious cornerstone will never be put to shame. Ours is the joyous task of sharing "the wonderful deeds of Him who called (us) out of darkness into His marvelous light." And we have gone from being "no people" to "God's people," from not having received mercy to those who have received His mercy. And that should make us rejoice!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, By Your grace You have ordained the ordinary to do the extraordinary. You have filled our empty hearts with love and compassion to be pastoral in our actions as we reach out to others, especially the ones in need. Grant us Your strength to overcome all things; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! As a priest in God's kingdom, do some priestly things today!
Receive my blessings of joy and peace,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
