The churches the Apostle Peter was writing to were living in the midst of very real circumstances that were shaping their lives. They were marginalized for their way of life and exclusive allegiance to Jesus. They were different, which equates them to being suspect, irrelevant and people to be avoided. But Peter’s vision for them is more than survival in the margins. He wants their imaginations to be shaped by their true identity and calling, better and more significant than what their immediate circumstances are telling them. He wants their imaginations to be shaped by the real story that they’re playing a role in. And to do so, Peter uses imagery that calls the hearers into their communal identity that has purposes that are rooted in God’s redemptive plan for the world.
We have to know who we are and who we belong to before we get to the “doing,” or else we spend our lives trying to define who we are by what we do or don’t do. Lets come together this Sunday and let Peter’s words help us reimagine the significance of who we are as a church and the life we get to live in response.