Rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, insincerity, envy, and all slander; 2 like newborn infants, long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, 3 for you have tasted that the Lord is good. 4 Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, 5 and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it says in scripture: “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious, and whoever believes in it shall not be put to shame.” 7 Therefore, its value is for you who have faith, but for those without faith: “The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone that will make people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall.” They stumble by disobeying the word, as is their destiny. 9 But you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises” of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were “no people” but now you are God’s people; you “had not received mercy” but now you have received mercy.
The Gospel for Sunday, May 3, 2026, is John 14:1-12. Since that passage combines the Gospel passages already treated in the Friday and Saturday blogs, it will not be repeated here. The second reading for Sunday is 1 Pet. 2:4-9, but this reflection considers the fuller passage, 1 Pet. 2:1-10, so that Peter’s teaching can be read in its immediate context. The passage fits well with John 14:1-12 because both readings point to Christ as the one through whom we come to the Father. In John’s Gospel, Jesus is the way to the Father; in 1 Peter, He is the living stone on whom God builds His people.
Peter begins with the conduct that belongs to those who have received new life in Christ. Malice, deceit, insincerity, envy, and slander divide people from one another and weaken the life of faith (v. 1). These things must be put away because God is forming His people into something holy. Christian life is not only belief held in the mind. It is a new way of life shaped by the word of God and the grace He gives.
Peter then uses the image of newborn infants who long for pure spiritual milk (v. 2). This does not mean that believers should remain immature. It means that, like newborn children who need nourishment to live and grow, Christians need the sound teaching and grace that come from God. This nourishment helps them “grow into salvation” (v. 2). Salvation is God’s gift, but Peter also speaks of growth because the Christian life is meant to mature. Faith must be fed, strengthened, and lived.
Peter adds, “for you have tasted that the Lord is good” (v. 3). This recalls Ps. 34:9, “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” To taste the Lord’s goodness is to have begun to know, by faith and grace, that God is faithful, merciful, and life-giving. Peter writes to people who have already received this goodness. Now they must continue to live from it.
The passage then moves from the image of nourishment to the image of a building. Peter says, “Come to him, a living stone” (v. 4). Stone suggests strength, stability, and endurance; Christ is the living stone because He was rejected and put to death, yet He is risen and alive. Human beings rejected Him, but God chose Him and made Him precious. The rejected stone has become the enduring foundation of God’s new people. Jesus Himself used this same stone image when He spoke of the stone rejected by the builders becoming the cornerstone (Mk. 12:10-11; Ps. 118:22).
Those who come to Christ are also called “living stones” (v. 5). Peter is not describing isolated believers. He says they are being built into a spiritual house. This means that God forms His people together in Christ. The Church is not only a gathering of individuals with similar beliefs. She is God’s household, built on Christ and made alive by Him. Paul uses a similar image when he says that believers are “members of the household of God,” built upon the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone (Eph. 2:19-20).
Peter also calls believers “a holy priesthood” who offer “spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (v. 5). This means that all the baptized share in Christ’s priesthood by offering their lives to God through Him. Prayer, works of mercy, family life, daily labor, patient suffering, and faithful witness can become offerings to God when they are joined to Christ. Paul expresses the same idea when he urges Christians to offer their bodies as “a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Rom. 12:1).
Peter then gathers several Old Testament passages around the image of the stone. God says, “Behold, I am laying a stone in Zion, a cornerstone, chosen and precious” (v. 6; Is. 28:16). For those who believe, Christ is precious because He is the sure foundation of life with God (v. 7). Faith does not remove every trial, but it rests on the one whom God has chosen.
Verses 7 and 8 must be read carefully. Peter says that for those without faith, “the stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and also “a stone that will make people stumble, and a rock that will make them fall” (vv. 7-8; Ps. 118:22; Is. 8:14). This does not mean that Christ is vindictive or that He desires anyone’s ruin. It means that rejecting the one whom God has made the cornerstone places a person against the truth that leads to life. Peter explains the cause directly: “They stumble by disobeying the word” (v. 8).
Stumbling, in Scripture, is not always the same as final rejection. Peter himself stumbled when he denied Jesus, yet he wept, turned back, and was restored by the risen Lord (Lk. 22:61-62; Jn. 21:15-19). Thomas struggled to understand the way Jesus was going, and later struggled to believe the Resurrection, yet he came to confess, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 14:5; 20:28). Peter’s warning concerns persistent refusal of Christ and disobedience to the word. The Lord who restores the repentant remains the same Lord whom we must not reject.
Peter then tells believers who they have become in Christ. They are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own” (v. 9). These titles echo God’s words to Israel at Sinai, where He called His people to be “a kingdom of priests, a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). Peter now applies this language to those gathered in Christ. God is forming one people, drawn from every nation, to belong to Him.
This dignity also carries a mission. God’s people are called to “announce the praises” of Him who brought them “out of darkness into his wonderful light” (v. 9). This does not mean only public preaching. It includes the witness of a life changed by God. Jesus taught His disciples to let their light shine so that others may see their good deeds and be led to the Father (Mt. 5:16). Peter’s point is similar. God’s people are to make His goodness visible by the example of their lives.
The final verse brings the whole passage to mercy. “Once you were ‘no people’ but now you are God’s people; you ‘had not received mercy’ but now you have received mercy” (v. 10). This echoes the prophet Hosea, where God promises mercy and restoration after unfaithfulness (Hos. 2:25). Peter applies that promise to the people now gathered in Christ. Their identity is not based on former status, origin, birthright, or achievement. They are God’s people because God has shown them mercy.
Lord Jesus Christ, living stone and cornerstone of God’s people, keep us close to You. Nourish our faith, cleanse what weakens our love, and build us into a people who live in Your light and witness to the mercy of the Father. Amen.
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Sources and References
- The New American Bible, Revised Edition. Washington, DC: Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, 2011.
- NABRE notes on 1 Pet. 2:1-10.
- Hahn, Scott, and Curtis Mitch. The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: New Testament. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2010, 452-453.
- Casciaro, José María, gen. ed. The Navarre Bible: New Testament, Expanded Edition. Dublin: Four Courts Press; New York: Scepter Publishers, 2008, 914-915.
- Brown, Raymond E., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, and Roland E. Murphy, eds. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1990, 905, §§10-12.
- Aguilar Chiu, José Enrique, et al., eds. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. New York: Paulist Press, 2018, 1538-1539.
- Collins, John J., Gina Hens-Piazza, Barbara Reid OP, and Donald Senior CP, eds. The Jerome Biblical Commentary for the Twenty-First Century. Third Fully Revised Edition. London: T&T Clark, 2022, 1814-1815.
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