Royal Priests – Being a Pilgrim

“But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all! Everyone who sees me mocks me. They sneer and shake their heads, saying, “Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!””
Psalm 22:6-8 NLT

There are two perspectives for this Psalm and these verses before us today. The whole Psalm seem to be a prophesy about the execution of someone and the only Biblical event that seems to fit was the crucifixion of Jesus. The graphic details and the parallels with that fateful day on Calvary’s hill are too similar to ignore. Jesus was mocked as He was hanging on the cross, and we read, ““Look at you now!” they yelled at him. “You said you were going to destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days. Well then, if you are the Son of God, save yourself and come down from the cross!”” (Matthew 27:40). But of course the Lord Himself was hanging there, and, although He had the power to do so, He continued to suffer and ultimately die, because that was His mission to Planet Earth. John 12:27 records, ““Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came!”. It is incomprehensible to us human beings that, knowing what was to come, that Someone, God Himself but for a time a Man like ourselves, would willingly die in the way that He did, to bring about the salvation of everyone ever since who believed in Him. In John 15:13, Jesus said, “There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends“. ‭‭Paul wrote, “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners”. (Romans 5:6-8). David could see an event in the future, an event revealed to him by the Holy Spirit, of an execution taking place, and he wrote down what he saw. Did he understand what he was writing? Probably not, though he perhaps had a few dim and cloudy thoughts.

The other perspective could have applied to David himself, but there is no record of him experiencing such an event as he describes. But we mustn’t forget about David’s personality. He was a sensitive man prone to negative feelings and he easily found himself depressed and crying out to God when things around were against him and causing him distress. For example, we read in Psalm 13:2, “How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?” The next verse reads, “Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die“. So we have this impression of David being in a difficult place, spiritually and physically, and crying out to God in prayer for relief from his condition and whatever was causing it in the first place. So, from this understanding of David, we can see how he would have easily lapsed into a form of self-pity, imagining what other people think of him, and generating pictures in his mind of scenarios portraying his worst nightmares.

And that brings us to thoughts we have of ourselves. Can we relate to what David wrote in our verses today, or are they incomprehensible to us? How do we view ourselves? Some people I meet seem to be impervious of what others think about them. They are so full of themselves that they are unable to consider that they might be at fault about anything. Criticism of their actions and words seem to pass them by and they shrug them off, apparently without another thought. Other people are mortified if they think someone else disapproves of them or something that they have done, even in the slightest way, and they go red with embarrassment and try and hide somewhere. But there is a sweet spot between these two extremes, and Paul wrote about it Romans 12:3, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you”. In Philippians 2:3-5, we read, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus“. We pilgrims have to find that “sweet spot” which is having a confident but realistic view of ourselves and our capabilities, but also having a sensitive and appropriate response to others.

David considered himself a worm, the lowliest of people, even though he was King of Israel. But we pilgrims are children of God. 1 Peter 2:9-10, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, 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“. And from that position as the “people of God” we praise and worship Him as our Father and Creator, realising that through Jesus we have been snatched from the fires of hell and instead assigned the privilege of being citizens of the Kingdom of God. But that must never bring arrogance and pride. God Himself loves His creation, with a love so vast that He did not hold back from sending His own Son to be a sacrifice for our sins. And we too must “love our neighbours as ourselves”. There is no other way.

Dear Father God. We are Your children, with all the benefits that result. But we are also responsible for showing Your love to those around, loving the unlovely, helping the less fortunate than ourselves, and being Your arms and legs to further Your Kingdom. Please help us we pray. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”
1 Peter 2:9 NLT

Peter started this verse by reminding his readers that they are not like those who have stumbled over the Rock, who is Christ. They are not like those who are disobedient to God’s Word. Instead he reminded them that they are a “chosen people”. We remember the incredible Scripture in Ephesians 1:4, “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes”. God is of course eternal and He looks down on history in a timeless fashion, so He could see all those who would respond to the tugging in their hearts, pulling and calling them to a relationship with Himself. These are they whom He has chosen. And we pilgrims, who have responded to the call, are “chosen people” as well, warmed within with a glow that can only come from the indwelling Holy Spirit.

But Peter continues with the news that this “chosen people” are “royal priests”. A few days ago we considered the verse, “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God” (1 Peter 2:5). But Peter introduces the thought that the priests are “royal”. But when we think about it, we priestly pilgrims are nothing else. As children of the great King we are of course royalty. Princes and princesses. So why do we so often behave as though we are ordinary people, citizens of the secular society in which so many of us live?

Peter goes on to add that we are “royal priests” in a “holy nation”. It gets better and better. Chosen, royal, holy – it all is building a picture of very different people. People who are of a different world. God’s world. His kingdom.

So should we pilgrims be dressing in a purple robe, cut like that of an Anglican priest, so that everyone knows who or what we are? Must we wear a very visible uniform to shown everyone who we belong to? Such garments are ubiquitous in society today, so we recognise nurses, airline cabin crew, police officers and many besides. Surely “Christian” is worthy of the same? This is where it gets a bit daunting, because do we want to be that visible? The uniform we wear reflects on our employer, or, in our case, on God Himself. Are we therefore worthy of being called a “royal priest”? Would our dress and our behaviour be representative of our calling and the Great King Himself?

Jesus warned His followers that they must be very visible as His disciples but there are consequences for those that are not. We read in Matthew 10:32-33, “Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven”. In other words, as “royal priests” we must behave appropriately. Not only must we never be ashamed of our relationship with Jesus, we must also always be prepared to promote Him and our faith as well. That’s what a priest does. I know from my own experience that it can make things difficult in our work places if we publicly declare our faith. If a swear word was uttered in my presence, it was quickly followed by an apology. When I walked into a meeting room there was an awkward silence before the conversation went in a different direction. Thankfully the company in which I worked was large enough to have a Christian fellowship where we could pray and share together. It would otherwise have been a very lonely place.

We “royal priests” have work to do. The society around us look on, searching for ways in which we apparently compromise our faith, so that they can point a finger and accuse us of being no better than anyone else, of just being hypocrites. The world around us expects more from us than even God does. But we, by God’s grace, move onwards and upwards, day by day, always looking for opportunities to share our faith. In 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, Paul wrote, “ … Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume …”. So, fellow pilgrims, we need to be careful of what perfume we use. A Heavenly infusion or one tainted by the world around us?

Dear Father God. As we move on in our faith, step by step, please help us to become more like Your Son, Jesus, so that we can truly spread You and Your presence in our communities, schools and workplaces. In Jesus’ name. Amen.