Living Stones

The Fifth Sunday of Easter
May 3, 2026
1 Peter 2:2-10

“Living Stones”

David Livingstone (1813-1873) may be a name that is no longer remembered by many, but as “a medical doctor, missionary, preacher, African explorer, humanitarian, and fighter against the slave trade, David Livingstone went fearlessly to places other outsiders had never gone and, from the obscurity of the remote African interior, became one of the most celebrated heroes of his era” (David Livingstone - Biography | Christianity.com). The New York Herald newspaper sent an intrepid journalist named Henry Stanley to track down David Livingstone and get his story. “On November 10, l871, Stanley marched into Ujiji [present day Tanzania], and when the famous explorer came out to meet him, Stanley responded with what has become one of history's most famous greetings: ‘Dr. Livingstone, I presume?’” (Ibid.). A personal reflection written by David Livingstone says much: “People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply paid back as a small part of a great debt owing to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter?... It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this be only for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall hereafter be revealed in, and for, us. I never made a sacrifice…” (For All the Saints: A Prayer Book For and By the Church, Vol. III. Delhi, NY: The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, 1995; p. 244). Upon his death in 1873, the remains of Dr. David Livingstone were brought back to England and were interred at Westminster Abbey. This man’s last name was literally who and what he was: a living stone. By faith in our crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ, that is what we are as well, as we hear in today’s Epistle lesson (1 Peter 2:2-10): “You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). Based on the Epistle lesson, the message for today is entitled “Living Stones.” May the Lord’s rich and abundant blessings rest upon the preaching, the hearing, and the living of his Word for Jesus’ sake.

The apostle Peter’s words here were originally written to newly baptized believers sometime in the early to mid-60s of the first century. Peter was giving instruction to them on how to live as God’s beloved sons and daughters. These new believers were already experiencing suffering and persecution because of their faith in Jesus. They were becoming discouraged and disheartened about this, and so Peter writes to them, reminding them who they are and Whose they are. They are living stones being built into a spiritual house, a holy temple, built on the One who is the chief cornerstone. Peter encourages them to stand firm in faith despite what they are going through, looking to Jesus who endured suffering and persecution just as they themselves were enduring. Peter is sometimes called the “apostle of hope” because of the hope-filled message that he brought to first-century believers as well as twenty-first century believers like us today. In many respects, the age in which we live now mirrors the age of the early church. It was then, and it is now, a time when the church and the message of the Gospel were viewed with great suspicion by the general population. If there was not out-and-out hostility, there most certainly was great indifference to the message of the Gospel. Then as now, people were largely distracted, self-focused, looking for identity, purpose and meaning in things that do not last. In the midst of this, Peter calls upon the people of Christ to stand strong in hope and remain steadfast in faith, trusting that despite what present circumstances may look like, the future is in the hands of the Lord who will make good on his promise to deliver his people and bestow on them the riches of an inheritance that is kept in heaven for them. That promise is the same promise that we hold fast to in our own lives today.

Today it is our joy to celebrate with seven young people as they reaffirm their Baptismal vows in the Rite of Confirmation. Sitting in the front pew this morning, they are a little nervous, as we all were when we ourselves were confirmed in the faith. Confirmation does not equal graduation, as I often say to Confirmands and parents. There’s so much learning and growing in faith that still needs to happen. This is not an overnight process, but occurs over the course of a lifetime. We can capture that image of being living stones who are built upon the chief cornerstone, Jesus, just by looking at the brick wall behind me here. These are bricks and not stones, but the image still holds true. Each brick, each stone, rests upon other bricks or stones. That creates stability and strength. If a brick or stone is cracked, or deteriorated, or missing altogether, that’s a problem. All of the other bricks or stones will be impacted. Confirmands, you are one of these bricks. We all are. You are needed, as we all are, in this spiritual house that is built on the chief cornerstone. We need one another for stability and strength to build up the Body of Christ. Your presence, your gifts and talents, your participation and involvement, are all needed. This side of heaven, we are never “there” in terms of our faith growth and development. We are to continue to grow in that saving faith which was first given to us in the cleansing waters of holy Baptism. In the days to come, it will be very easy to fall away from the faith. There will be all kinds of pressure on you to do this. Because you are a living stone, built on that cornerstone chosen and precious, which is our risen Savior Jesus Christ, hold fast to what you have been given. Hold onto this gift of faith like the precious treasure that it is.

All of this comes from our risen Savior Jesus Christ, who died for us that we might live for him. He shed his blood to pay the price for our sins, and as we heard in today’s Gospel lesson, he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:1-14). The world doesn’t like to hear this, just as the people Stephen was preaching to in today’s First Reading didn’t want to hear it (Acts 6:1-9, 7:2a, 51-60). There are many who will say that Jesus isn’t the only way to heaven. You have probably heard people say something like this. How do we respond? What do we say? As living stones built on Christ the chief cornerstone, this becomes an opportunity for us to bear witness to our faith. In the next chapter of 1 Peter that follows today’s Epistle reading, Peter has this to say: “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). That’s our calling: to make that defense, that statement of faith, but doing it in such a way that it is grace-filled. That can be a tall order, and we may feel like we’re not up for it. But this is the very thing that the Holy Spirit will help us do. The Spirit is more than able to supply what is needed; putting the right words into our mind and mouth (Mark 13:11).

Your last name might not be Livingstone, like Dr. David Livingstone mentioned at the start of this sermon. But by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, we are living stones who “are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5), so that “you may declare the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9b). Amen.