1 Peter 2:1-10
(v.9) But you are “holy”…
The adjectives used in verse 2: 9 to qualify God’s people are ‘chosen,’ ‘royal,’ and ‘holy’(2:9).These words denote a kind of discontinuity from the so-called normalcy. In a way, discontinuity is a signature mark of authentic Christian discipleship. However, this discontinuity doesn’t mean a complete otherworldly/exclusive/ gated-living, rather an utterly involved disposition. The word 'Holy' is usually understood as 'pious,' 'serene,' 'complete,' 'untouchable' beyond or above the everyday. But the sages taught that holiness is available to us in every moment, in every place. Holiness is not a state to be reached; it is an ongoing act of creativity. In Hebrew, the opposite of holy is Chol, which is translated not as profane but as empty; in other words, not yet filled. The word for holy in Hebrew is Kedusha. Rabbi Irwin Kula gives a more accurate translation of Kedusha as “life intensity.” To be holy is to be intensely dy-namic, getting dirt-ier by involving, ever-changing, and ever-realizing. The Biblical command ‘you shall be holy’ is an invitation to celebrate what the philosopher Mark Taylor calls, ‘a maze of grace in this world.’ Live as richly and passionately as possible; that is as close to the meaning as you will get.
At the last supper (John 17:17), Jesus said to his disciples that he is just about to sanctify himself; and about to ‘make himself holy.’ What that means is that Jesus is making himself holy by stepping forward towards his death, towards the cross. Holiness in the New Testament is a matter of Jesus going right into the middle of the mess and the suffering of human nature. For him, being holy is being absolutely involved, not being absolutely separated. There are no useful self-help books on being holy! Becoming holy is being so taken over by the extraordinary call of God to involve in the life around. Arch Bishop Rowan Williams says that, "If you want to be holy, stop thinking about it. If you want to be holy, look at God. If you want to be holy, enter into God's world as much as you can in love and service. And who knows, maybe one day someone will say of you, ' You know, when I met them, the landscape looked different."
Prayer: Dear Lord, teach us how to become holy by incarnating into the life around us!
