Welcome Home: Where you are free to be yourself

1 Peter 2:9-12 ⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰At one time you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. At one time you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy.

¹¹Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul. ¹²Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.

You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. (Ephesians 2:19). Amen.

Keara O'Neill went shopping for a dress she could wear to an upcoming wedding. When she hesitated in buying an outfit, the salesperson insulted her size-eight figure and said she and her friends "were a joke."

O'Neill wrote a letter of complaint to the folks at Gasp, a chain of boutiques in Australia.

It was O'Neill's expectation that the salesperson would be disciplined for his insult or, at the very least, would be taught how a salesperson should wait on a customer.

If that is what O'Neill expected, she was disappointed – disappointed in a big way.

First, O'Neill was told her salesperson was “too good at what he does. ... people who are talented, generally do not tolerate having their time wasted, which is the reason you were provoked to leave the store.”

It got worse. Another representative from Gasp told O'Neill, “We respect that not all consumers strive for a glamorous appearance; some prefer to simply blend in.”

With that kind of attitude, I guess I’m never going to go shopping at a Gasp store. That’s partly because there are no Gasp stores around here, but mostly because I don't need any more people throwing insults my way.

When I heard of how O’Neill had been treated, I couldn’t help but think of the contrast between that and the way we are welcomed by our loving Lord. Jesus invites us into his home where we are free to be ourselves.

We must admit that we are not glamorous. We are obese with indulging our sinful nature. Grotesque with our gossip. Devious with our deceit. And stinky with our rotting, unforgiven sin.

We are rude. Lustful. Hateful. Thoughtless. Selfish. Egotistical. Judgmental.

We strive for a godly appearance. But God knows that its all a fake. Jesus has every right not to let us into his home.

Yet, St. Peter invites us into Jesus’ home anyway! He says to come as you are. Jesus will make us different. I always remind people: Jesus loves you just the way you are. But he also loves you too much to let you stay that way. Jesus loves the sinner. He doesn’t not love the sin. He wants to replace your sin with righteousness, curb your sinful nature with sanctification, change your status from a derelict to royalty, and call you out of the darkness to live as children of the light.

St. Peter proclaims that we are different. Whether we are pastors or people in the pews, Christ has made us different than what we once were. We should never be ashamed to share and show what we once were and what Jesus has made us to be.

Peter proclaims the majestic new identity we enjoy as reborn Christians: “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, the people who are God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. At one time you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. At one time you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy.”

You are a “chosen people.” God so loved not only the world, but he so loved you personally, individually, specifically. Despite your sin; despite your running away from him; despite your horrible background; God chose you. You did not choose him. The Old Testament Israelites didn’t do anything to be chosen out of all the peoples of the world. God chose them to be his chosen people. Nor is there anything special in you that made God love you.

If you’ve ever adopted a rescue animal, you never know exactly what you’re going to get when you bring the animal home. God knew exactly what he was getting with you when he brought you home as a stray. He still chose you!

You are chosen to be a “royal priesthood.” You are royalty in Christ’s kingdom. You are priests in his priesthood. Your vocation is to gather your family around Word and Sacrament. You lead them to church for worship. As priests, you have full and free access to communicate with God, to pray directly through him. You are commissioned to a lifelong special ministry of worship in church, that is coupled with worship in the home.

You are chosen to be a holy nation. You are part of God’s nation. The United States isn’t God’s nation. It’s just another nation among the many nations in God’s creation. What makes this nation so special is that it is holy. It is righteous. It is washed clean of sins in the blood of Jesus Christ, this holy nation’s supreme ruler. As God’s nation, you are set apart to do God’s will.

You are chosen as God’s own possession. When we don’t know who we are, we tend to ball ourselves up into the fetal position. We have no sense of meaning, purpose or place. We simply exist and let circumstances define us. But God tells us exactly who we are! We belong to him. He formed us in our mother’s womb. After the devil had stolen us, Jesus bought us back through his innocent suffering and death. Each time we sin and try to crawl back to the devil, the Holy Spirit calls us and claims us once again for his holy family. We belong to God.

You were called out of darkness into his marvelous light. We know the secular world is falling apart with its lack of morals. The Super Bowl halftime show is a good example. The Babylon Bee reported that the risk of a wardrobe malfunction was greatly reduced this year by eliminating most of the wardrobe. As Christian parents, Christian Americans, and members of the Christian Church, we shine the light of our faith into our darkening culture and we season our speech with salt. We share God’s truths whether people society likes it or not. We are part of a Christian counterculture.

We know this world is filled with darkness. The Lord knows it, too. To dispel the darkness, God sent his Son to be the light to the world. Jesus called us out of the darkness of sin and unbelief to live in the marvelous light of his salvation. Now the Lord calls his redeemed people to reflect Jesus’ blood-bought light. We shine by spreading the Good News of Jesus with our words and with our lives.

Peter encourages us: “Live an honorable life among the Gentiles so that even though they slander you as evildoers, when they observe your noble deeds, they may glorify God on the day he visits us.” As you live an outwardly Christian life, unbelievers will notice. Even though an unbelieving society will try to pressure you into conformity, they are watching how you act. They may not understand your beliefs, but there is no mistaking your love for Christ, your dedication to your family, your sacrifice for your church, your honesty, hard work, and respect for life – for the unborn in the womb to the elderly in the nursing home. God willing, they will notice your godly and moral life. They may then be led to ask you why you live and act the way you do. Then the Holy Spirit can work through your gospel words, so that your unbelieving neighbors or family members may be chosen and changed, as well. You live like this “so that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Because you are chosen to live a different kind of life from the unbelievers, Peter urges you: “As aliens and temporary residents in the world, to abstain from the desires of the sinful flesh, which war against your soul.” You are to see yourself as a stranger in this world. Heaven is your home. You are just passing through. Remember, Satan owns your short-term gratification. Everything that slimy son of hell has to offer is for now. Rage, hatred, lust, hunger, possessions – all want to be gratified now. Satan doesn’t want you to think about the future. But long-term thinkers ponder the consequences of present actions. You aren’t living for this world. You are living for the world to come. The world Christ chose for you, claimed for you, won for you.

Jesus welcomes you home into his church where you are free to be yourself.

Come to worship in your work clothes because you haven’t gone to sleep yet. Jesus loves your dedication!

Come to worship in your torn jeans and tennis shoes because these may be your most expensive clothes. Jesus appreciates the honor you give him.

Come to church with your noisy children because they only way they will hear God’s Word on Sunday morning is here in Jesus’ home. Jesus adores a lively congregation.

Come to church with your anger issues, your hidden adultery, your loose tongue, your addictive behavior and your closet full of skeletons. Jesus wants to take them all away from you. Come as the sinner you are. Leave church as the saint Christ has made you to be.

Christ is not looking for perfection or holiness or light or mercy. Which is good … because he’s not going to find any of that in any of us. Instead, Christ loves the unlovable. He forgives the unforgivable. God pursues horrible sinners into their messes and leads them out the other side. He finds those filthy in their sins and broken by their guilt. He washes them clean in his baptismal waters. He makes them whole again with his forgiveness. He seeks out the hungry and depressed. He feeds us with his Word and encourages us with his Holy Supper.

Look at the kind of people Jesus welcomes into his home. He calls doubters, deniers, and persecutors into his public ministry. Doubting Thomas, Denying Peter, and Persecuting Saul. He chooses liars, thieves, adulterers, and murderers to fill up his Church. People like Jacob, Rahab, Zacchaeus, Abraham and David. The kind of people that we might be tempted to weed out of our churches, is exactly the kind of people that Christ chooses to fill up his churches … and put into his pulpits!

God doesn’t choose people because they are wealthy or healthy or righteous or wise. God chooses the broken, the weak, the downtrodden, the depressed and helpless. It’s OK to be weak. It’s OK to be broken. You don’t have to fix yourself so you’re good enough for God. Christ loves you in your brokenness. He shines his light through the cracks in your soul. His rough and bloody cross heals you, cleanses you, makes you better than OK.

This is the story of our family – where God is your Father and Jesus is your brother and you are free to be yourself. That doesn’t mean you are free to do whatever you want or live in any way you please. You know that’s the lie of your deceitful heart talking. “Free to be yourself” means two things. You don’t have to be afraid to admit you’re a sinner. You don’t have to pretend you’re good, because you and God and everyone else knows you’re not. God wants you back! Here in God’s family, you are free to admit, “I’m a big sinner with real sins.” Here in God’s family you have loving Father and a big Savior, not for imaginary, pretend sins, but for real sins!

“Free to be yourself” means something else: “At one time you were not a people, but now you are the people of God. At one time you were not shown mercy, but now you have been shown mercy.” God chose you to be his people. He chose to show mercy to you. It is his choice and through his mercy that he fills our church and pulpit with all kinds of cowards, jerks, deadbeats, and all sorts of riffraff.

But look at what he has made us to be! A chosen people! Royal priests! God’s possessions! Salt! Light! Strangers in this world! Chosen out of the darkness to proclaim his praises in the light! Come as you are. Stay as Christ has made you to be! Welcome home! Amen.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all the saints. (Revelation 22:21). Amen.