Tasting God's goodness and embracing His Grace
May 30, 2024 - Thursday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
1 Peter 2:2-5, 9-12
The fragment of the letter from Peter emphasizes our spiritual growth and exemplary lifestyle among unbelievers. However, there are two things that I would like to highlight in today's text. The first is Peter's quote from Psalm 34: "Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). In Hebrew poetry, words are often paired to grab our attention. We understand the concept of tasting and seeing something, but what does it mean to taste and see the Lord's kindness?
Peter, in his quote, focuses on the verb "taste" to suggest that we have already experienced the Lord's kindness. The sensory imagery of this verb brings to mind the moment of receiving Holy Communion. This experience is particularly significant for churches that believe in the living presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It also attracts many followers from different Protestant denominations to the Catholic Church as they seek to "taste" the goodness of the Lord in the Eucharist.
It is also noteworthy that the adjective "good" is closely connected to the noun "Christ." No one can deny that Jesus Christ embodied the goodness of the Lord throughout His ministry and continues to do so after His glorious resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father. Peter describes Christ as "a living stone," "chosen and precious in the sight of God" (1 Peter 2:4), and he applies the same descriptions to us, the followers of Christ. The metaphor of "stones" evokes images of magnificent European cathedrals, but the Church is even more magnificent as we are "living stones" being built into a spiritual cathedral.
The discussion above leads to the second point that I want to highlight, namely a quote from the book of Exodus. When the people stood before the Lord at the foot of Mount Sinai, the Lord promised them that if they obeyed His commandments, they would become His "treasured possession among all peoples," a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation (Exodus 19:5-6). Peter applies this passage to the Gentile followers of Christ and removes its conditional aspect: "You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession" (1 Peter 2:9).
The grace of election, once limited to the Jewish people, is now extended to all nations through Jesus Christ. It is essential to recognize the magnitude of this grace. Peter, a Jew, addresses Gentile Christians, reminding them that they were once "not a people" and "had not received mercy" (see 1 Peter 2:10). Becoming a believer is a tremendous grace. The past is behind us, and a new life has begun. Like Abraham and his descendants before us, we have been chosen to be God's treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. Like them, we have received God's mercy.