A people set apart...
"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may announce the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were 'no people' but now you are God's people; you had not received mercy but now have received mercy." (1 Peter 2:9–10) This passage from the First Letter of Peter is a climactic affirmation of Christian identity and vocation, echoing and transforming the covenantal language once spoken to Israel at Mount Sinai (cf. Exodus 19:5–6). Addressed to early Christians facing marginalization and persecution, the apostolic exhortation does not retreat into private piety but calls the faithful to recognize and proclaim their divine election. Through baptism and incorporation into Christ, the Church inherits and fulfills Israel's calling, becoming a new people bound not by blood or geography, but by the mercy and calling of God. The designation "chosen race" affirms th...