Breaking Open the Word (Youth) - 5th Sunday of Easter
“Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.”
1 Peter 2:5
» Readings: https://universalis.com/asia.singapore/20260503/mass.htmWhat’s happening
The early Church in Acts is already running into problems. People are being overlooked. Others start complaining. There are tensions between groups who don’t quite see things the same way.
It doesn’t feel very holy, but it does feel… familiar.
It sounds like any group you’ve been part of long enough. A class project where not everyone pulls their weight. A friend group where someone gets left out. A ministry where things don’t run the way you hoped.
And yet, they don’t walk away. They deal with it. They make changes. They involve more people. Somehow, the community grows through it, not around it.
Then we get this line from First Epistle of Peter:
“Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.”
Not perfect stones. Living ones. Which means there will be some friction, some adjustment.
At the same time, in the Gospel of John, the disciples are unsettled. They don’t know where this is going. And Jesus doesn’t give them a step-by-step plan. He gives them something steadier:
“Do not let your hearts be troubled… I am the way.”
So while everything feels uncertain, He points them back to something steady—Not a system or a plan, but to Himself.
What it means to me
I think most of us have had this moment. Something in church, a CCA or friend group doesn’t sit right. Someone gets hurt. Something feels unfair. Or it just feels tiring and messy.
And this thought comes quite naturally: Maybe it’s just easier to step back.
To show up less and stay on the edge. Don’t get too involved. Because if I don’t get too involved, I don’t get too affected.
But this image of “living stones” doesn’t really allow for that distance.
If you are a stone in a building, you’re in it. You carry some weight. You are connected to others, whether you like it or not. But there’s something deeper here.
It’s not just where you belong—it’s to whom you belong. And that changes how you decide where to stay.
Because if I belong to Christ, then I’m also placed among others who belong to Him. Not because they are perfect, but because He is at work in them too.
And maybe staying is not about everything being right.
Maybe staying is about trusting that God is still building something here, even when, right now, it doesn’t look like much.
Today
So when things feel messy, and they will, it might be worth pausing before stepping away.
Not to ignore what’s wrong. The early Church didn’t do that. They addressed real issues. They made changes and involved others.
But they also chose to remain.
Staying doesn’t mean ignoring what’s wrong. It means trusting that Jesus is still here - “I am the way” - even when things feel messy, and choosing not to walk away.
Maybe the question for today is not, “Is this place good enough for me?”
But,
“Is God still at work here—and what is my part in it?”
That part may not be big. It might be choosing not to give up on a group too quickly. Or speaking up when something isn’t right, instead of just withdrawing. Or simply staying present, even when it’s uncomfortable.
Because in the end, a building doesn’t come together because every stone is perfect.
It comes together because the stones stay.
Prayer
You know how easy it is for me to step back when things feel messy or difficult.
Help me not to run too quickly.
Give me the patience to stay, and the wisdom to know how to respond.
When I feel uncertain, remind me that You are still at work.
Teach me what it means to belong to You,
and to remain where You have placed me.
Amen.
