NOTES for Pe1 2:9

By calling Christians " royal priesthood " and "peculiar people", the apostle reminds thereby the main task of the Church, which, as seen, consists first of all, to testify of the reality of the Kingdom, which already entered into our world, transforming it.

Certainly "the praises of him who hath called you" is related to Christ, otherwise it is impossible to understand this expression. But indeed, the testimony about Christ, if it is true, will inevitably involve first of all the testimony of the Kingdom, that He brought into the world. Properly, we could testify to the world nothing else as Christians. Certainly, one will for sure find in each of us something connected to our own tradition, culture and religion.

But the testimony of our tradition will no more be our testimony as Christians. It is maybe our testimony as orthodoxes, Catholics, Protestants or again representatives of some multitude of religions, the grown Christianity. However such a testimony has no direct relation with the Christ and the Kingdom, in the best case it { the testimony} may be only our historical and cultural interpretation of Christianity.

But indeed, Jesus proposes us no interpretation, He proposes to us Himself and His Kingdom, that He brought into the world. And if we are really according to the words of the apostle "a chosen generation", that is having relationship with this Kingdom, then only the Christ and the Kingdom can and have to be the sense of our testimony. Otherwise, we shall stop very fast being the ones whose the apostle calls us to be.