What
does it mean to be a living stone?
(Living
hope ? through Christ’s resurrection. Not in the future but now).
Sermon preached on 5th Sunday of Easter by Rev. Brenda Faust.
It seems to me "living stones" are the believers, with Jesus as the cornerstone. It's kind of a construction metaphor -- along the same lines as the church being the Body of Christ, with Christ as its head.
1 Peter 2:5: like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house. I like the passiveness of this verse...let yourselves be built. FORMED,SHAPED, PLACED.
I think there's an emphasis here on placement. As a builder places the stones where he wants them, so we are open to being used by God, for God.
We may be passive, but God certainly is not, and we are not left as we were. Knowing that it's my obedience (openness, willingness to change) to God and not my actions or my will that moves me toward maturity is kind of refreshing. Not having to have it all figured out, depending on God, is rather liberating. The world teaches us to be independent, self-sufficient. Yet we know we need community, to be in relationship ? to be healthy, to grow toward the light of Christ.
This calls to mind a sermon of the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, which he preached a few years ago at a confirmation service in Bahrain. He pointed out that the stones used in building aren't simply picked up off the ground and stuck in somewhere -- they are quarried, shaped and made to fit as the builder wants them. So the "living stones" metaphor is analogous to the potter-and-clay metaphor used in Jeremiah's prophecy, and the pruning-branches metaphor used by Jesus. In all three, the builder/potter/vinedresser moulds, hacks, trims, and shapes the object (us) to his purposes.
1. This is not something we have to do to become, but it's something, by virtue of our faith, and by Christ in us, that we ARE. What are the implications of THAT?
2. What makes stones useful for a particular purpose? How would a stonemason render them useful for a particular purpose, for example these fake stones used in the cantata "Celebrate Life"? Connect that with God at work in our lives: god uses events as substance of moulding. of our lives, especially considering both the national and world-wide tragic events of the past year,: September 11th, and fighting in the middle-east, as well as a significant event or two in the life of our congregation: Dave Elliot’s death, the Choir's presentation of Celebrate Life, and the Pastoral Oversight Visit. (love you more dearly ? a journey of the heart)
Living Stones: I'm reminded of the saying about the problem with living sacrifices is they keep jumping off the altar. Perhaps living stones keep moving out of place...hindering the construction of the spiritual house.
"We are the church"- we're each stones, professing faith in our cornerstone saviour. But we won't go anywhere without a relationship with him. This seems to point to the wisdom that before ANY church growth/evangelism/outreach can be "successful" - we must first tend to our own discipleship.
1 Peter 2:4: Christ is first described as a living stone..."Come to him, a living stone"; are we called to be living stones as well?
Our
identity is to be found in him.
JESUS THE STUMBLING STONE
... Even for those who have heard about Jesus, and have grown up in the Christian religion, he can be a great stumbling stone. There are many reasons to reject Jesus... that fact that he was a man is hard for some men who are driven to compete, and hard for some women who have trouble with men, for whatever reason. The fact that he was a particular person who lived at a particular time (long ago) is hard for many people, especially young people. Some people may reject Jesus because of the kind of life he calls us to lead, a life of honesty and giving. Besides that, it's hard to make someone else the cornerstone of our building, or even to admit that our one stone is not a building sufficient unto itself. And even if we're willing to be part of a larger building, we may want to be the cornerstone ourselves, not allowing someone else this role. In a way, we want to stay in the infant state, centred on our own needs and demanding nurture from others. It's only when we grow up to maturity that we can be part of a whole, and give to others.
But I think the major reason people stumble over Jesus is the fact that he himself was rejected. People want so much to be accepted by others. But will they like us if we embrace someone who was/is rejected? Can we choose a way that others have rejected, that is not considered "successful" in the eyes of the world? Will Jesus be to us a stone of stumbling, or precious in our sight?
We are Under Construction!
There seems to be an active sense in this phrase, since it is an exhortation that meets all of us wherever we may be in our growth in Christ and community. We are undergoing a church building renovation -how important to be built continually into a spiritual house.
A church I once attended built a new sanctuary. I watched them laying boards and string in order to be certain their concrete lines were straight. I also watched my husband once lay a new tile floor for us, making very certain to lay straight edges. I read somewhere that the corner stone has the same effect. The other stones are to be in line with the corner stone, so that the building is sturdy and dependable. If we are out of line with Christ, then our "building " will fall down.
1 Peter 2:2: Like new-born infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Come to him a living stone, (living hope), though rejected by mortal syet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house (home).
Amen