The Text follows:
What
is a living stone? Is it something worth
desiring to have? [How many of You
remember the Pet rock fad?] How does one
become a living stone? Do you want to be
one?
In
today's second reading, Peter refers to Christ as the "Living Stone"
which has become the cornerstone of the church.
What does he mean by this phrase "a living stone"? After all, a stone by its very nature is an
inanimate object, that is, one that does not have life.
Well
there are a few exceptions. We think of
coral as a stone. It is when we see it
in someone’s home on a shelf or a mantel.
It can be a beautiful rock hard decoration that someone uses to accent
their home. Yet prior to being broken
away from the sea floor, this was a living element of the universe. Extremely slow growing, affected by other elements
in the water which affects color and shape, we know that pollution can even
kill the coral.
In
some of the old construction around St. Croix, the builders used almost
anything they could get their hands on to build walls and stairs. The bricks used for ballast in the holds of
sailing vessels were generally thrown overboard when the ships arrived in
port. For the casks of rum would provide
the ballast for the return trip to Europe.
Builder’s helpers would dive into the harbor and pull up usable items to
build the walls and stairwells in this island community. Along the way they might gather in some of
the coral and discarded bottles from rum that never made it to Europe. So living stones are not necessarily
inanimate objects, and they are not always carefully chosen.
Webster
defines a stone as a rock which is used for a specific purpose, such as a
building block, a paving block, a grindstone or a gravestone. Occasionally in television commercials that
celebrate the longevity of companies or cities, filmmakers will use old film
footage of the construction of trademark buildings in NYC or Philadelphia. These films generally start with scenes of
the foundation stones being quarried. These
stones are cut and lifted into place for use in the building of skyscrapers. Even this week we saw the same evidence of
the bedrock of Manhattan being the foundation of the new World Trade
Center.
If
stone is used for these specific purposes, then we must next ask why it is used
for these purposes. Obviously, a stone
is known for its permanence, its imperviousness to change or to things like the
weather. It is also not easily moved
from one place to another, especially if it is a large stone. Once placed in a specific spot, it will stay
there unless a greater force is exerted upon it. We have witnessed that in the reconstruction
of the stairway into the Upper Darby Township Building at Garrett and Long
Lane.
It
is no wonder that contractors use stone for the walls in foundations. It is built to keep out the soil that has
been carved into for a basement. The
stone keeps out the dirt and the water, and the roots of other intrusive living
things. That’s why the builders of this
church first planted a stone basement on this site at 7240 Walnut. Often times in Philadelphia I have seen
churches that worshipped in there basements before they began to make plans for
finishing the building. Sometimes they
never built the upper structure of the church.
If
and when they finished it they did not build a frame structure to fit on top of
the stone foundation. They wanted
something with permanence. They wanted a
fortress to fight against sin. They
wanted a safe haven for the gathered community of believers. They wanted shelter for those who were lost,
but by the grace of God could be found.
They finished building this church with stone.
Now
what Peter (who himself was named "the Rock" by none other than
Christ) is doing in this second reading is attributing the qualities of a stone
to a living person, Jesus Christ. This
is someone who can sleep through storms that toss a ship and frighten the
entire crew. This is someone who can
speak to stormy waters and calm them down.
This is someone who can do verbal battle with lawyers and judges, and
even the leaders of his church. This is
someone who when confronted with the choice of living and dying, chose death so
that others might live, and live abundantly.
Someone who is "a stone" exhibits the qualities of bravery,
courage and loyalty in the face of danger, but who is also willing to pay the
ultimate price, to lay down their life for others.
In
his definition of the word "live", Webster points out that it can
describe someone who has attained eternal life.
Thus, someone who is said to be "living" has attained eternal
life through Christ, by following the model of self-sacrifice which Christ
provided. Most of us do not come into situations
that call for that kind of sacrificial giving.
2:6 For it stands in scripture: "See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and
whoever believes in him will not be put
to shame."
2:7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not
believe, "The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of
the corner,"
2:8 and "A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them
fall." They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined
to do.
Not
everyone hears on the first reading. We
are fortunate that God knows that our senses continually need to be
tested. God is asking us today and every
day, how are you witnessing to your faith for those who walk by my
planting. Are you continuing to be a
fortress for those seeking safety? I
don’t find it any wonder that that there are significant crowds in our stone building
on any day of the week. People who come to this stone building know that they
need the support of one another. They
need the reinforcement of gathering together in community. They seek personal support in their beginning
a new life in a new country with a new language. They seek support in caring for their
children after school while they are still at work. They seek a save place for their children to
learn and play during a summer of vacation. They seek support in sustaining
life in a time of food insufficiency on a weekly or monthly basis. They need
the spiritual support of the stories of the power of God that has kept others
on a path where they can be a foundation stone and not a tumbling rock.
Our
challenge is to see if we can identify ourselves as stoned Christians, who are
ready to share our space and place of support that is based on the Rock of our
Faith. It is not just for other, for we
too need the support of one another. We
need the reinforcement of gathering together in community. We need the spiritual support of the stories
of the power of God. When we gather to
study scripture, when we gather to teach scripture to others, it is our own
Christian story as a disciple of Jesus that helps us focus on the path set
before us by Jesus and his disciples. It
is our own Christian journey that keeps us on a path where we can be a
foundation stone and not a tumbling rock.
It is our own consecration and dedication to the mission of Christ to go
into the entire world baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit that defines our reason for being here.
2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may
proclaim the mighty acts of him who
called you out of darkness into his marvelous
light.
2:10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you
had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
AMEN
My
thanks to the following colleagues: MARK STAHLHUT, SILVERIUS F. GALVAN
No comments:
Post a Comment