6th Sunday of Easter
May 17, 2020
1 Peter 2:2-10; Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
One of the things that has shown up
in the front garden of the parsonage is a rock garden. My children like to pick
up rocks at random places and I find them in their pockets, in their car seats,
on the kitchen counter. I had to do something with these stones, so I’m the one
who created the rock garden and that’s where all the rocks go. If either of my
children has ever come with me on a visit to your house, there is a good chance
that a rock from your yard is now in our rock garden. It’s become a regular
practice on our walks and bike rides; somewhere along the way, they have to
stop and look at the stones on the side of the road and figure out a way to
take one (or more) home. I’m not quite sure what the appeal is, other than
something they can look for and find and bring home.
Stones are our theme for this morning. In 1 Peter we read that we are
to be “like living stones,” which is to say like Jesus, who 1 Peter also calls
a living stone. Verses 4 and 5 invite us to “Come to him, the living stone, rejected
by humans yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let
yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, offering
spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” So, what does it
mean to be a living stone? Living things are usually defined by their abilities
to grow, move, breathe, reproduce, and adapt to their environment. Stones don’t
typically meet all of those requirements, and yet we are encouraged to be
living stones, like Jesus. So, let’s examine a few different types of stones.
One of the lectionary passages that we didn’t read this morning is from
Acts 7, the story of the first Christian martyr. Stephen was one of the seven
chosen by the disciples to oversee the daily distribution of food to the
widows. Stephen is described in Acts 6 as being full of faith and the Holy
Spirit, full of God’s grace and power, and someone who performed great wonders
and signs among the people. Scripture says that opposition arose from certain
parts of the Jewish people and they argued with Stephen. However, these folks
could not stand up to the wisdom that the Holy Spirit gave Stephen when he
spoke. So, similar to Jesus, they got Stephen arrested on charges of blasphemy
and the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, condemned him to death, death by
stoning.
Stones can be used to harm, even to kill. It may be a stone that causes
someone to stumble and fall. It may be an unmoving stone that blocks your path
and will not budge. Stones can be used as obstacles. Stones can be used to
destroy. Stones can be used in very hurtful ways. There is a story in John 8
where the Pharisees and teachers of the law bring to Jesus a woman who was
caught in adultery. They’re trying to trick Jesus, because the old law from
Moses said that a woman caught in adultery should be stoned. Jesus replies,
“Let the one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
One by one, the crowd puts down their stones and leaves until only Jesus and
the woman are left. Sometimes we are quick to throw stones. We are quick to
judge and quick to condemn. It’s ironic because we serve a God who is described
throughout the Hebrew Scripture as being slow
to anger and abounding in love and
compassion. Let us not throw stones
at each other but respond with love and compassion.
A second kind of stone is that which is used for refuge. “Rock of ages,
cleft for me. Let me hide myself in thee.” There are stones that provide
shelter. In this case, I’m reminded of when Elijah fled for 40 days to a cave
on Mount Horeb in 1 Kings 19. He is grieving the loss of his fellow prophets.
His own life has been threatened. He needs shelter, a safe place to be, to rest
and recoup. He’s been through a lot. We can relate to that. We are grieving the
loss of how life used to be. I’ve been doing a lot more refuge-type activities:
reading, doing a puzzle, coloring, playing with my children. After Elijah gets
some rest, God asks him, “Whatcha doing here, Elijah? You know, a month’s
journey from where you’re supposed to be ministering, despairing for your life,
and after I just proved myself dramatically against the false prophets of Baal.
Why are you worried about Jezebel’s threat?” Elijah tells God “I’ve been very
zealous and passionate for your cause, God, and they killed all your other
prophets. I’m the only one left and now
they’re coming after me, too. I’m worn out and at the end of my rope. I don’t
have anything left.”
God responds by telling Elijah to go stand on the mountain, one the
edge of the rock, because God is about to pass by. First Elijah feels the gust
of a strong wind, strong enough to knock him off his feet, but God’s not in the
wind. Then Elijah feels the ground shake underneath him in an earthquake, but
God’s not in the earthquake. Then Elijah feels the heat of a fire, but God’s
not in the fire. And then there’s a very quiet sound, a still, small voice, a
gentle and quiet whisper; one translation says it’s the sound of sheer silence.
When Elijah hears it, he covers his face and goes out to stand before God.
Again, God asks him, “Why are you here, Elijah?” and you can hear the tender
gentleness in God’s voice. And again Elijah says, “I’ve been very passionately
serving you, God. They killed all your other prophets. I’m the only one left,
and now they’re trying to kill me, too,” and you can hear the grieving and
despair in Elijah’s voice. He’s been trying so hard to keep it all together.
That’s why he needed to come to this rock for refuge. It’s not sustainable to
keep it all together, by yourself. You won’t last long. You may have learned
that at some point during these 9 weeks apart. You can’t do it by yourself. You
need a place of refuge. You need rest. After Elijah gets that rest, God sends
him back, but not by himself. This is when Elijah starts mentoring Elisha. You
are not in this work by yourself. You are not alone. Take refuge and comfort in
the rock of ages, a rock that doesn’t go anywhere and is not an obstacle but a
place of shelter. Tell God what all’s going on. Lament, wail, grieve, let it
all out. Life is irrevocably changed and the future isn’t going to look like
the past. Our psalm this morning asks God to “Be a rock of refuge for me, a
strong fortress to save me. You are indeed my rock and my fortress; for your
name’s sake lead me and guide me, take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.” “Rock of ages, cleft for me.”
Last, let’s talk about rocks that you build on. I officiated at a
wedding outside on our church grounds a couple weeks ago and the Scripture the
couple chose was from Matthew 7, a parable that Jesus tells about wise and
foolish builders. The wise builder built his house on rock so that when the
storms came, the house stood firm. It didn’t fall because its foundation was
rock. The foolish builder built his house on sand and when the storms came, the
house crashed down. Storms of life are going to come. They’re usually not quite
the category-5 hurricane that COVID-19 is, yet we know that storms come in
different sizes and shapes. Some of them are life-threatening. Some of them are life-changing. I’ve shared with you
how almost everything in my life was impacted when I was first diagnosed with
rheumatoid arthritis. My faith was one of the constants, because it’s built on
rock. “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all
other ground is sinking sand.”
When you build on that rock, there is what’s called the cornerstone, or
in Pennsylvania, the keystone. When you are building, it is the first stone
that is set in the foundation. It is laid on purpose, with intention, and it
doesn’t move. It stays put, not to be an obstacle, but to be the foundation. 1
Peter talked about cornerstones by quoting from the Hebrew Scripture. From
Isaiah 28:16, “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” Jesus is this
cornerstone, precious and chosen. Whoever believes in him will not be put to
shame, but will inherit eternal life. Then from Psalm 118:22, “The stone the
builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.” Jesus was rejected by the
chief priests and authorities of his time, yet he is the chief cornerstone of
our faith. When he is the foundation of your life, then when the storms of life
come, and we know they will come, you will not be swept away. You will be able
to hold firm.
With Jesus as the cornerstone, then we can be living stones. Then we
can rise up, our theme this Easter season. With Jesus as our foundation, a sure
and steady rock that will not break or sway, with our life tethered to that rock, then we can survive anything.
And, not only survive, but live life to the full, “called out of darkness and
into God’s wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:10). That’s what it means to be living
stones. We aren’t big, blocky, dead stones. We’re rolling stones. Even during
this time apart, we’re still rolling stones: writing cards, calling neighbors,
helping those in need, coming together for worship and prayer. We’re still
God’s people, “being built into a spiritual house” and “offering spiritual
sacrifices” (1 Peter 2:5). We’re still
rising up!
On Easter, I quoted from Lauren Daigle’s song, “Still Rolling Stones”
and it’s still the best example I can think of of what it means to be living
stones. She recorded it again with her band while social distancing and this
new version premiered on Easter.
The link will be in the email, if you want to watch it and listen all the way
through. It begins, “Out of the shadows/ Bound for the gallows/ A dead man
walking/ Till love came calling/ Rise up/ Rise up. Six feet under/ I thought it
was over/ An answer to prayer/ The voice of a Savior/ Rise up/ Rise up. All at
once I came alive/ This beating heart, these open eyes/ The grave let go/ The
darkness should have known/ You're still rolling stones/ You're still rolling
stones.” Thanks be to God that we are rolling, living, stones!
