What does it mean to be a living stone? It's early...just thinking.
NBC Preacher
It seems to me "living stones" is the believers and that 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. A good hymn for this one is "The Church's One Foundation" . . .
dave k. / west ohio
I discovered that the word "stone" is usually tied to an adjective of some sort in the Greek text: "building" stone; "precious" stone (like a jewel); "mill"stone; and "grave"stone. Jesus, the "living" stone is viable and valuable - for the foundation of of the spiritual house (church) into which we are built and on which we build. Dave, Akron
There are two things that come to my mind whenever I read this "living stones" text.
First, this is Peter, "the Rock", telling the rest of us that we are also "rocks."
Second, I recall the words of John the Baptizer to the Pharisees: "Do not presume to say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our ancestor'; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham" (Mat. 3:9, Luke 3:8) and Christ's words to those who would silence the crowds shouting "Hosana" - "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out." (Luke 19:40) Peter calls the members of the church "living stones" who are now, indeed, spiritual children of Abraham and who sing Hosanas to the King.
Blessings, Eric in KS
we are having heritage Sunday in our church and I think this is a good passage. Our membership committee wants to honor those who have been members for 25 years or more, problem is that I do not even know half of them and have been here for six years. They do not come to church, so this is a good passage to remind them what it means to be a member, and the vows we made when we became members.
MR in NY
2:5 like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house
I like the passiveness of this verse...let yourselves be built. 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.
Knowing that it's my obedience 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.
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.
John near Pitts.
I'm a lay minister and have used lots of everyones ideas but have never contributed. So here goes. Last week I preached on Jhon 10 and as Jesus as our model as a "servant leader". This week I going to try to connect Jesus as a stumbling block. There are things we will not or cannot do because of Jesus in our lives.
Phil - Montana
John near Pitts said, "I like the passiveness of this verse...let yourselves be built. I think there's an emphasis here on placement."
This calls to mind a sermon of the Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carrie, 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 and 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 or the pruning-branches metaphor used by Jesus. In all three, the builder/potter/vinedresser molds, hacks, trims, and shapes the object (us) to his purposes. We may be passive, but he certainly is not, and we are not left as we were.
Blessings, Eric in KS
This Sunday is junior confirmation at our church, and ten young people will stand before their congregation and declare their faith for all to hear. Let's face it: the sermons preached on an annual event like this are just as much for all the visitors (family and friends) who otherwise wouldn't be in church. Last year, I was fortunate enough for the appointed Gospel reading for our confirmation Sunday to be Jesus' Prodigal Son parable(Talk about God's timing - not to mention a subtle sense of humor!). This year we have Peter's comments that we are living stones. I've just begun my prep work, but already I'm leaning a little toward the idea that 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?
Second, as one who has a reputation for props in my sermons, I will also be exploring ways I might be able to use some good-sized rocks (perhaps bricks?), and talk about what makes them useful, how a stonemason would render them useful for a particular purpose, etc. and connect that with God at work in our lives, especially considering both the national and worldwide tragic events of the past year, as well as a significant event or two in the life of our congregation. Any one have any similar thoughts or connections?
Dennis in Santa Rosa, CA
Does anyone find it disturbing that we have a passage about 'living stones' on the same Sunday that we have a stoning in the Acts passage? It seems a bit off putting... if not worse. For that matter, we have a call in the Psalms for refuge when we have poor Stephen with no refuge in which to hide. I know we say he gets his reward as a martyr but I can't understand why the Lectionary would so highlight such stark and horrifying contrasts between 'living stones'/stonings, refuge/ no place to hide.
TB in MN
I find it all a bit sad and disturbed.
I think I'm going to go along with the folks who couple this with the Gospel and use it as a "we are the church" message - we're each stones, professing faith in our cornerstone savior. But we won't go anywhere without a relationship wiht him. This seems to point to the wisdom that before ANY church growth/evangelism/outreach can be "successful" (someone on the gospel page commented about the lunch program being considered "unsuccessful"), we must first tend to our discipleship.
Anything we do ought to pour forth from an overflowing cup, not as (to quote the same poster) do-gooders trying to earn heavenly or earthly kudos.
Thinking out loud...
Sally in GA
Just thinking outloud -- sermon title DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE? This passage is a marvelous statement of belonging. My little church holds on to its independence fiercely, resisting UCC connections however loose they may be. The last two verses are especially powerful for me. Seems important to carve out a distinction between the gift and the responsibility. Add to that the "living stone" images and I find a strong Easter message. Chap in PA
Anyone note that Christ is first referred to as a living stone..."Come to him, a living stone"; then we are called to be as living stones as well?
Our identity is to be found in him.
TB in MN, I like the honesty of the Lectionary passages this week. Christians are promised persecution (the beatitudes). I think the Lectionary's use of stones/refuge this week bears the fact that even in persecution there is a refuge.
I'm reminded of the childhood saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never harm me." Perhaps this can be changed to "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but death will not defeat me."
John near Pitts.
To TB in MN - I often find that the lectionary presents different points of view. It gives us the opportunity to talk about these differences - ie. stones can be used for good (living stones ) or for harm - both litterally(the stoning) and in other ways. When people who are called to be living stones in Christ forget that they are a part of the body of Christ and called to live in God's ways- the stones are no longer living. Nina in the North
Christ the "living stone" is the cornerstone of the new temple (spiritual house), built of other "living stones".
Through this work of Christ we have a new temple, a new race and nation(Israel replaced by the church), a new priesthood, and a new people of God.
The temple (now the church) is God's dwelling place on earth. Christ is the head and cornerstone. This has been rejected by many but is a precious truth for those who believe. The church now has the responsiblity to proclaim this and do God's work.
The first part of the passage, refers back to verse 23 in chapter 1, where he says that the Word is God's instrument to purify us for this great life and work in mutual love. Verse one is significant when it tells us to put away every thing that distances us from others, so that we can live this way and receive this nourishment, so that we can be living stones as was the Christ. Following after him and being purified by his Word will transform us into those living stones, and corporately into all these entities that Peter proclaims.
It's early, but that's what I am working with. Hope it all makes some sense.
Good passage for priesthood of all believers, spiritual gifts, and covenant theology (so it could be a great one for baptism and confirmation - we call confirmation "Public confession of faith" or "Affirmation of baptismal vows").
Larry in Indy
I understand that the Lectionary is sometimes contrary and offers a variety of images. I personally find this particular connection of murder and 'living rock' disturbing. Why not lift up a passage including a reference to a literal drowning and talk about baptism on the same Sunday? Preach it with a certain enthusiasm and imagine how nervous the parents would be! I just think the Lectionary gods got it wrong this week.
But then... we say we eat the flesh and drink blood of our savior and we raise an exicution device on our walls as a source of veneration. We church folk do get weird sometimes... One could observe that we have some rather 'interesting' choices of words and symbols in our collective history-- questionable bones, scraps of cloth, vials of blood and locks of hair preserved as relics of saints collected in massive cathedrals, bits of the one true cross floating about all over Europe that if linked together would form a plank 100 feet tall, images of a rather suburban, blow-dried, white Jesus hung on our walls as a respresentation of the 'true' picture of what a 1st century hard travelling Jewish rabbi looked like, an image of an old man sitting brooding in a chair is the loving 'God', we even name our greatest holiday- Easter- after an Anglo Saxon pagen goddess and then condemn the same pagens as damned--- give it a bit of thought. It just happens that I noticed it this week with stonings and living rocks.
My mind is really wandering... be glad I'm not your guest preacher this week (written intended to be wry, a touch mind-bending and humorous). I'm just clearing out the mind clutter before I get to work...
TB in MN
My apologies to those I offend. Forgive me.
TB in MN... while I share some of your dismay about the weird choices sometimes made by the "Lectionary gods" (and, yes, this combination can seem a bit maccabre), I think one can make a pretty good homiletic/exegetical point here about the impotence of non-living stones (either the "real" ones thrown at Stephen or the "metaphorical" ones doing the throwing) and the power of "living stones" like Stephen who, though he died, became part of that foundation of faith which conquered, continues to conquer and will eventually fully prevail over "the world, the flesh and the devil."
Blessings, Eric in KS
This is my first contribution, though I've made liberal use of this resource for some time and enjoy the conversation. My title is "Under Construction". There seems to be an active sense since it is an exhortation that meets all of us wherever we may be in our grow in Christ and community. It fits our context since we are undergoing undergoing a church building renovation -how much more important to be continually built into a spiritual house.
Chuck in WI
TB in MN
It is more than a little disturbing. "Saul" was a very active, faithful participant in his "church" and here he is holding the coats of those using stones to kill because they disagree with this new vission of God - present in our midst through the Christ. The question rises - whose "cornerston, foundational stone is "correct - right - true" and wht do we do when we disagree with someone elses approach to faith and God? Stone each other?
I was planning on preaching on "living stones or Dead wood" - living stones being those who seek and cooperate with God's living Spirit working in their lives that are transformed and sent out to serve as compared to dead wood. Those who come to church, hear the word, thank the preach for the sermon and go home and on about their lives as if nothing had happened. Those who do not even try to engage God - those upon whom the word does not bring them more fully alive!!
Now I am not sure - this stoning connection has me pondering.
jmj in WI - soon to be in Montanna
TB in MN, scripture is full of these kinds of reversals, taking things associated with death and bringing life to them. Skandalon is a rich Greek word that is translated stumbling block. It refers to a trap that is attractive yet locks us in when caught. It is used both in a positive way (that Jesus is a scandal) and a negative way (scandalizing little ones). In the positive sense, it refers to the potential trap we should avoid. If we hang on to our carnality, exposure to Jesus can drive us further down that path if we don't let go of it. Saul/Paul is a good example when he sought to persecute Christians.
I understand baptism to be a sign of death, not just to the "old man", but also to the openness to martyrdom that was in last week's lectionary passage in 1 Peter.
Rocks are foundations, objects to throw and things over which we stumble. Religion, seeking to please an external god, can be a foundation for true life, an object used to kill others, and something that makes us fall flat on our noses. I thank the lectionary "gods" for their wisdom in bringing these passages together.
SheepDog in MI
How about if we look at Jesus as a "living stone" who enables the rocks life hurls at us intended to destroy us as the Easter/victory message giving us the courage to not let our hearts be troubled. As such we have life anew and living as a strong foundation for the church. Without the pain (Eric's non-living stones, perhaps?) of life, we wouldn't have a cause to exercise our faith. Thus, maybe converting (?) non-living stones into living stones.
I have an evil urge to call mine, "Living Stone, I Presume?" but I won't ...
Sally in GA
Sally wrote, "Without the pain (Eric's non-living stones, perhaps?) of life, we wouldn't have a cause to exercise our faith."
Mmmmm.... don't know that I can go with that Sally.
Leslie Weatherhead had something to say about that. He wrote in "The Will of God" as follows:
"[Someone] might say, 'Look how the war brought courage to men and women.' ... [L]et me amke some reply ... The war did not _make_ courage. It revealed the courage that was there all the time. It gave it a tremendous opportunity for self-expression. Evil is never creative of good, though the circumstances of evil have been an occasion for the expression of good. *** I repeat that evil does not _make_ good qualities. It _reveals_ them and gives them exercise, but there is always the possibility -- and surely this is God's intention -- that those same qualities may be revealed and exercised and manifested as a response to goodness."
In other words, pain is not a necessary condition for the exercise of faith.
I think I agree with Weatherhead. Pain may be an occasion for the expression and exercise of faith, but not a necessary pre-condition for it.
Blessings, Eric in KS
Thanks to all of you already! I have had two deaths in the church this week, and what was to be the first relaxing week after several hectic ones turned out otherwise.
My early thought on this connected with Jesus as the corner stone. We are in the process of building a sanctuary and I watched them lay the 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 the corner stone had the same effect. The other stones were 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. I'm thinking about
experimenting with the children's cardboard bricks from the nursery.
Another thought I had related to one of the men who died who has had a debilitating disease for some 10 years now. In Corinthians Paul talks of us groaning in this earthly tent, before we get a building not made with hands, a spiritual dwelling. Our lives become those dwelling places of God.
We also use this passage when we have baby dedications. I love how it reminds us that we are so much more than who we might settle for on our own!
May God speak through us all! Rachel, still in TN & MS.
As a father of three children - 3, 2, 5 months, this passage hit me with full force. . .'long for the pure, spiritual milk. The wail of a hungry baby cannot be ignored by a mother or father. My wife tells me that that wail causes a sensation in her breasts as the milk begins to flow. A hungry baby is a frantic baby and will only be silenced when fed. Do I long for the word of God like that?
I'm also struck by the message of belonging that is here. Isolation, rejection, and loneliness is challenged by a society/community called the church - where everyone has a place - where all belong and are valued. I'm reminded of the line from the 'Cheers' theme song. . .a place 'where everybody knows your name.' Every blessing from a Canadian in Scotland.
