Stones. Stones play a minor but important and recurring role in the Bible story. Think about the Tower of Babel and how people learned to make brick and stones to build that great tower. Think about Jacob out in the wilderness who took a stone as his pillow one night and dreamed about the gateway of heaven and a ladder with angels ascending and descending. The next morning he took that stone pillow, stood it up on its side and poured oil over it to commemorate the place and the occasion. Think about those two stone tablets of Moses that had those ten little rules, the Ten Commandments, written on them, were broken, and then two more stone tablets to write them again. Think about that rock that God commanded Moses to strike with his staff and bring forth water to quench the thirst of the people out in the desert. Think about the twelve stones that Joshua took when they crossed into the Promised Land, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, to commemorate and mark that significant moment.
Think about the times stones are used violently. Think about the laws and punishments that allowed stoning. Think about the story we heard today when St. Stephen was stoned by the people. Think about David, taking little stones and a slingshot to defeat Goliath. Think about the stones that Solomon took in order to build the temple. Think about the stone when Ezekiel talks about the heart of stone replaced by a heart of flesh in that beautiful vision of renewal. Think about John the Baptist and the way he warned us not to rest on our laurels, because God can make new followers out of stone. Think about Jesus saying that if the people don’t cry out, the stones will cry out. Think about that stone that covered the tomb, and the stone that was rolled away on the third day.
Stones play an important role. One of those moments is when Jesus talks about himself being the stones of the temple. “Tear down this temple and in three days I will build it back up.” How are you going to do that? It took forty years to build it. You’re crazy. And Jesus said, “You don’t understand,” because he was talking about himself as the stones of the temple. The temple, of course, was an important place. It was the place where Jesus and so many others went to pray and worship, because the temple was the place where God dwells. That was their understanding. But Jesus is saying that ultimately he is the place where God dwells. Not just the temple, which he did consider as important, but he is the place where God is fully dwelling.
In our second reading today from First Peter, we hear about Jesus being that living stone, the stone that was rejected. Then the reading goes on to say that you, too, are to be like living stones. You who are baptized into Christ, who is a living stone, means that you are living stones as well. You who are the Body of Christ are also the living stones, the dwelling place of God. It is a remarkable thing to think about. God is dwelling with you right now. The only question is, do we notice and recognize that God is dwelling with us in this very moment?
I’ve been thinking about stones a lot lately, thinking about those stones of the church, the brick walls that are such an important part of our faith. At St. Mary’s the stones are important. They are important in my life and my faith journey, the place where I was ordained, married, where two of my children were baptized, the place where my faith has been strengthened, the place where my faith has been renewed. I know it is the same for so many of you, because you have shared so many stories with me over the years about how St. Mary’s, the place, has been important in your faith journeys. You have shared stories of baptisms and weddings and funerals, and I have been with you in so many of those events there in that place. You have told me stories of ways your faith has been strengthened among the stones of that church, ways your faith has been renewed among the stones of that church. I long to be back there among those stones with you, worshiping God, growing in our faith, together in that place.
And yet, that is not possible for us at this time. So it is important to remember the truth that First Peter points us towards: that you are a living stone and God is dwelling with you right now. You don’t have to go down to those particular stones in order to find God or to be found by God. God is already with you even in this moment. God moments happen in the church, but God moments happen all the time if we learn how to recognize them, if we try to open the eyes and ears of our faith to see and hear the ways that God is already present with us, with you, a living stone.
So, my friends in Christ, in this moment when we can’t be down at the church among those important stones, we can still find God dwelling with us. In fact, God is there with you, right now. We will return someday. We will have new opportunities to grow in faith, to worship God among those stones. But in this particular moment it is a time to focus on the ways God is always with you in the living stone of your life.
AMEN
