Broken Stones
Text: 1 Peter 2:2-10
The last time the Mission and Outreach committee went to Evangel Hall was last October. It was the third time that I had gone since coming to Clarkson Road, but only the second where we would actually help lead the evening worship service. In the times that we have gone, there have been a few familiar faces that we have come to know. During the initial crush of serving the meal, there’s not really a chance to sit down and talk with people… but as the evening progresses and things slow down, we do get a chance to sit down and talk… or perhaps more importantly, listen.
One of the regular volunteers is an older woman… for the life of me her name escapes me at the moment. She has been there every time that we have gone. Thin, short, and enough wrinkles on her face to hold many stories of a hard life. We know her as the one who guards the coffee machines fiercely, ensuring that volunteers like us always us a new cup for “health reasons” she’d say. She’s there because Evangel Hall is her church community. She is there because she was once in need of what Evangel Hall offers, and now she is there to volunteer to offer the same kind of help that she herself once needed. Yet her story is not one from someone who got out, made it big, and then has come back to help. She is still very much a part of the community, and to an outsider, she could well be grouped in with everybody else.
But her story, I think, is much more than that. In just sitting down and listening to her talk, I marvel about how freely she talks about her faith. She may not be well educated, she may not be able to express things in a way that is sophisticated or articulate, but wow… the enthusiasm that she has is still teaching me something. She knows exactly why she is there, she can easily and happily tell you how God transformed her life. She can tell you how her own realization that she matters to God, and that God really cares about her was a life-changing revelation… and now out of gratitude she’s compelled to model that same experience of God’s grace to others.
For me, it was an after-the-fact kind of revelation as to how profound this was. She is someone that we could have easily mistaken or dismissed as being one of those broken stones that builders have tossed away… one of the faceless crowd of poor and/or homeless who shuffle through… and yet she is one of the building blocks as to why Evangel Hall is as successful at what it does today. It’s a reminder that everyone has a face, everyone has a story, and God doesn’t forget anybody… and anyone can be a part of building up the kingdom of God.
It was her story that first came to mind when I was looking ahead at the readings for today. We’ve been reading through 1st Peter over the past few weeks, but other than the Sunday readings I’ve not been paying much attention to it… but this one, especially in light of today’s outing to Evangel Hall, seems to take on a particularly deep resonance. It’s really worth the read…
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5like living stones, let yourselves be built* into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Despite the first impression that we might get about it, 1st Peter is not really a letter in the truest sense of the word, but more a collection of short sermons and reflections from the church in the first century. On the whole it is a call to early Christians to be a part of building and growing the church of Christ in a time where at best they were ignored or at worst they were actively persecuted.
He talks about those who follow Christ as being living stones “rejected by mortals, yet chosen and precious in God’s sight.” People that the world, that society has cast aside, or thought of as being somehow broken, or worthless… Yet these are the very ones whom God calls to be built into a “spiritual house.” –anyone can be part of building and growing the kingdom of God… come, because you are a living stone, you have worth in the kingdom of God.
Although like a typical preacher, to make the sermon work, 1st Peter needs to back up the argument:
6For 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.’
He begins evoking images from Hebrew scripture… He’s quoting Isaiah (28:16) here… but he’s just getting warmed up.
7To 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’, 8
We’ve heard the line before… “the stone that the builders rejected.” it first appears in Psalm 118:22, and then is quoted multiple times throughout the New Testament. It’s in the first three gospels[1], Acts[2], and of course in this sermon from 1st Peter. In early Christian understanding, the rejected stone was and is used as a metaphor for Jesus… but in this sermon, he pulls the metaphor even further… that while Jesus is portrayed as the rejected stone that becomes the cornerstone, he extends the image that all who follow Christ are also like stones that others might think worthless or would stumble over… that are being built into something larger, greater, and beyond anybody’s imagination…
He goes on to encourage:
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. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people;once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
One you were not a people, but now you are God’s people… once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. As much as 1st Peter talks about coming to God to grow together in a community of faith, the foundational reasons for this is because of what God has done. We gather as a church community not because it’s the good thing to do, or that we are a “nice people’s club” but because God is generous and kind beyond our imagination… That God has gathered us together, despite whatever imperfections we have, and called us to be a community of faith in the world.
Maybe it might be helpful to think of ourselves as broken bricks… ones that builders have rejected. Maybe because we’ve not really thought of ourselves that way before... But we are human… we want to be accepted. We want to know that we are loved. For the most part here at Clarkson we’ve not had the same kind of experiences as someone who has had to walk through the doors of Evangel Hall as someone in need has. Yet all of us, in some way, is like a broken brick… imperfect, damaged, wounded… The revelation of Easter is that despite our imperfections, the resurrection message is that God calls us together to become a community of faith. It doesn’t matter where we come from or how we are judged by the world’s standards, the Easter message reminds us that God looks at us with different eyes.
I know that in my various experiences through ministries like Evangel Hall, they are very loud lessons that remind us that all of us matter to God. Nobody is expendable, nobody is beyond redemption. Like this woman at the coffee-maker, the greater lesson is that sense of gratitude and purpose. She knows why she is there… she is able to tell her own story, and is able to express how God more than just a part of it, but is foundation upon which she builds the rest of her life. Maybe that’s our lesson, learning from another broken stone, to realize that God really does care, God really does have a purpose for us all, both personally and as a community here together.
This is such a powerful lesson… all from someone who the rest of the world would have dismissed or ignored. It’s a really eye-opening experience, because I have to wonder what other lessons we have missed because we’re judging by the world’s standards, or are just too busy to listen? Maybe that’s what God is challenging us to do… because if we can learn that even those whom the world ignores has a purpose in the kingdom of God, maybe we’ll finally clue in to realize that God has a purpose for us all.
Happy Easter!
Amen.
[1] Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17
[2] Acts 4:11
The last time the Mission and Outreach committee went to Evangel Hall was last October. It was the third time that I had gone since coming to Clarkson Road, but only the second where we would actually help lead the evening worship service. In the times that we have gone, there have been a few familiar faces that we have come to know. During the initial crush of serving the meal, there’s not really a chance to sit down and talk with people… but as the evening progresses and things slow down, we do get a chance to sit down and talk… or perhaps more importantly, listen.
One of the regular volunteers is an older woman… for the life of me her name escapes me at the moment. She has been there every time that we have gone. Thin, short, and enough wrinkles on her face to hold many stories of a hard life. We know her as the one who guards the coffee machines fiercely, ensuring that volunteers like us always us a new cup for “health reasons” she’d say. She’s there because Evangel Hall is her church community. She is there because she was once in need of what Evangel Hall offers, and now she is there to volunteer to offer the same kind of help that she herself once needed. Yet her story is not one from someone who got out, made it big, and then has come back to help. She is still very much a part of the community, and to an outsider, she could well be grouped in with everybody else.
But her story, I think, is much more than that. In just sitting down and listening to her talk, I marvel about how freely she talks about her faith. She may not be well educated, she may not be able to express things in a way that is sophisticated or articulate, but wow… the enthusiasm that she has is still teaching me something. She knows exactly why she is there, she can easily and happily tell you how God transformed her life. She can tell you how her own realization that she matters to God, and that God really cares about her was a life-changing revelation… and now out of gratitude she’s compelled to model that same experience of God’s grace to others.
For me, it was an after-the-fact kind of revelation as to how profound this was. She is someone that we could have easily mistaken or dismissed as being one of those broken stones that builders have tossed away… one of the faceless crowd of poor and/or homeless who shuffle through… and yet she is one of the building blocks as to why Evangel Hall is as successful at what it does today. It’s a reminder that everyone has a face, everyone has a story, and God doesn’t forget anybody… and anyone can be a part of building up the kingdom of God.
It was her story that first came to mind when I was looking ahead at the readings for today. We’ve been reading through 1st Peter over the past few weeks, but other than the Sunday readings I’ve not been paying much attention to it… but this one, especially in light of today’s outing to Evangel Hall, seems to take on a particularly deep resonance. It’s really worth the read…
Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5like living stones, let yourselves be built* into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Despite the first impression that we might get about it, 1st Peter is not really a letter in the truest sense of the word, but more a collection of short sermons and reflections from the church in the first century. On the whole it is a call to early Christians to be a part of building and growing the church of Christ in a time where at best they were ignored or at worst they were actively persecuted.
He talks about those who follow Christ as being living stones “rejected by mortals, yet chosen and precious in God’s sight.” People that the world, that society has cast aside, or thought of as being somehow broken, or worthless… Yet these are the very ones whom God calls to be built into a “spiritual house.” –anyone can be part of building and growing the kingdom of God… come, because you are a living stone, you have worth in the kingdom of God.
Although like a typical preacher, to make the sermon work, 1st Peter needs to back up the argument:
6For 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.’
He begins evoking images from Hebrew scripture… He’s quoting Isaiah (28:16) here… but he’s just getting warmed up.
7To 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’, 8
We’ve heard the line before… “the stone that the builders rejected.” it first appears in Psalm 118:22, and then is quoted multiple times throughout the New Testament. It’s in the first three gospels[1], Acts[2], and of course in this sermon from 1st Peter. In early Christian understanding, the rejected stone was and is used as a metaphor for Jesus… but in this sermon, he pulls the metaphor even further… that while Jesus is portrayed as the rejected stone that becomes the cornerstone, he extends the image that all who follow Christ are also like stones that others might think worthless or would stumble over… that are being built into something larger, greater, and beyond anybody’s imagination…
He goes on to encourage:
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. 10Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people;once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
One you were not a people, but now you are God’s people… once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. As much as 1st Peter talks about coming to God to grow together in a community of faith, the foundational reasons for this is because of what God has done. We gather as a church community not because it’s the good thing to do, or that we are a “nice people’s club” but because God is generous and kind beyond our imagination… That God has gathered us together, despite whatever imperfections we have, and called us to be a community of faith in the world.
Maybe it might be helpful to think of ourselves as broken bricks… ones that builders have rejected. Maybe because we’ve not really thought of ourselves that way before... But we are human… we want to be accepted. We want to know that we are loved. For the most part here at Clarkson we’ve not had the same kind of experiences as someone who has had to walk through the doors of Evangel Hall as someone in need has. Yet all of us, in some way, is like a broken brick… imperfect, damaged, wounded… The revelation of Easter is that despite our imperfections, the resurrection message is that God calls us together to become a community of faith. It doesn’t matter where we come from or how we are judged by the world’s standards, the Easter message reminds us that God looks at us with different eyes.
I know that in my various experiences through ministries like Evangel Hall, they are very loud lessons that remind us that all of us matter to God. Nobody is expendable, nobody is beyond redemption. Like this woman at the coffee-maker, the greater lesson is that sense of gratitude and purpose. She knows why she is there… she is able to tell her own story, and is able to express how God more than just a part of it, but is foundation upon which she builds the rest of her life. Maybe that’s our lesson, learning from another broken stone, to realize that God really does care, God really does have a purpose for us all, both personally and as a community here together.
This is such a powerful lesson… all from someone who the rest of the world would have dismissed or ignored. It’s a really eye-opening experience, because I have to wonder what other lessons we have missed because we’re judging by the world’s standards, or are just too busy to listen? Maybe that’s what God is challenging us to do… because if we can learn that even those whom the world ignores has a purpose in the kingdom of God, maybe we’ll finally clue in to realize that God has a purpose for us all.
Happy Easter!
Amen.
[1] Matthew 21:42; Mark 12:10; Luke 20:17
[2] Acts 4:11
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