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April 24, 2005
Precious Stones
Psalm 31, Acts 7:55-60, 1 Peter 2:2-10
Last summer, when Jim and I spent two weeks in Scotland, we had many opportunities to buy souvenirs. And although I love the Nessie hat my Scottish friend convinced us to buy, and the shortbread and ginger crèmes were delicious, my enduring favorite is the rocks I collected there, some from the island of Iona, one of the Inner Hebrides off the west coast, and some from the beach around Dunnottar Castle, south of Aberdeen.
I like rocks. Geology was easily my favorite of the sciences, I think because it seemed tangible and observable, and because the rocks and how they were formed tell a story.
The rocks I collect are almost exclusively igneous and metamorphic. With all due respect to sedimentary, I seem to be fascinated by the rocks formed by fire, heat, and pressure-granite with its bits of color, but especially rocks with stripes of color, when molten rock intruded into tiny fissures within the rock.
You'll find these rocks on several shelves throughout our house, as well as on my dresser. To me, they are a beautiful way to remember places I have visited and loved, and I don't have to worry about them breaking in transit, or being stolen. To the casual observer, they are nothing but a handful of old rocks. But to me, each one is a precious work of art, a way to keep hold of a place that took hold of me in some way.
I've been picking up rocks as long as I can remember. Apparently I came by it honestly, because my maternal grandmother, whose namesake I am, also brought home rocks from her vacations. But I also wonder if there wasn't perhaps some foreshadowing of my future career in this habit. After all, rocks and stones have tremendous theological significance.
Take the lectionary readings for this day.
Our call to worship is based on Psalm 31:
In you, O Lord, I seek refuge…be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me.
This is just one psalm of many in which the image of God as rock is found. When troubles beset us, it is natural to seek out a refuge that is protected and unchanging, stable and safe. Martin Luther wrote the famous hymn, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, and came out, in part, of his experience hiding out from the religious and political authorities at Wartburg Castle, a fortress set high atop a mountain. David, the king to whom many of the psalms are attributed, spent much of his life trying to avoid the arrows of the enemy's army.
Most of us, I think, aren't able to—or hopefully need to—run away to an actual fortress when life's storms begin to blow. But I know I find it helpful to turn to God in those times of trouble, to seek God out and be mindful of God's presence with me in whatever happens. Seeking refuge in God means trusting that God is with me, no matter what; and while that doesn't make the storms go away, it does make them more bearable. I have even been known to carry a stone in my pocket in times of difficulty, or to give stones to others, as a literal "touchstone" reminder that the Lord is our rock and our refuge, a very present help in trouble.
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On the opposite end of the "theological geological" spectrum is the lectionary text from Acts, the story of the stoning of Stephen. These are stones used at their worst: not as refuge or place of safety, but as weapons intended to hurt and destroy.
Stephen is known as the first martyr, the first Christian to be put to death because of his faith. He was the first, but he certainly was not the last. Because unfortunately, thousands are martyred for their faith every year, and for millions, religious persecution is a fact of life.
This is a difficult story to be sure. It's so hard for those of us to live in nation where we are free to practice our faith—whether vocally or timidly, and everywhere in between—we may practice our faith as we choose, without fear of persecution. We may get laughed at, looked down on, or written off, but very few actually risk losing their lives.
In fact, Christians are so free to practice our faith as we choose that I believe some of our group invent persecutions—such as the way some feel suffering when sales clerks wish them "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas" in December. I fear, too, that there are some fringe elements who take being reviled or ridiculed by others as an affirmation that what they believe or do or say must be God's will because they are rejected.
That being said, for the vast majority of our two thousand-year history, what we as Christians have believed has been a life or death proposition. Five hundred years ago our Presbyterian belief that the Lord's Supper is simply bread and juice, rather than the actual body and blood of Christ was justification for exile, excommunication, or execution. Today, we Presbyterians—along with Episcopalians, and Methodists, and Lutherans, and just about everyone else—fight with each other over who is allowed to be ordained, how scripture is to be read and interpreted, and what the best ways are to honor the gift of life God gives us. Unfortunately, it seems we humans have always been a little too willing to throw stones at those whose beliefs do not line up exactly with our own.
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The final image of rocks, or stones, from our lectionary texts is found in 1 Peter. The writer invites his audience to,
"Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals 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, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:4-5)
The letter also picks up on Old Testament images of stones and cornerstones and applies it to Jesus Christ, the cornerstone chosen by God and precious (Isaiah 28:16), the very stone that the builders had already rejected (Psalm 118:22), now chosen be God to be the foundation upon which God's kingdom is built.
Most scholars believe this letter was written at the end of the first century to a group of recent converts to Christianity who, as a result of their conversions, found themselves marginalized in their communities and the victims of verbal abuse. They may have been feeling cast aside or rejected by the societies of which they were once a part. The letter was written to encourage them.
First, they are reminded that just as they are feeling despised and rejected by the world, so did the world despise and reject Jesus Christ. They are in good company. Just like Jesus, they are despised by the world, but precious to God. And, the writer says, if the world kicks you out, turn yourselves over to God as living stones and God will build you up into a new house, a new home. This is not a physical building but a spiritual one, the community of faith. What Christ holds together, no one can tear down.
How does this image of stones speak to us today? As we've already acknowledged, we don't really experience being despised and rejected by the community in which we live.
However, the image of being built on the foundation of Christ is powerful, especially for a church in a building project.
My former office window looked out from the courtyard basement at the limestone brick face of the sanctuary building; now the gathering space will give all of us an up close and personal look at that wall. As we have prepared for this project and lived it, looked back on our past and forward to our future, I cannot help but think about the limestone bricks as representing all of our members, from the nine founding members to all of you today. The saints of this church in every age, living stones.
And the truth is, if this church is not built upon the foundation of Christ, it doesn't matter how beautiful our building is. If this congregation is not held together by prayer and study and service and fellowship, then it doesn't matter how strong those walls are, or how many more years they hold up.
This is what we are called to be-a congregation made of living stones, built upon the foundation of and bound together in Christ. Such a spiritual house can be the fortress that is shelter in times of trouble, God as rock and refuge. And with Christ as our commonality, holding us together, why would we want to throw stones?
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First Presbyterian
Church of Cedar Rapids
310 Fifth Street SE Cedar Rapids, IA 52401
Phone: 319-364-6148
E-mail: church@fpccr.org
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