In the Family of God

May 18, 2014 I Peter 2:2-10 John 14:1-14 Fifth Sunday of Easter In the Family of God God in the Stone story Theologian Megan McKenna tells of a story that circulates in Italy about Michelangelo and stones. Whether it is true or not is not debated. What it means though is open to interpretation. This is how she heard the story. You decide what it means. Every day, it seems, God would look down from heaven on the earth to watch over his people and to see what they were up to. And every once in awhile God would go to visit his people and dwell with them, though usually no one recognized him. Sooner or later, however, someone would come along and find him and then he would disappear from their sight and return to the heavens. And it seemed that some of his best hiding and watching places were in rocks, stones, canyons, caves, wells, and tombs. Soon there were stories about a stone that Jacob used for a pillow and dreamed of angels ascending and descending to earth and where he wrestled all night before receiving a blessing from a mysterious angel. And the one about Jacob's well or Sinai's mountain and many about the Temple in Jerusalem. Then Isaiah the prophet promised the presence of a cornerstone (but was it a rock or a person?). "Therefore, says the Lord God: See, I am laying a stone in Zion, a stone that has been tested, a precious cornerstone as a sure foundation; the one who puts faith in it shall not be shaken" (Is. 28:16). Then, not so long ago, Jesus came and told his people that it wasn't necessary to worship in certain places anymore. He told a woman at a well: "Believe me, woman, an hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem... an hour is coming, and is already here, when authentic worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth" (John 4:22-23). But then Jesus died on the place of the skull and was buried in a rock-hewn tomb, but escaped from that cave to free us from our caves. It wasn't long, though, before people began building high places and piling stones up to go and worship there. Many years passed and God grew uncomfortable again. People were having trouble recognizing him; they seemed to be looking only in these places that they had built for his honor and glory for his presence and he wondered what he should do about it. One day God's attention was drawn to a commotion that was going on around a man in Italy. This man loved stones. All day he would chisel away at the barren slabs and after time, energy, and painstaking effort, the stone would live. It was almost as if he discovered something alive inside the stone and went about freeing it with a passion. He had set many people free already and this time he was attempting to set God himself free! For years he had been working on one huge piece of marble, and slowly over the years the figure of a woman holding the body of her dead son was emerging from the rock. And this time even God was surprised at what was being born out of stone. He went to Michelangelo and spoke to him. Michelangelo, God said, what are you doing? Lord, he answered, I am setting you free, so that everyone will recognize you not only in stone, but in everything, everyone that dwells on earth, but especially in all those who suffer unjustly and die violently at the hands of others and in those who mourn for the loss of such vibrant life. I don't want people to forget you. And the Lord spoke again to Michelangelo: Do I really dwell in that stone? I know in the past I have often gone to rocks and mountains, wells and tombs, but I don't remember going to dwell in the stone you are working on. And Michelangelo answered God: But my Lord, since your child came to us, you don't have to pick and choose your places of rest; he left your Spirit everywhere we just have to discover it, touch it and reveal it to others. That's what it means to live. The stone is rolled away. Don’t roll it back. Leonard Sweet Sermon, Leonard Sweet, ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., 2014, 0-000-1415 God in the stone in this building I needed to tell that story this morning, helps me with a puzzle. As I have been looking at the narthex outside, fellowship hall, and even the walls here inside of the sanctuary. I have been trying to get into the mind of the architect, and I have been asking him for a few months – what in the world were you thinking when you built this whole structure with concrete. Why concrete? You cant do anything with concrete, but paint it white. The insurance company loves it. But for practical purposes – you cant do presentations in here, because the signal cant travel through the concrete. You cant decorate it. This part of the church will never burn down. St Benard hospital may have plans for the neighborhood, but there is no way that they could knock down these walls. This structure will stand forever. What in the world was the architect thinking. And after hearing that story – I got it. God is in the concrete. And once the building was consecrated, and God was in the building – there was no way he was going to be able to leave. He will be stuck here forever. God is the bedrock Now before you think that is a totally crazy idea, consider Isaiah 28:16 which says - I lay in Isreal a foundation stone. A primodial stone, a rock that does not move. A rock that like this building isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. You can’t move it, or do anything with it. There is a town in the middle east called Petra. Petra means bedrock. And the town is build within the bedrock of a mountain. The people are long gone, but the structure is still there. Peter the rock When Jesus was talking to the disciples, he said to Peter, upon this rock I build this church. But the word for rock that Jesus used was not Petra – it was petro. Petro is a movable rock, a rock that can be picked up, that can be changed. Rock that is not reliable, but is still usable. Jesus did not build his church upon petra, but petro. Living Stones It is Peter’s words that I want us to consider this morning. He advises us to become living stones. Once again that is a strange term. Afterall stones are dead and lifeless. There is nothing that lives inside of a stone, except God. The story of Jesus reminds us that what was dead and lifeless can e bought back to life, with the power of God. Jesus calls himself living water. Now there is a such thing as living water. A river, a stream a creek is living water, because the water is moving. So a living stone is a stone that moves. Remember, Genesis says that he formed man by taking some dirt from the ground and breathing life into it. So there is regular dirt on the ground that does not move and breathe. And there is living dirt that breathes, walks and talks. You and me, we are God’s living stones. The church is not these concrete blocks, it is these living stones that do the work of God inside of here. GOD WANTS TO LIVE IN YOUR HOUSE C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity: "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of--throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." Peter’s words of encouragement I Peter was not written to address a specific issue, it was written to all struggling churches to remind them of their task. To remind them of their faith. Peter believes that those who believe the gospel, must live the gospel. Cant read, and pray and go to church without being convicted of who Christ is. And when you know Christ, you love Christ, you live in Christ. When someone ask who you are – your answer is not about where your hometown is, it is not about what you do for a living, it is about who you are in the Spirit of Christ. God is the bedrock of your life, Christ is the cornerstone of your life, and you are God’s living stones. A piece of God lives in you. And you are a small piece of God. There’s a story that is often told in management textbooks about a man who was walking in the countryside one day. He happened upon a building site where three people were all working vigorously. Two were stonecutters; the third was an old woman, sweeping The traveler stopped and asked what they were doing. The first stonecutter answered, “I am making a living.” The traveler proffered his question to the second stonecutter. He didn’t look up, but kept on hammering while he said, “I am doing the best job of stonecutting in the entire county.” Then our traveler turned to the old woman with her broom. “What are you doing?” he asked. The old woman paused, set down her broom, and looked toward the heavens. With a visionary gleam in her eye she said, “I am building a cathedral to the glory of almighty God.” It’s a parable that rings true for us today, one that this extended metaphor of stones brought to mind. Of course, our text imagines us as stones, not as stonecutters. What could it mean to be a living stone? The first stonecutter thought he was his work, the second thought he was his own effort, but it was the third who realized that she was part of a larger whole. And that what she gave, contributed the the building of God’s kingdom. In this chapter – Peter gives us the ultimate encouragement. You are a royal priesthood, a chosen people, a holy nation. All of these images are in the old testament. As a matter of fact, Hosea names one of his children nobody – to remind the children of Israel that when they don’t have God inside of them- they are nobody. But with God’s help – they are somebody. They are a royal priesthood set aside for a special purpose. A Royal Preisthood A priest is one who leads others to the glory of God. A bridge, an intercessor. When we live God’s word in our lives, we lead others to God. The basis message of 1 Peter 2 is to have hope, to live holy, to love one another, to seek God like a baby seeks milk. And to live as God’s spiritual house. Living stones reflect the bedrock of God, the cornerstone of Christ. We are building used for God’s purposes. Let us pray… Amen. Children’s sermon…. (From a sermon by Glenn Durham, I Simply Must Have, 4/4/2011) We Are The Church by Wesley T. Runk Passage: 1 Peter 2:4-12 • Lectionary: Easter 5 Item 8 of 12 | Back to Results 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. Object: Toy building blocks Lesson: Good morning, boys and girls. How are you all today? (Let them respond.) Good. Do you see what I have with me today? What are these things? (Let them answer.) That's right. They are blocks. What do we do with them? (Let them answer.) Right. We use them for building things. What kinds of things can I build with these blocks? (Let them answer.) Yes, I could build all of those things, couldn't I? What if I wanted to build a church? Do you think I could do it with these blocks? (Let them answer.) Why couldn't I build a church with these blocks? (Let them answer.) That's right. I don't have enough blocks here. Besides that, I need blocks that are made out of brick or stone. These are too small and too weak to become part of a big building like a church. Boys and girls, did you know that Jesus and his disciples told us what to use when we are going to build a church? A long time ago we were told exactly how to put a church together. We don't use blocks like these, or bricks or wood. Can you guess what we should use to build our church? (Let them answer.) Those are good guesses, boys and girls. Jesus and his disciples told us that we are the blocks that are needed for our church! What do you think of that, boys and girls? (Let them respond.) That's right. You and I and your moms and dads and brothers and sisters -- all of us are the blocks that make up the church. That means each one of us is very important, doesn't it, boys and girls? Let me show you how important each one of us is. (Build a small pyramid, using your blocks.) Now, let's pretend that this is our church and that each one of these blocks is one of you. Every time we add one block we come closer to building our church. By ourselves we are only a block but when God puts us together we can be a wall and as he adds more and more we become a great building that Jesus calls his church. You see, boys and girls, that's just how important each one of you is to the whole church. Did you know you were that important, boys and girls? (Let them answer.) Well, you are! So let's all try to remember that every time we come to church. The whole church needs each one of us and we need one another. Will you try to remember that, boys and girls? (Let them respond.) Good. God bless you. Amen. WE ARE THE CHURCH, Wesley T. Runk, CSS Publishing Company, 1994, 0-7880-0101-9 Extra illustration You Know Your Master Is There There is a story told of a dying man who asked his Christian doctor to tell him something about the place to which he was going. As the doctor fumbled for a reply, he heard a scratching at the door, and he had his answer. "Do you hear that?" he asked his patient. "It's my dog. I left him downstairs, but he has grown impatient, and has come up and hears my voice. He has no notion what is inside this door, but he knows that I am here. Isn't it the same with you? You don't know what lies beyond the Door, but you know that your Master is there." Alan Carr, Biblical Facts about a Place Called Heaven