Some make houses of straw and sticks. Some make castles out of sand. Others glass cathedrals. God made his house out of stone. Not just any stone. The Living Stone.
That is, Jesus. The Christ. Is that a compliment? To be called a stone? It doesn't seem like a compliment. Stones are kind of boring. Everything we seek today does stuff. Lots of stuff. It moves and computes and sends and receives and gets us places. Stones don't get you anywhere. This has to be some kind of metaphor... right?
Let's dig a little deeper. The precious stone... Like the One Ring? Is this stone supposed to consume us? The "cornerstone." So it's a big stone. A rock even. A rock on which we build a foundation... Have you ever been underneath a house? Was the foundation... exciting?
I remember being able to get underneath one of the cabins my parents owned when I was a kid. I remember being able to see the foundation. Yes, there were stones. But it was dark. It was full of cobwebs and dirt and it was uncomfortable. It was forgotten.
The foundation is the most important and the least recognized part of a house. Have you ever had a guest that said "I just love coming over to your house, it has such a nice foundation"? The TV shows all say that the kitchen is the most important part of figuring out what a house is worth. Of course, when you buy a house, you want to make sure it has a strong foundation, but once you are through with the purchase, it becomes an afterthought. You stop worrying about the foundation. Unless, of course, something goes wrong.
You don't entertain in your foundation. You don't live in your foundation. There may be multiple years where you don't even see your foundation. What kind of metaphor is this? What kind of Christ?
But the problem in the metaphor isn't the Living Stone. It's not the Christ. The problem with the metaphor isn't Jesus. It's our perspective. See, Jesus didn't build the Spiritual House for us to live in. He didn't lay himself down to give us something to sell.
We're to be living stones too. You and I... stones. Being built into this Spiritual House. Christ isn't just a foundation, he's an example. The ultimate goal is not to merely dwell in Christ, in the Spiritual House, but to become part of it. We are the house. We are the shelter for lost and broken people.
As a minister, a caretaker of this Spiritual House, I have been given an awesome responsibility.
I am not a maid. It is not my job to keep the house clean. It is not my job to pick up after other Christians' messes. I can't sanctify anyone.
I am not a Realtor. I've got nothing to sell. I offer no promise of health. No abundance of wealth. I don't have to sell anybody on anything.
I am merely a caretaker, taking care of this Spiritual House.
There is a song that I think portrays what the Church should be perhaps better than any other I have heard.
Read these words and think about the church, the Spiritual House you are a part of:
I was in another lifetime one of toil and blood
When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud
I came in from the wilderness a creature void of form
"Come in" she said
"I'll give you shelter from the storm"
- Bob Dylan, "Shelter from the Storm"
What if we were that shelter? What if we formed people into living stones and invited them into this Spiritual House?
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