Text 1 Peter 2:2-10; Acts 7:55-60; Psalm 31:1-5; John 14:1-14
Theme Living on the Stone
Subject The Living Stone and a Chosen People
Occasion Easter 5 (Senior Recognition Sunday; 3 baptisms Saturday evening) – 4/20/08 – Zion – Iowa City
Last night we had a baptismal
festival here at Zion
Gracye Lou, Jacob James, Cooper Gregory joined the Body of
Christ with us
The sanctuary was noisy and I was a busy pastor
This morning is a
baccalaureate of sorts
We’re recognizing a mile-stone in the lives of our senior
high school students
Seems like the Gospel reading
would roll easily into these emphases
Jesus is the way,
and the truth, and the life (Jn. 14:6a)
But I’m keeping the
discipline of basing the sermons on the 2nd lessons from 1 Peter
Equally rich for ones like us
Scripture based on the good
news of Easter,
Aware of the stoning of Steven,
Knowing Jesus is the way, truth and life before
John was inspired to write it
So with St. Peter, I invite you to
consider with me the title
Living on the Stone
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from
our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ
On the Upper Iowa River, just
below the confluence with Bigalk Creek, there is a bridge
Just below the bridge is a large, round, smooth stone near
the center of the stream
One year a
pair of Canadian geese made their nest there on the rock
I’m not sure how it went for them
It was certainly safe from
predators
There, perched above the rapids, warmed
by the summer sun
Living on the Stone
We who believe the good news
that Christ is arisen are Living on the Stone
The resurrection report in Matthew 28 suggests the angels
were seated on the stone
St. Paul knew we’ve staked our lives on the
resurrection
If Christ has not been raised, … If for this life only
we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
(1 Cor. 15:17, 19)
So we’re living on the stone –
sometimes tenaciously
The Church is built on this
same rock
Our eternal hope is
built on the solid rock of Christ
The
writers of scripture were inspired to scramble for images to tell the
unthinkable:
That a man has been raised from the dead
So of
course the metaphors are mixed and many
Peter wrote, Rid
yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all
slander. Like newborn infants, long for
the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation-- if indeed
you have tasted that the Lord is good. (1
Peter 2:1-3)
In short - get rid of the cheap
talk – the massaging of the truth
Where’d that come from anyway: this instinct to spin the truth?
In our culture, it happens about
6th grade, Junior High, 12 or 13 years old
When we become
aware that others are watching us
When we suppose we
need to be someone different than who we are
Oh what tangled lives we weave; when we
practice to deceive
The counsel of scripture: quit it
Stop posing
Quit comparing and lying
Instead,
be like infants
At
least these new Christians receiving this letter and others like them
Be
thirsty for the pure spiritual milk
[Do
you hear the implication? If there’s
“pure spiritual milk”, then the opposite must be there too]
St. Peter’s writing about the apostolic teaching
The eye-witness teaching – like
Mother’s milk
The best milk
This is like
going to the nursery – a good place
Comfy-n-cozy – ready for salvation
Ah, we’ve tasted that the Lord is good
But
suddenly, Come to him, a living stone
(1 Peter 2:4a)
The nursery is in the basement at the bottom of the
stairs
The stones
are outside:
in the landscape,
in the parking lot,
on the street
by the river
in the fields
in the cemeteries
Maybe
we’d rather stay in the nursery
This mixing of metaphors,
milk and stone, puts us on a timeline
Finished lying, then nurtured on resurrection truth
And now steppin’ out
Come to him, a living stone, …
chosen and precious in God's sight, … like living stones, … be built into a
spiritual house, … a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable
to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4-5)
And what might that be?
In the case described in the first reading:
Stephen, the 1st martyr, died for the
Gospel
Stephen told salvation
history beginning with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph
Then Moses, Kings David and Solomon
(His speech is reported in Acts 7)
Do you know the stories Stephen told?
Let’s
be sure to tell them
Then Stephen concluded – without guile
"You
stiff-necked people, … forever opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors
... Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They killed those who foretold the coming of the
Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers.” Acts 7:51-52
Stephen had no malice, guile, insincerity, envy,
or slander
He was Living on the Stone – telling the
truth with conviction
But his accusers took up stones against
him
He died with forgiveness on his
breath
"Lord, do not
hold this sin against them." (Acts 7:60b)
Living on the Stone is being confident
that
the grave is empty
that
forgiveness is the best way into the future
that
Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the
life
- - - - - - -
Last night many Jewish
families heard the youngest one ask 4 questions all beginning with Why is it that on all other nights …
These
questions lead to telling the story of freedom
A
freedom that led to the Promised Land – Zion
it would be called
A
place given by God with a city on a hill
Last week 462
children were removed from the “Yearning for Zion Ranch” owned and operated by
the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints
The Mormon’s march to Utah was in search of a New Jerusalem
They were yearning for a place where God would
rule over all: Zion
We who belong to this
congregation are a people named Zion
We’re not looking for a place
We don’t need a promised land
We believe God is with us – in the midst
of us – wherever we are
We are like living stones…built into a
spiritual house
- - - - - - -
Beloved
seniors of Zion,
Though I’ve only barely met some of
you and hardly know any of you
I trust in advance of our
deeper acquaintance
That each of you,
in your own way, is exceptional
You are ones who have had parents or
sponsors that kept their promise
Raised you in the faith so
that you are a member of the Body of Christ
Christ himself the
corner stone
You’ve
been living on the stone
The
quilt you receive will remind of being comfy-n-cozy at Zion
There will be days when you’ll need
that – a little security goes a long way
You also
know the stories of Jesus
What he taught and, therefore, what we
value
We all
would like to suppose that we could nest on a stone in a river of fresh clear
water
That we could bask all day
That someone would bring us our meals
That we could sleep secure all night
It isn’t
so
The world is changing rapidly – more quickly
then most ever imagined
We need to be alert
Oh, we
believe we are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people
The reason is so that we can proclaim the mighty acts of him who called (us) out of darkness into his marvelous light
Living
on the Stone is
a way of life for us
We have discovered in Christ the
privilege of serving others
When you the building
today, notice the sign: servant entrance
It’s who we are
It’s how
we shine
A couple
of weeks ago when a Zion family told me of their anonymous gift of $325,000
I tried to assure them how happy I was
that this has happened for Zion
They smiled and said, “Not
nearly as happy as we are.”
Ah,
Christ is risen!