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The Living Stone and a Chosen People

2Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. 2Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— 3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

 4 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. 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.’

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’,

8and ‘A stone that makes them stumble,

 and a rock that makes them fall.’

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

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 marvellous light.

 10 Once you were not a people,

but now you are God’s people;

once you had not received mercy,

but now you have received mercy.

Mark 1: 14 - 20

Good morning O recipients of mercy! Good morning God’s own people, O chosen race, O royal priesthood, O holy nation, O living stones in the temple of God. Feeling flattered? You should do! These words from our reading in 1 Peter are high praise indeed. They are titles applied to those whom God has both called and chosen.

If you’re sitting in this church this morning you can be pretty sure that God has called you. You’ve taken the trouble to be part of this gathering. In heeding that call, you’ve responded to a prompting that comes from God. Something gave you the sense that you needed to be here and you acted upon it. And that’s a good thing. Well done!

And isn’t it exciting to be called! There’s an immediacy about a call. When someone calls you, you feel that they’re focussing on you and you wonder why they’ve called. There’s an instant sense of expectation and curiosity all rolled into one. “I’ve been called! What could this be about?”

Being called speaks immediately and hopefully to our sense of existential alienation which we of course inherited from our primordial parents. There’s something deeply powerful at a psychological level about being called. It holds out hope of inclusion, the reverse of isolation. If someone calls you, they want you.

Speaking of isolation, Henry David Thoreau famously said, “Most men live lives of quiet desperation”. Now there are any number of things he may have meant by this, but we can all identify with that sense of desperation and lack of purpose which lurks within us as we suspect that there is something more to life than the mundane existence which is ours. We all suffer at times from a nagging sense that there has to be more to life than this.

When Jesus calls his disciples we see them acting out of this excitement and expectation. Our Gospel reading describes the call of the fishermen brothers. He calls Simon Peter and Andrew and we read in verse 18: And immediately they left their nets and followed him. When he calls James and John in verse 20 we read: Immediately he called them; they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him. No hesitation.

But here’s the nub of it: it’s one thing to respond immediately to a call, but it’s another thing altogether to stick with that call and follow. It’s one thing to heed the mating call, but it’s a step up to stick around for the consummation and the care of offspring. We’re talking about maturity vs. irresponsibility. It’s the tension we all face between the desire for community and inclusion on the one hand and the fear of obligation on the other.

It’s why grooms are nervous on their wedding days. People say women can’t make up their minds. Try men! Vacillating between loneliness and the fear of commitment. And then when they are committed, hiding in their sheds to escape the demands of commitment. Or if you’re a priest, in your study.

The call sparks the interest but it’s in the following that we find the meaning and community we all desire. The full quote from Henry David Thoreau is this: “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” Isn’t that a sad statement!

It’s in following Jesus that we give full expression to the song God has placed within us. Determining to stick with Jesus means, as Paul says in Ephesians 4: 14,  no longer being children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine.

Real meaning, real purpose, goodness me – a profound sense of being in harmony with God – comes from putting down roots, being accountable, playing your part.

Someone said there are three big questions in life, and they all represent God-given needs:

·        What do I believe?

·        How do I behave?      and

·        Where do I belong?

If we can answer these questions satisfactorily, we will be singing the song Thoreau says is bound up in most men, desperate and silent.

What do we believe? Our reading from 1 Peter says in verse 6: For 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.’

Belief and faith. Where do you place your faith? Do you believe that Jesus is the cornerstone to your life? Not your job, not your investments, not your rights as a citizen, but Jesus – the Son of God. And what impact does that belief have in your life?

How does your belief affect your behaviour? The first verse of our reading from 1 Peter has this to say: 2Rid yourselves, therefore – and as a wise person once said, when you come across the word ‘therefore’ in Scripture, you need to see what it’s there for.  2Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander. 2Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation

How do we behave? If I want to follow as opposed to simply respond to the excitement of a call, I need to get rid of some things. It’s part of the cost, for when you decide for one alternative, you are denying another. You know often we hang onto some forms of unacceptable behaviour, not because we’re bad, but because they work for us. You know how it is. Occasionally guile and insincerity can be useful. They can actually achieve good ends if we put them to use skilfully. Flattery can be very useful. It’s utilitarian – it’s practical. We think the end justifies the means.

It’s not so much that these little compromises of character have a polluting effect on us (and they do), but in utilising our own devices for getting through life we miss the opportunity to lean upon God – to trust God when we take a more honest but risky approach to things. I may be able to manipulate people with guile but in doing so I don’t have to depend upon God: and I miss a growth opportunity. I miss out on seeing my faith rewarded. I miss out on the joy of maturing in God.

So Peter says, avoid these behaviours; and he goes on in Verse 4 to say 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.

Jesus is the cornerstone. Not religion. Not middle class respectability. Not some set of rules. Jesus – the very person of God.

But what of us? 1 Peter says, “Like living stones let yourselves be built into a spiritual house”. A living stone? It’s the strangeness of this image which is striking. We don’t normally think of stones as living.

This is where our passage answers the question: “Where do I belong?” Trying to believe right and behave right is simply impossible without belonging to a faith community, without being built into God’s house like a living stone where Jesus is the chief cornerstone. The community provides context and mutual support. Apart from it, it is impossible to grow.

It’s in the commitment and accountability that comes from belonging to a group of fellow Christians that we grow – and here’s the crucial thing - where our sense of calling turns into a sense of being chosen: of having a mission, a part to play, of being built into something greater than ourselves, of no longer being a rolling stone that gathers no moss as the old saying goes. When I’m accountable (and really this accountability is only functional in a small group situation) I grow. When I grow I begin to give expression to my ministry -  and that is the song Thoreau was referring to – living out our life’s purpose within the calling of God. There is no greater fulfilment in life than the knowledge that you are not only called – for many are – but that you are also chosen for your particular ministry: by Jesus.

“Like living stones let yourselves be built into a spiritual house”.

The Scriptures tell us that many are called but few are chosen. God constantly presents us with opportunities to confirm the fact that we are chosen, and these lie in ministry – in service – and service can only happen when we are committed and accountable to others, when we are living stones built into a spiritual house, as Peter puts it.

In our Gospel reading we see Jesus calling his disciples. We know they respond to his call and follow him, so if you like, they are chosen. There was something about Jesus that made them follow. They were prepared to take a risk and of their own free will get involved in Jesus’ community.

God will never override our free will, but at the same time our choice to follow God is only part of the story. As we get to know God better we discover just how much God has to do with our choice, and it is that which makes us so grateful.

There is always choice. Do I serve myself and continue to lead a life of quiet desperation, going to the grave with my song unsung, or do I front up to God and say “Here am I. Choose me.”

Now when you make yourself available to God unconditionally, you discover two things. Firstly you enter an entirely different relationship with him. The dynamic of your faith changes vastly and you wonder why on earth you’d never made this quality of commitment before. Secondly, you find out that God is very earthly-minded. It’s not about disembodied spirituality in the least. Rather God gives you practical opportunities for following him.

At this time in the Church calendar we are approaching Lent, that 40 day period that runs from Ash Wednesday on 22 February to the end of March – just before Holy Week which begins on 1 April. (I can sense that some of you suspect an ambush now, and you’re quite right. Bishop Jim White once said, never preach an ambush sermon, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. I’ve got you in a cul-de-sac and there’s no escape, ‘cos I’m standing there blocking the way with a shepherd’s crook!). During Lent we are running Lenten Home Groups (or Lenten Study Groups) and we really would like everyone to sign up for one of these. This is your opportunity to let yourself be built into a spiritual house, as Peter says, so that we might get to know Jesus better (i.e. to have deeper belief), to have our characters shaped by him (i.e. to have relevant behaviour) and to discern his call in our lives better (i.e. to learn to belong, and to grow into our ministries which can only function in community).

We would very much like to see everyone participate in a small group for the period of Lent. Lent provides a wonderful opportunity for spiritual growth and it leads nicely up to Holy Week and of course Good Friday and Easter. There is a list at the back of the church and it would be good if you’d add your name to it, make a commitment, and nail your colours to the mast. By doing so you’re indicating a willingness to be accountable, to mature in Christ, to move from simply being called to being chosen, to developing your ministry in the safe setting of a Home Group for the 40 days of Lent.

We need to do more than believe right and behave right. We need to belong right too. It’s critical to grow. Years ago someone said to me that in the Christian life one can never stand still. You are either going forward or you are going backwards. This is so true. 

God has called you. You have an opportunity to follow in a fresh way. Sign up for a Lenten Home Group and grasp that opportunity with both hands. Many are called but few are chosen. The decision is in your hands.

AMEN.

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