The Corner Stone

 

I Peter 2: 4-10

Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for this mornings meditation is recorded in the first letter of Peter, chapter 2, verses 4 through 10, particularly these words: “As you come to him, the living stone — rejected by men, but chosen by God, and precious to him — you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” This is our text.

In the name of our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, dear Christian friends. What is the church? Many people today are so disappointed with “THE CHURCH”. There are those who are outside Christianity who look at the scandals of the Roman Catholic church, and the divisions of the Episcopal Church, and the arguments going on in almost all churchs today — and say, “Yes! That’s the church for you!” And they see the TV evangelist and say, “All THE CHURCH wants is your money!” And they see other scandals involving Christians and the visible church — And they wonder IF the church is doing what THE CHURCH is supposed to do. And many have concluded that the church is certainly NOT doing its job — at least NOT the job THEY THINK the church should be doing. Some congregations try to avoid association with “THE CHURCH”. They call themselves a community, or a fellowship — anything but a “Church”

But most of the hard critics of the church, are those who are on the outside looking in. These critics are most often those who normally do very little IN the church. The problem these people see with the church is not really the church’s problem — but their own. They don’t understand the function, the purpose, or the very nature of the church.

The church is not some mystical, invisible magic wand that we wave in the air and it makes everybody good, magically feeding the poor, giving riches to the poor, and healing every disease that is known to man. Wouldn’t it be nice to have just such a magic wand — wave it in the air and all sin, all sickness, all pain, and all suffering just disappears?

But the church is not that magic wand. The church we confess in our creed is the one Holy Christian and Apostolic church, God’s people; called, gathered, enlightended and sanctified by the Holy Spirit; gathered around God’s Word and Sacrament; receiving forgiveness of sins and strength from God, so that they might witness to the love of God in Jesus Christ by word and deed. The Apostle Paul spoke of the church in these words: “So then you are no longer stranger and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a swelling place of God in the spirit.”

You and I and every Christian, who professes Christ, are the stones that produce that structure called, “The Church.” Each one of us is an important stone in that building. But the most important stone in that building is mentioned by Paul — and also by Peter in today’s text. Both men point to Jesus Christ as the Cornerstone — the most important stone — in this building called “THE CHURCH”.

As we remember that great festival of Easter Day which we celebrated a few weeks back, Peter’s words are so meaningful to each of us, “Come to Him, to that living stone, in God’s sight chosen and precious; and like living stones, be yourselves built into a spiritual house to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Those who reject the church today as being meaningless — are not much different from many in Peter’s day. For even back then there were those who rejected “the Cornerstone.” Christ himself quoted an Old Testament prediction that this would happen. Isaiah had said, “He is a stone that will make men stumble, a rock that will make them fall; but they stumble because they disobey the Word.”

Many people in our community and in our neighborhoods, have no interest at all in Church or religion. Some are even hostile to the church. Some have said that we now live in a Post Christian Era of time. Much of that hostility comes because they see the church and religion as nothing more than a set of rules — a set of “thou shalts” and “thou shalt nots.” They see the church as a set of rules that they do NOT want to follow. They want to make their own rules for life. They want to be free — not tied down by rules.

Too bad they do not realize that true freedom — true joy– can only be found in the true “cornerstone” of the church, which is Jesus Christ. True Freedom can only come in the forgiveness which Jesus Christ offers to us by grace, through faith. And true freedom and peace, comes only in the peace which He alone can give. The cornerstone of the church IS NOT the LAW — the cornerstone of the church is the Gospel — it is Jesus Christ.

Now, in our text, Peter says, you and I are living stones that go into that building where Jesus Christ is the cornerstone. As the cornerstone, it is HIS job and duty to support and to hold up the rest of us. The cornerstone in today’s buildings in only decorative — it provides no support for the building. But in Peter’s day, the corner stone was laid first, and the entire weight of the whole building rest on that cornerstone. That’s what the Cornerstone is for — to support the weight of the rest of the building. So Peter writes to the Christians of his day, “you also, are being built into a spiritual house, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

Jesus Christ himself told us, “Without me, you can do nothing.”

No matter how many good works we did in this world. No matter how religious we were. No matter how much money was given to charity. No matter how many critical events were shared. No matter how many sick people were visited. No matter how many hungry people were fed. — Without Jesus Christ — without our cornerstone — we are nothing. Isaiah explained it perfectly when he said, “All our righteous deeds, all our good works, are like filthy rags.” Our Spiritual sacrifices are acceptable to God, ONLY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, our Cornerstone.

Therefore the words of Peter in our text are so true for each of us: “To you therefore who believe, he is precious.” The Lord is indeed precious to us. He is more precious than Gold or Silver for he is the very source of our lives. Peter explained it this way in our text, “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

Dear friends, none of that happened by accident. That was God’s plan through his Son Jesus Christ. He died for you. He arose for you. He ascended into heaven to prepare a place for you. That is why you are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people.”

Our cornerstone is indeed precious to us. Our cornerstone is indispensable to us. We have to have him — for forgiveness, for strength, for life, for everything.

Individual Christians will fall short. But the church of Jesus Christ, the true church, will never fall short, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it — because the Cornerstone of the Church is Jesus Christ, our Lord. To God be the Glory. Amen.

May the peace of God which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.