(Adults, I don't mind saying that it was EXTREMELY difficult for me to find in this Sunday's Gospel the face of God that the youngest children need to see. But there towards the end, sandwiched between discussions of vineyards and fruit, is verse 44 about a stone. Perfect.)
This Sunday Jesus takes a short break from talking about vineyards to remind the people of one of the psalms. The psalms are in the Holy Bible. We whisper them. We sing them. They are prayer.
Jesus prays,
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes”
What did you hear? Something amazing that the Lord has done. What is it?
Jesus begins, "The stone that the builders rejected..." He is praying about a stone!?
Builders will use stone to build many great things:
But always when they build, they have to begin with one stone. The first stone is called the cornerstone. It is the most important. If it is the first stone, and everything else is built on it, what must it be like? How do the builders choose?
Jesus prays about builders rejecting the stone. That means that they decide it is no good. They put it aside. They do not want it. They bury it.
If the builders reject it, what must that stone be like? Is it too small? Is it broken?
But Jesus says that this is the stone that becomes the cornerstone. The stone that they bury becomes the first. It is the start of something new. On this stone, everything else is built.
But why is this important to Jesus? Why is he praying about this stone? He prays,
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing
God does this! God takes the stone that the builders get rid of, the stone that is too small, the stone that is broken, the stone that nobody wants, and God uses it to start something new. Something amazing!
This seems to be what God does, isn't it?
When we see a teeny tiny mustard seed, what does God see?
When we see not enough food, what does God see?
When we see a stone that is no good, what does God see?
Always special. Always more. Always amazing.
Let us whisper that prayer with Jesus:
“The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is amazing in our eyes”