Last week we looked at dust, the
building block of all things-the starstuff
as Carl Sagon calls it. Living things are made from dust and so are mountains and rocks and stones. Scientifically there’s not much difference
between a rock and a stone. In the Bible, there are 8 different words that are
translated as ‘rock’ and 40 translated ‘stone’. In broad terms, ‘rock’ is used
when strength or size is implied such as for a building a fortress, or as a
metaphor for God. ‘Stone’ is often something shaped by man or nature for a
special purpose like a millstone or stone idol or stones used in David’s
slingshot.
In ancient times, altars were
built of rock. Many times in the Old Testament God is referred to as the Rock. “There is none
holy as the LORD: for there is none
beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God” (1 Samuel 2:2) and “The LORD is my rock,
and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high
tower” (Psalm 18:2) are
just a couple of these references. God is the ultimate Altar, the greatest Rock.
Jesus says we must be like the
wise man “who built his house upon the rock” and it did not fall even though
“the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew.” (Matthew
7:24-25) Jews in his audience would have easily identified that he was talking
about God as the Rock. Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:4 identifies Jesus as the same
Rock that was in the Exodus wanderings: “And
did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock
was Christ.”
In the Bible, ‘stones’ often
represent something used by humans to represent God’s action. In Genesis 28, we
hear that “Jacob rose up early in the
morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon
the top of it.” Joshua tells the leaders of the tribes, “Pass over before the ark of the LORD your
God into the midst of Jordan, and take up every man a stone
upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of
Israel.” (Joshua 4:5). The prophet Samuel sets up a memorial stone or monument
“between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the
name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.” (1 Samuel
7:12)
Psalm 118:22 states, “The stone which the builders refused is
become the head of the corner” and Isaiah 28:16 reiterates, “this is what the Sovereign LORD says: ‘See,
I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure
foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.’”
Jesus uses this metaphor in Matthew 21:42, “Have
you never read in the Scriptures: 'The stone the builders rejected has become
the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?”
Peter quotes the same verse when he and John are arraigned before the Sanhedrin
(Acts 4:11) and later in his first Letter, he returns to this theme: “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believes in him
shall not be confounded.”
Stones can also refer to precious
stones, like those used in the priestly garments of the Old Testament or the gates
of the heavenly Jerusalem. In the Book of Revelation we are promised, “To the one who is victorious…I will also
give…a white stone with a new name written on it,
known only to the one who receives it.” (Revelation 2:17) Perhaps this is
foreshadowed when Jesus tells Simon, “I
tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the
gates of Hades will not overcome it.” (Matthew 16:18)
This sentence is a play on words
in the Greek: “Thou art Peter (Πέτρος,
Petrus, a stone or piece of a rock), and upon this rock (πέτρα, petra, a rock) I will build my
Church.” In looking at all the verses that include rocks and stones, I
was struck by the idea that we are, like Peter, named and called to be pieces
of the Rock that is Christ.
Stones, even gem stones don’t
come out of the earth all shiny and polished and beautiful. It takes the work
of a craftsman to take the rough stone and see the beauty inside it. When I was
a child I loved to collect rocks. At one time I could quickly identify a metamorphic
or igneous or sedimentary rock quite easily. I enjoyed them just as they were with the sparkles of iron
pyrite or granite crystals shining through. Although I never had one of the
rock polishing drums, I’m sure I would have enjoyed making my collection even
more beautiful by polishing them.
Like stones, there is beauty in
each of us. It may take some polishing and even chipping away of the
surrounding material to find the brilliance inside. For some of us, like for a
geode, it may mean being split apart. Inside, though, is the beauty that was
put in us when the starstuff dust formed us.
This week
- Meditate on some of the ‘rock’ or ‘stone’ citations here (or elsewhere in the Bible) OR
- Find a beautiful stone the next time you are out walking. Wash off any dust that might be on it. Study it in the light, feel the texture, look at the different colors in the stone. Consider the question ‘What beauty is hidden inside me?’ OR
- Think about how you are like a gem stone. How is God polishing you to be more beautiful?
Next week
we’ll look at the role of ‘humanity’ in Lent.
