"Tombstones or Living Stones?"
Christ helps us to be strong, solid and supportive.
Sermon Preached by
The Reverend Dr. Bill Fritz
Sunday, January 2, 2005
Text: I Peter 2:1-10
In one of his books, Rupert Hoover writes that some tombstones in cemeteries have interesting and humorous epitaphs inscribed on them. For example one tombstone in Key West, Florida reads: “I told you I was sick.” In Ft. Wallace, Kansas a Wild West tombstone reads: “He tried to make two jacks beat a pair of aces.”
Here's a dentist who had a sense of humour. On his tombstone is the following inscription: “When on this tombstone you gaze with gravity, cheer up! I'm filling my last cavity.”
A cemetery in Ashbury, England contains the tombstone of The Rev. Arthur Thomas. He was a missionary and his epitaph reads: “Arthur Thomas, who after 20 years of unremitting labours as a missionary was accidentally shot by his native burden bearer. Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
And a famous Toronto sports reporter who like the racetrack and the opposite sex as much as he loved newspapers had these words engraved on his tombstone: “Here lies the victim of slow horses and fast women.”
Tombstones tell a story. Some of the epitaphs may be humourous, others sad, but they all tell a story, for every tombstone carries the date of birth and the date of death, separated by a dash. Now, the Bible is not interested in date of birth nor in date of death. The Bible is concerned about the dash, for the dash signifies the life lived. The whole Bible is concerned with what we do with the dash. What we do with our life. That is why the apostle Peter did not write about dead stones nor tombstones. Peter wrote about living stones. Peter was concerned with what we are doing with our lives right now.
Peter wrote to Christians at a time when the church was enduring persecution. It was not smart to be Christian. Christians were suspect. They were reviled, ridiculed and dismissed. You could lose your job if you were a Christian. You could be thrown into prison, your home confiscated, you could be exiled or even executed. It was not smart to be a Christian.
But Peter wrote to encourage Christians. Be strong, be steady, be faithful. Be immovable in your faith, for you are living stones. Not dead stones, not tombstones, but living stones.
“Christ is the cornerstone, “ said Peter. He is the one who is holding the building together. He is the one who holds us together. He has given to us the example of how we are to live. As living stones we are to look to him who is our cornerstone.
And remember, he suffered greatly. He was maligned. He was vilified. He was condemned and nailed to the cross, Public Enemy Number One of his people. And yet the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. He alone gives meaning and purpose to life.
Christ is the cornerstone. We are to be living stones.
But what does it mean to be a living stone? Perhaps we have a clue when we reflect upon the characteristics of stones.
First, stones are strong. From 800 to 500 B.C., history tells us that Babylon was one of the greatest cities of all the world. Under the kings of Nebuchadnezzar's dynasty it was a mighty city of lofty towers, ziggurats, gardens, walls, streets, houses and temples. But within the next hundred years virtually all traces of that immense and grand city vanished, swept away not only by the invading armies of the Medes and Persians but also by the sands of time. For you see, Babylon was built mainly from mud brick and not stone, so the city has literally been blown away. Consider the temples, Sphinx and pyramids of Egypt. Although damaged and plundered, they still stand after some 5,000 years. Why? They were constructed of stone.
Stones are strong. Homes, cottages, churches built of stone are strong. In our recent journey to Britain, Italy and Switzerland, Joan and I walked through churches, castles, palaces and bridges built hundreds of years ago. They still stand, for they are built of stone. This church stands confident and strong for it too was built of stone.
Stones are strong. As God's people we are called to be strong stones. Laurel Lee is one such living stone. This woman was happily married with two children. To her delight she was pregnant with her third child, but then in her visits to the doctor she discovered that she was being attacked by Hodgkin's disease - a type of cancer. So began a regimen of treatments in and out of hospital. In the midst of her many visits to the hospital, one day her husband announced that he just couldn't take it any more. He was divorcing her.
Laurel Lee was now alone. Devastated, struggling with looking after her home, in and out of hospital with chemotherapy treatments, she heard more bad news from the doctors. They had to administer radiation therapy, which would surely kill the child within her. “No, not my baby,” asserted Laurel Lee. And so the doctors accepted her demand. For the next two months she suffered greatly, not knowing if she would live or die. But live she did. Laurel Lee is back in good health, with three happy, growing children. She is still struggling, but she says that she is stronger for it. She says it is her faith in Christ that gives her strength. Laurel Lee is a woman of great faith, humour, determination, courage and strength. Laurel is a living stone.
You and I are called to be living stones. As we face the New Year we have no idea what may lie ahead for us. With Christ as our cornerstone we face the year with faith and hope. But at any bend or turn in the year ahead of us we may face trouble, turmoil or turbulence. We may face the loss of health, the loss of our job, the loss of material wealth, the loss of a loved one. We may face setbacks, discouragement and grief. We may suffer, but will you and I be living stones? Looking to Christ as cornerstone, will we be strong in our journey?
Stones are strong. Secondly, stones are solid.
In this coming year, a renovation will start throughout a major portion of our church building. The aim of this renovation is to make our church more accessible and user-friendly.
Architects, designers and construction engineers have been examining our building, and on several occasions I have heard them state what a major project this will be. For they must dismantle and penetrate some of the solid stone that constitutes the present structure. So, the project will be arduous and expensive, for the stone is solid, not easily persuaded in the re-design. The workers will face enormous difficulties as they dismantle some of the stonework. The project will be slow and costly, but necessary, as the building is redesigned to serve the people who enter better.
The apostle Peter, calls on Christians to be strong and solid. You are stones. Be solid in the faith. Professor Tom Long in his sermon to us this summer charged that we Christians today are not solid in our faith. I suppose that can be true.
Recently, I heard about two fathers talking to each other. One said, “I've been asked to be a Sunday school teacher in my church.”
“Go on,” said the other. “I'll be you don't even know the Lord's Prayer.”
“Sure I do,” he said. “Now I lay me down to sleep…”
“Gosh” said the other “I didn't know you knew so much about the Bible!”
Professor Tom Long charged we don't know our faith. We don't know our Bible. We are superficial in the faith. Well, I believe we at this church are taking that charge seriously. I believe all our ministers endeavour to provide depth. And this year we launch yet another ministry that provides depth to faith. This year we launch our Congregational Bethel Bible Ministry. As adults we are encouraged to explore the depths of biblical belief. I encourage you to be part of this exciting ministry. “For what does it profit a person if they gain the whole world but lose their own soul?”
You may remember Malcolm Muggeridge, who for many years was editor of the British journal, Punch. He was a rather cynical and cutting writer, brilliant in expression. Then he travelled to India, where he was deeply influenced by Mother Teresa and her Christ-like example. He realized how misplaced his outlook on life had been. He read the Bible himself and became a confessing Christian. Toward the end of his life he wrote these words:
I may, I suppose, regard myself as or pass for being a relatively successful man. People occasionally recognize me on the street - that's fame. I can fairly easily earn enough to qualify for admission to the higher slopes of the Revenue - that's success. Furnished with money and a little fame even the elderly, if they care to, may partake of trendy diversions - that's pleasure. It might happen that once in a while that something I said or wrote was sufficiently heeded for me to persuade myself that it represented a serious impact on our time - that's fulfillment. Yet, I say to you, multiply these triumphs by a million, add them all together and they are nothing - less than nothing, a positive impediment - measured against one sup of that living water which Christ offers to the spiritually thirsty, irrespective of who or what we are.
Toward the end of his life Malcolm Muggeridge became a bold exponent of the Christian faith. Today, I believe more than ever before that you and I are called upon to know our faith. What do we believe about God, about Christ? Where do we stand on the vital moral issues of the day? What is right and good? And what is evil? Where do you and I stand? As Dr. Peter Marshall once said, “We must stand for something, lest we fall for anything.”
Stones are strong. Stones are solid. Thirdly, stones are supportive.
Stones are used virtually around the world as supportive of any construction projects. Stones support walls, bridges, roads ad buildings. Peter says you are living stones. You are called to be supportive.
Ricky Martin, the popular Latino singer, was recently in Toronto. Of course his female fans were out in full force. At the end of the concert they literally mobbed this attractive Puerto Rican heartthrob. Martin was genuinely pleased with all the attention that his fans overwhelmed him with. But from the corner of his eye he spotted another fan, all by herself in a wheelchair off to the side and back. So Ricky Martin the star, receiving the adulation of his fans, edged his way toward the woman in the wheelchair. And he came to her, greeted her and embraced her. Ricky Martin, the star, the heartthrob, is supportive of those who are on life's sidelines.
Jane Craig who gave me this story: Following the Olympic games not only are there the Paralympics but there are also the Special Olympics. A few years ago nine contestants assembled at the starting line for the 100-yard dash. At the gun, they started out with gusto and relish, running as best they could, running to win. However, one young man stumbled and tumbled to the asphalt and began to cry. The other eight heard his cries. They looked back, turned around and walked back, every one of them. They helped him up. One woman contestant with Down Syndrome kissed him and encouraged him. Then, together all nine held hands and walked to the finish line. Up to that point everyone in the stands was silent. But then everyone stood up and cheered, for everyone in that race was a winner.
Earlier, I recounted the story of Laurel Lee, who was expecting her third child and was assaulted by cancer and deserted by her husband. But not all husbands are like that. Robertson McQuillain was president of Columbia Seminary, an author and speaker of note. He was in great demand in both the U.S. and Canada. But then his wife Muriel was stricken with Alzheimer's disease in middle age. For a time, Robertson McQuillain attempted to cope, but then he knew that his place was beside his wife.
He resigned his presidency and cut back on his speaking engagements. For the next 25 years, as his wife twisted and turned in the turbulence of the disease, McQuillain was her constant caregiver. Once they were on a flight that was delayed in Atlanta, and had to wait for two hours in the airport. Every few minutes Muriel asked the same questions and he gave the same answers, and every few minutes she demanded that they walk the length of the terminal in search of - what? Muriel in her younger years was an outstanding athlete and she could out-walk Robertson. After about the 10th such excursion they sat down, he exhausted.
A woman sitting nearby and working on her laptop computer mumbled something. “Pardon?” Robertson asked. And without looking up from her computer, she said to him, “I was just asking myself, ”˜Will I ever find a man who will love me like that?'”
You and I are called to be living stones. In a world where there is so much hurt, confusion and hate, you and I are called to be strong, solid and supportive. You and I are called to do our part for the suffering, devastated East Asia, where some 150,000 lives have been lost. You are I are called to do our part in our great city, in our communities, our neighbourhoods, in our families.
Can you do it? Can I do it? On our own, we likely can't. But Peter reminds us, “Come to the living stone.” Come to the chief cornerstone. Come to Christ. Come to him this morning as he comes to you and to me through the bread broken, the cup offered. “This is our body. This is our blood.” Come to him who comes to us through the Sacrament. Come to him who is the chief cornerstone, and we his living stones.
This is a verbatim transcription of the original sermon.