However, if you are a disciple of Jesus, exile is something you should anticipate. Rejection will happen when we strive to fulfill everything God says we are capable of becoming in Christ Jesus.
Oh, that’s wonderful (please note my sarcasm). So why would we want to endure pain and endure rejection? Because we are aware of Jesus’ value. We have already sampled the spiritual milk. We are aware of both our past selves and our new selves in Christ.
Let’s step back and ask ourselves why rejection is a given. since Jesus did it first.
Jesus is described as the Living Stone in verses 4 and 5, who was rejected by people yet esteemed and valued by God.
The idea of God’s authority and reign is present in the stone. It’s crucial to remember that he’s alive because he’s the Living Stone. not deceased Although it seems too simple to mention, it is significant since it shows that the stone is alive and functional.
This Living Stone was also disregarded. Jesus, the son of God, was charged with fraud, betrayal, and criminal activity. In the worst manner possible, he was crucified.
However, the One who was spurned was in fact precious and chosen. His apparent rejection in the end was actually a part of God’s original plan all along. His rejection was intended to keep you and I safe.
Furthermore, as we begin to rely on the Living Stone (Jesus), we are developing into Living Stones (Jesus). We are also constructed into a spiritual home, also known as a temple, also known as where God dwells by His spirit, as living stones.
Are we actually constructing a temple? No. We are the spiritual home, nevertheless. the chapel. When you place your trust in THE Living Stone (Jesus), each person is a living stone. Together, in all of our individuality, we are constructed into a new spiritual home, a home of the Spirit where God resides among us. When you consider it, that is rather bizarre. Like, give it some serious thought. These implications include:
- Significance
- This is not a community event or another social gathering; it is usGrace Community Church. There is a supernatural event taking place right now. Our shared existence, in all of its diversity and oneness, serves a lofty, eternal purpose.
- Our interactions are therefore essential, not elective. Whether we get along or not, we are creating a spiritual home together.
- Agony & Rejection
- Because our Living Stone, the one in whom we have faith, suffered and was rejected, following Jesus entails suffering and rejection.
- It is not a matter of your resolve or willpower to follow Jesus. It depends on how valuable and precious Jesus is to follow him. Because if you follow Jesus, the world will reject you as well.
- Is it worthwhile to be scorned for Jesus? (yes.)
The good news is that sorrow and rejection are not the ultimate results. The promise in verses 6 and 7 is as follows: “Whoever trusts in him will not be ashamed; the honor belongs to you who trust…
But the choice of how one responds to Jesus is up to each individual. When it comes to Jesus, neutrality is not an option. Either he is the world’s savior or you need saving. Or, He is not, thus you are not in need of salvation.
Jesus is either the cornerstone upon which everything is constructed or your living stone. He may also be the stone that trips you up and stuns your toe.
I’ll thus leave you with this query. To you, who is Jesus? Do you desire that He become your Living Stone but are unsure of what that entails? Inform us. We would adore speaking with you.
What is the meaning of stone in the Bible?
A stone is compared to strength and resiliency in a person’s character in certain passages of scripture. Before Christ’s death, Jesus tells Peter that his new name will mean the same as a stone after Christ’s death. This is done to show the firmness and resolve that Peter will have. His faith was unsure prior to Christ’s death, but after seeing Christ after Christ’s death, it is rock-solid.
by Steve Lawrence
I recently had a conversation with a woman whose husband had recently received word that he would no longer be needed at his Catholic high school as the Religious Education Coordinator for the upcoming academic year. Naturally, he was very disturbed about it, especially because the school had given ambiguous explanations for their choice. I felt qualified to openly encourage her, “I’m sure good things will come from it, even if they are not visible at the moment. I’ve experienced being pushed aside a few times myself over the years, and then subsequently saw how God had been preparing something greater.
My parents had a really terrible period of dispute while I was a child growing up in Brisbane, Australia, in the 1980s, which lasted six years from the time I was twelve until they separated right as I graduated high school, before relocating to Melbourne. After seeing the issues in their marriage, which caused my brothers and I a lot of trouble and left us hurt and somewhat traumatized, I was understandably a little hesitant to get married. I did, however, get married, and with Annie’s unfailing gentle love, my friends’ prayers and support, as well as regular access to the Eucharist and the Sacraments of Confession, I have experienced a great lot of healing. Over time, we have discovered that we are capable of supporting other married couples and leading a very successful ministry to engaged, married, and family couples. The miracle that is our union!
The principal of the high school where I worked as the director of faith and mission had a proverb that he would pronounce as a warning: “Wounded people wound people, or “Damaged people damage people.” While it is undoubtedly true that people prefer to dwell on their challenging situations if they are not resolved, I believe this to be a constrained and somewhat gloomy truth. My personal favorite to add is that “healed people heal people. This is unquestionably my experience, and it is in line with the gospel’s witness. According to the many versions of the Resurrection, when Jesus returned from the dead, he made a considerable effort to let the disciples to view and touch the crucifixion-related wounds on his body. As vital as it is to demonstrate that he was truly raised from the dead, the purpose of this was to emphasize that being raised and healed does not include being “patched up as if what caused the wounds didn’t happen.” No, the scars continue to exist and, even after healing, they are revered. As we learn via a vision of heaven that Jesus is “the Lamb looking as though he had been slaughtered” (Rev 5:6), and similarly for us, our glorified wounds will be with Him for all of eternity! When our wounds are healed, they don’t go away; rather, they open up new and magnificent doors for God to work in our lives. They furthermore turn into resources of grace for others. We can offer others our missionary credentials and our healed scars. God gives us treasures that we would not otherwise possess through the hardships we must experience.
I can therefore say with absolute certainty that God permitted the catastrophe of my parents’ divorce, not because it was a good thing in and of itself (it was terrible and God’s heart broke as a result of it! ), but because He knew He would bring a greater thing from it. My own marriage to Annie, now 27 years old, our six children, and the tremendous fruitfulness of our life and mission within the Emmanuel Community in Australia, as well as my work with Catholic leaders. In the middle of those difficult times, I experienced the birth of my faith, the development of my prayer life, and the development of my desire to put my confidence in God. I learnt to seek God’s grace since I was aware that human strength alone could not bring about marriage. No matter what storm is raging around, there is only security in total surrender to God.
Therefore, when we read in today’s Gospel that “the stone that the builder’s rejected has become the cornerstone” and that “Jesus Himself was rejected and set aside and thus gave us the grace of the death and resurrection,” we can also understand that God is doing something brand-new and something truly amazing in the trials and mysteries of our lives.
Matthew 21:33-43
Steve Lawrence, a married father of six, works as a consultant for Catholic leaders at Altum Leadership Group. He spent twelve years in Melbourne as a professional Australian football player, served as Sydney World Youth Day’s 2008 director of evangelization and catechesis, and served as the director of Rome’s Emmanuel School of Mission. Raising Fathers Fathering from the Frontline: 12 Men’s Stories and Make Your Mark: Five Hidden Keys to Great Leadership (both Wilkinson, 2019) are his most recent books (Connor Court, 2020).
What does the Bible say about the 12 stones?
Prior to the reign of King Josiah, the practice of marking a significant religious occasion with twelve stones, also known as twelve (matzevot) or standing stones, was widespread in the Kingdom of Judah (Deuteronomy 27:18). When the Twelve Tribes met with Joshua as their leader shortly after crossing the Jordan River into the land of Israel, the stones were specifically set in a circle where the heads of each tribe stood (Joshua 4:111). In the northern Kingdom of Israel, this was used for a brief time. Similar to this, the prophet Elijah constructed an altar out of twelve stones (1 Kings 18:3031). The altar’s fractured stones were from a structure that stood on Mount Carmel prior to the construction of the First Temple. Offerings on other altars were outlawed after the Temple was finished. God would ignite the offering with fire (or lightning) from heaven on Elijah’s altar, which was unusual. The most impressive religious event since the Exodus from Egypt was this show because of its timing. Consequently, using a Twelve-Stone monument became a way to commemorate a momentous occasion. Because some individuals gave the stones themselves a religious significance that resembled worship, King Josiah banned the practice.
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What is the God-stone?
Legend has it that the Demiurge, who created the universe, produced the famous stone known as Dei Lapis. The stone has the power of ultimate creation, and for many generations, people have sought it out in an effort to harness its power—some for good, some for evil. The mythical stone’s location is finally discovered, but the outcomes of the search are unexpected.
What does a stone represent?
The earth has several valuable rocks. They are present in almost every type of environment on the planet. Rocks can represent knowledge, power, stability, endurance, and time.
Although rocks are used in a wide variety of ways by both humans and nature, their fundamental nature and symbolism remain the same. Their meaning derives from their age, density, and impenetrability.
What is the Bible’s teaching on God serving as our rock?
Psalm 18 for the musical director of David, the LORD’s servant. When the LORD saved him from Saul’s and all of his enemies’ hands, he sang the lyrics of this song to the LORD. He stated:
My God is my rock, and he is my fortress and my deliverer; I will take refuge in him. He is my fortress, my armor, and the horn of my deliverance.
In my anguish, I cried out to the LORD and begged my God for assistance. My wail reached his ears from before him, coming from his temple.
He was so furious that it caused the earth to quake, the mountain foundations to shake, and the world itself to tremble.
His mouth was spewing blazing coals and consuming fire, and smoke was rising from his nostrils.
He turned the sky’s black rain clouds into his sheltering and protective canopy.
Clouds carrying hailstones and lightning bolts advanced out of the light of his presence.
He launched his arrows, dispersing the adversaries, and then dispatched them with powerful lightning strikes.
At your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of breath from your nostrils, the valleys of the sea were unveiled, and the foundations of the earth were uncovered.
He pulled me out of deep seas by extending his arm from up high.
He saved me because he loved me; he brought me out into a roomy area.
The LORD has repaid me in accordance with my righteousness and according to the cleanliness of my hands.
Because I have walked in the ways of the LORD, I haven’t done wrong by disobeying him.
In accordance with my righteousness and the apparent cleanliness of my hands in his eyes, the LORD has repaid me.
You demonstrate your faithfulness to the obedient, and your blamelessness to the blameless.
To the righteous, you demonstrate your purity; to the dishonest, your cunning.