Pentecost XIV
Strong words today from Jesus, directed toward the religious authorities, who grow increasingly attuned to his words and presence as a threat. Jesus quotes scripture about himself, saying 'The stone that the builders rejected (as too weak!) has become the cornerstone of the whole building...' And, look out when that stone falls, he says: it brings judgement.
Jesus brings truth, speaks truth, is truth. And, what is our reaction to this truth, spoken in love - always - but sometimes as a word of judgement. Jesus' judgement is not to be feared, though, for it is simply the vision of the world as God sees it, as it is meant to be, as it is being brought into fullness of being, slowly over time. This judgement is not to be feared when we align our lives with this... weak stone that seemed so useless and unimportant.
Our ancestors in the faith spent a lot of time on this notion, and the questions of power that it brings up. What is this reversal about, this rejected stone becoming the cornerstone? I always think of the Apostle Paul's comment in his second letter to the little church in the Greek city of Corinth:
“'My grace is sufficient for you, for (my) power is made perfect in weakness.' So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me."
Or, as he says elsewhere, 'where I am weak, there am I strong.'
How is this so?
Our understanding of God's power in our lives begins in the place of humility, of our own weaknesses. It is there that divine power can act and enter, and transform. Offer those places and times to God -- places of shame and hurt, of frustration and insecurity, of what the world would call weakness.
Our world fetishizes a certain notion of strength and power. Jesus says, "that which is rejected will become the foundation... if you let God work the way of transformation even there."
Begin in humility. Offer yourself and your weakness to God. There is power in that surrender. Be built up, then, into a living temple of the Spirit, for the life of the world. In that is power worth seeking.