“The stone which the builders rejected has become the corner stone.” (Psalms 118:22)
Jesus Christ uses an image taken from architecture to refer to himself. He is the cornerstone. We first find this image in Psalm 118, and Jesus refers to it, among others, in Matthew (Matt 21: 42). Later also St. Peter uses it in one of his sermons which we find in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 4: 11-12), and we find it still in the Letter to the Ephesians and in the First Letter of St. Peter.
First of all what is the cornerstone? The cornerstone, sometimes even referred to as foundation-stone is that fundamental stone that structurally holds the entire building together! And Jesus presents himself as such. Paul and
Peter refer to Jesus as the cornerstone of our faith or of our Church.
When you think about it, this is a wonderful image of Jesus. He appears to be just another stone, like each one of us and yet He is different. He is made of the same stuff as the rest of us and yet he looks different. In the Letter to the Hebrews, speaking of Jesus as our High Priest, we read: “Our high priest is not indifferent to our weaknesses, for he was tempted in every way
just as we are, yet without sinning.” (Hebrews 4:15) He was different and looked different because He was without sin, and therefore He was a reprimand to the Jewish elders who rejected Him.
But notwithstanding this rejection, God made him the cornerstone, that is, He has become more central to the building than any other stone because He occupies such an important place in the building, that if He is removed, the entire construction will end up a heap of rubble.
Jesus is the cornerstone of our Church. Our faith is built and developed on him. Without him the Church will not be the Church and our faith will not be the same. We as Christians should be built on Christ as our cornerstone and therefore like Christ we have to different.
Different not in the way the Pharisees were. These made their being with the way they dressed. But different in the way that Jesus was. How was Jesus different?
What made Jesus different was the virtue of love and actually he wanted this to be the distinctive sign of those who belong to him. He saw love as service and put it in practice in the most radical way. “There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friend.” (John 15;13), He said, and he gave his life to redeem us.
He redefined love in terms of self-sacrifice and of forgiveness even to your enemies. His love made him honest, frank, real, challenging, imaginative, free-thinking, focused, compassionate, caring, powerful and demanding.
This is the stone that the builders rejected - wrong shape, wrong colour, too difficult, too demanding. But the opinion of the builders was subject to the review of the Chief Architect, who has made this stone, Jesus, the cornerstone to the entire operation.
Is He your cornerstone?
Jesus Christ uses an image taken from architecture to refer to himself. He is the cornerstone. We first find this image in Psalm 118, and Jesus refers to it, among others, in Matthew (Matt 21: 42). Later also St. Peter uses it in one of his sermons which we find in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 4: 11-12), and we find it still in the Letter to the Ephesians and in the First Letter of St. Peter.
First of all what is the cornerstone? The cornerstone, sometimes even referred to as foundation-stone is that fundamental stone that structurally holds the entire building together! And Jesus presents himself as such. Paul and
Peter refer to Jesus as the cornerstone of our faith or of our Church.
When you think about it, this is a wonderful image of Jesus. He appears to be just another stone, like each one of us and yet He is different. He is made of the same stuff as the rest of us and yet he looks different. In the Letter to the Hebrews, speaking of Jesus as our High Priest, we read: “Our high priest is not indifferent to our weaknesses, for he was tempted in every way
just as we are, yet without sinning.” (Hebrews 4:15) He was different and looked different because He was without sin, and therefore He was a reprimand to the Jewish elders who rejected Him.
But notwithstanding this rejection, God made him the cornerstone, that is, He has become more central to the building than any other stone because He occupies such an important place in the building, that if He is removed, the entire construction will end up a heap of rubble.
Jesus is the cornerstone of our Church. Our faith is built and developed on him. Without him the Church will not be the Church and our faith will not be the same. We as Christians should be built on Christ as our cornerstone and therefore like Christ we have to different.
Different not in the way the Pharisees were. These made their being with the way they dressed. But different in the way that Jesus was. How was Jesus different?
What made Jesus different was the virtue of love and actually he wanted this to be the distinctive sign of those who belong to him. He saw love as service and put it in practice in the most radical way. “There is no greater love than this, to give one’s life for one’s friend.” (John 15;13), He said, and he gave his life to redeem us.
He redefined love in terms of self-sacrifice and of forgiveness even to your enemies. His love made him honest, frank, real, challenging, imaginative, free-thinking, focused, compassionate, caring, powerful and demanding.
This is the stone that the builders rejected - wrong shape, wrong colour, too difficult, too demanding. But the opinion of the builders was subject to the review of the Chief Architect, who has made this stone, Jesus, the cornerstone to the entire operation.
Is He your cornerstone?
RSS Feed
