A Verse to Stumble Over

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 

Great verse. 

I've heard it talked about my whole life. 

What's the interpretation? 

Well, obviously, the rock of our faith is that Jesus was rejected. So, stand up on the rock and tell the world that because of Jesus' rejection, you don't have to be rejected. (Unless, of course, you don't believe like us. And then sadly, yes, you will be rejected.)

Wait. What? (Record scratch). 

Let's start over. 

God is with us, all of us, in all of our different stages of belief and disbelief. In the middle of all the ups and downs, life and anti-life, hope and despair, trust and broken trust. God is found even in the middle of the rejection process itself. This means that the very moment we point our finger, cast out, disparage, condemn, judge, excommunicate, shun, scapegoat, reject, etc… is the very moment we open the door for love to be with the other person. That's what love does. It flows "downhill." It leaves the 99 and seeks out the one. God is close to the brokenhearted. 

The rock of our faith is not something we can stand upon to judge others. The real rock is not a projection of our own idea of morality. The real rock is a projectile. It smashes our attempts to gain higher moral ground. It deconstructs our need to create systems accessible only to certain kinds of people. By certain kinds of people, I mean moral people. And, of course, if we can define the morals, then we can do the welcoming and rejecting. Ha, it's preposterous, ludicrous, deceitful—complete bull defecation.

Some mornings, like this morning, I sit and contemplate this, and I'm just amazed, and sad, and frustrated at how small-minded the church has been. Maybe it's our smallness that tempts us to climb up on rocks and be bigger than who we are. This verse illuminates our practice. It catches us in all our fabrication. 

It's still true. 

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.