I Peter 2:2-10
Introduction
Last week we talked about Being Church. And now this week we are focusing on Building Church. Now, to be clear, “building church” is exceedingly different from “growing a church.” Depending on how you define the term, the idea of “growing church,” there is a good chance I’ll have no interest in it. I’ve come to believe “growing church” and “building church” are two very different ways of Being Church.
I said last week it’s easy to be a church. And similarly, it is easy to grow a church. If you want to grow a church, then make your church not look like a church from the street. If you want to grow a church, put in a coffee bar. If you want to grow a church, take down and put away any and all religious symbols, but put-up pretty landscape pictures with inspiring snippets of Bible verses. If you want to grow a church, then dismantle the organ and bring in the rock band—excuse me—the praise band. If you want to grow a church, the preacher needs to lose the tie, or even the robe, and put on a hoodie and a pair of jeans— look like a regular guy (emphasis on the word “guy”) but also make sure he has a nice big house, sporty car, and an expensive watch—all of which is critically important because if you want to grow a church, then the preacher needs to not only tells people, but show people, God wants them to be rich, and when they are generous to God’s church, God will be generous to them.
So to all those who think we need to “grow” First Christian Church of Stow, how about after church we stroll over to Marhoffer’s and see kind of new ride y’all can get for me. But if instead of growing a church, you want to get down to building church… well, that’s going to require something a little different. Sure, a coffee bar, landscape pictures, and added music can be part of it. But if we really want to build church, we are going to need to think, and act, and believe much differently.
Move 1
“…like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
In our text for today, Peter is speaking to the idea of the followers of Christ being part and parcel of the Church where Christ is the Cornerstone, and to whom we come to be built “like living stones… into a spiritual house.” And with this image, Christian believers are taught they are part of the Church, with Christ as the Cornerstone, giving us our firm foundation. And what is built upon this foundation is not brick and mortar—but rather a body of living stones, a “spiritual house” of community, of care and compassion, a spiritual house in which to grow but also a place to be who you are; a place where all are welcome to taste and see the Lord is good. But let’s be clear; we’re talking about living stoneS, not a living stone—or only a few stones. It’s not possible to build any structure with only the cornerstone and a few other stones. In fact, except when speaking of the Cornerstone, that is Christ, all the other metaphors in these verses are in their plural form. Commentator Lewis Donelson says, “Holiness is not any individual’s own possession; it exists when someone loves another. The kind of holiness that comes from the ‘living stone’ exists only in community.”
The idea, of course, is not that holiness, good deeds, spiritual growth and the like are best fostered only by a faith community. But the community itself (not the individual) is the primary channel of faith. The stones, the building material, become “living” by first coming to the Cornerstone. And when we come to the Cornerstone we discover how we fit into God’s design and we become part of the work of building church. We come as individuals—but we are brought together, united—into a spiritual house called the Church.
Move 2
So that’s what Peter has to say about building church, but, as we know, church has been declining for decades. A growing number of people are saying they like Jesus but not the Church—we’ve talked about this before—most recently during our church chats last month. And how does the Church respond? Like it always has for centuries, unfortunately. We make the argument that people should go to church because the church will benefit them with fellowship, moral guidance, biblical instruction, opportunities to recharge, spiritual encouragement and the like, always quoting Scripture like Hebrews 10:25; Romans 12:5; 1 Corinthians 12:12 and others.
And sure, the list of benefits is valid, and those Scripture verses give a faithful perspective, but we are perpetuating the fact that these texts have been called up to function as the “carrot” and the “stick” idiom—the “carrot” being the benefit and the “stick” being the Bible verses. But do you know where the carrot-and-stick idiom came from? It was a reward-punishment technique for getting mules to go where someone wanted them to go. Which means, if this is our technique, we must ask how much spiritual value our presentations have. We must ask, does this build Church? Or are we simply trying to get people to go where we want them to go by showing them we can provide a desired look, item, or feeling?
The reward-punishment idiom does not work. But even more so, it is not faithful. Which is why Peter is calling for us to build—with Christ as our cornerstone—a place that does not simply aim to get people to go where we want them to go, but build a place where people are invited to come as they are and discover they are loved and accepted without condition. Peter never gets into carrot-and-stick stuff. Instead, he invites all to come to Christ the Cornerstone, and let ourselves be built into a spiritual house.
Move 3
For too long churches have focused on “growing their church.” And as a result, they have become a blatant contradiction between message and action. Churches only seeking to grow give one message, but their actions contradict the message.
Theologian, Richard Rohr writes, “I believe that we totally missed Jesus’ major point when we made a religion out of him instead of realizing he was giving us a message of simple humanity, vulnerability, and non-violence that was necessary for the survival of humanity. We need to dedicate our lives to building bridges, and paying the price in our bodies for this ministry of reconciliation. The price is that we will always, like all bridges, be walked on from both sides. Reconcilers are normally ‘crucified’ and the whole world hates them because they are neither on one side nor the other. They build a vulnerable bridge in between, that offers the chance for all to connect with Christ, which always looks like an abdication of ground to the supposedly ‘true believer’.”
Peter’s call for living stones is a call for those who aim to perform the work of building church to do so by building bridges that enable all people to connect to the Cornerstone that is Jesus. Which means, the vitality of the church hinges upon its members having found life by having come to the Cornerstone themselves, then responding to God’s call to come to Christ with the varied talents we have, and let ourselves be cemented into being the Church.
Conclusion
It is worth remembering in context of today’s message; Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple and said he would build a new one “not made with hands.” In our text, Peter is picking up that line of thought. Scholar, Clifford Walter Edwards, writes, “The old temple has passed away and Jesus himself is the foundation of a new temple. He builds a new spiritual house, employing as building material the very lives of his followers. The special place for meeting God, once confined to Mount Zion, is no longer limited to one place, but is free, available to all through the living community of the redeemed. Wherever the redeem gather in Christ’s name, there is the spiritual house of God.”
Christ asks us to let ourselves be built into a spiritual house, and to function as part of what God is building. This is what God asks us to do. That’s neither a carrot nor a stick—it is not a reward/punishment idiom. It is God wanting us to build a living body, where people can meet the divine; awaken a hunger to learn more and go deeper; have their soul fed in ways no other place can; find support and meaning and direction this world cannot give; and be part of something bigger than themselves and will endure long after them.
So as Jesus reminds us, and even our own building shows us— cathedrals and churches will crumble, deteriorate, and give way. But should our sanctuaries fall, it won’t matter—as long as there are living stones who will still gather in Christ’s name to do the work of God and share the Good News of Jesus Christ.
So may we present ourselves as building material—living stones—so that in us and through us, with Christ as the cornerstone, the world sees us building church. No, we don’t have to have a coffee bar. Yes, we do have crosses and a communion table. I don’t wear jeans and a hoodie and drive a flashy car. But when we create space, and take opportunities, for people to be met as they need to be met and offer people the chance to discover what being part of the Church will mean for them and give to them, then we won’t need to worry about growing our church, because we will already be building Church. And when we are building Church…everything else, takes care of itself. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, September 17, 2023
Holy God, we come to worship thankful for our church and our families, and for our church family. We come to celebrate our heritage, as people of faith, as people of this community, and as those who are a part of this church’s legacy within our community. We are thankful for the many traditions and experiences that have brought us to this time, and we are eager for the ministry you call us to in the future—for we continue to hold onto the desire and drive to be your church.
Holy God, as your call upon our lives becomes clearer, through your word and your church, may we know hope and meaning; may we know our call and the vision you cast. May we be the church you want us to be so that we can have the lasting impact of showing others the power of your grace and love.
This is, after all, the premise, and the promise of your presence on earth as it is in heaven—an ongoing, everlasting display and source of your grace and love.
So keep us ever aware of this precious and powerful gift. Help us to always know that…
We are called to be peacemakers in a world torn by violence.
We are empowered to be courageous in the face of descent and rejection due to false assumption about the Church, or those who are Church in unfaithful ways.
We are called to share the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, in understandable, clear, and engaging ways.
So we pray you embolden us to testify to your presence in the world, to exemplify your love for all humanity by sharing with all the hope and joy we have come to know because of your Church—and the church we are family to today.
We ask that you would listen now to the prayers of our hearts as we offer them to you in this time of Holy Silence.
All this we pray in the name of Jesus the Christ, who taught us to pray saying, “Our…”