Stones of Mercy

Troy Messenger recently gave me a copy of Transforming the Stone by Barbara Lundblad. The sub-title is: "Preaching Through Resistance to Change." Intriguing. Her theme is that in an age of so much uncertainty, people are seeking a solid place on which to build their lives-a search that has special appeal to the Christian community which sings: "On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand." Lundblad points out in our rush to find a solid place we shore up boundaries. Shore up our borders so "undesirable" immigrants can not take our low-paying jobs and threaten our false sense of security. Shore up our families with legislation to protect our "traditional family values." Shore up our neighborhoods from the homeless our streets and build more jails. Shore up our church by a return to the "orthodoxy" of a chosen few. Place rock upon rock, stone upon stone, until we have constructed a castle ensconced kingdom to ward off the encroachments of change.

Indeed, there is much in scripture to recommend the imagery of Christ as the sure foundation for our lives. It is a truth upon which I have chosen to build my life. Yet, there are other images of stone and rock in the scripture which we must hold in tension with that positive image. Stones, Lundblad reminds us, were used as instruments of death (take the woman caught in adultery or Stephen as examples). A pile of stones built on a solid foundation became the focus of worship which Jesus declared he would tear down. A stone was used in an attempt to hold Jesus in a tomb.

Instead, we are called to be living and transforming stones who, like Jesus our Lord, call our world to remember the promise of God's "Kingdom come" and coming into this world. Stones of grace and mercy, of peace and hope for a world living fearfully on shifting sands.