Sunday
07/18/21 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Christ Jesus Himself As the Cornerstone”
Old Testament Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:1-14a
New Testament Scripture: Ephesians 2:11-22
Gospel Lesson: Mark 6:30-34, 53-56
When I was younger, and maybe even not
so younger, my family and friends loved to play board games and other games. Sometimes
we would have a family game night at my father’s house in Illinois, with
friends, or even in some of the churches that I have served. We played all the
classics, like Monopoly, Risk, and etc.
One game that I particularly liked
however, is a game called “Jenga”. Jenga is not a board game, even though it is
made out of boards. Jenga, if you have never played it, is a game where three
flat rectangular pieces of wood are stacked upon three other flat rectangular pieces
of wood. There are many of these rows stacked neatly upon each other, and every
other row is placed in the opposite direction. So, one row of flat rectangular pieces
of wood is place front to back, and the next row is placed left to right. When all
stacked up all of the flat rectangular pieces of wood sort of look like a skyscraper
in New York City. The game we had also came with a plastic mold to put all of
the flat rectangular pieces of wood in it and then slowly slide it out, as to
not disturb the tower of pieces of wood.
After the game of Jenga was all set
up, then each person when it was there turn, would carefully pull, or push on a
flat rectangular piece of wood. They would try to safely remove this piece of
wood from the tower. After removing a piece of wood, you would then place that
piece of wood on top of the tower and create new rows above the existing rows
of wood pieces.
As the game went on, as you can
imagine, the bottom rows would begin to get a little sparse, and with stacking all
those new rows on top of the tower, it put more weight on the bottom of the
tower. At this point you would ever so carefully pull or push another piece of
wood out. Inevitably though, eventually, the tower would crash over, sending
pieces of wood all over the place. Then we would restack the tower and start all
over again.
I thought of this game Jenga that I used
to play as a kid for this message this morning, because what I learned quickly about
this game was that if the bottom of the wood tower, or the foundation, was compromised,
then the whole tower was compromised. You see if the base of the tower was not
secure, then the tower would come crashing down. We have seen these types of unfortunate
circumstances, such as the collapsed surfside condominium building in Florida.
When the base of the structure is compromised, then the tower or the building can
collapse.
This morning in our Old Testament
reading from 2 Samuel 7:1-14a we are told that not only has God chosen the
great King David to unite and lead Israel, but also that God tells David this
once again:
“12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Sam. 7:12-13, NRSV).
From this and other scriptures, as Christians we believe
that the eternal king of Israel and the world, is Jesus Christ. Jesus is a descendent
of the great King David as we know from the gospel, for he was born in the city
of David, which is Bethlehem. Jesus, a descendent of the great King David, is
the eternal king of Israel, the world, and the universe. Jesus is the Messiah, the
Lord, and the one in which the Christian Church is built upon.
To connect my Jenga game reference for this morning then, the
Apostle Paul says once again in our reading for Ephesians 2:11-22 that Jews and
Gentiles (or Non-Jews) are now both fully accepted into the church. The Apostle
Paul says to the Gentiles, or the Non-Jews once again:
“19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God” (Eph. 2:19-22, NRSV).
Like a wood tower game of Jenga, like the collapsed surfside condominium building in Florida, a strong
foundation, and things like a cornerstone matter. It is possible that the
support beams or the structure in a house or a building can collapse upon a
strong foundation, but a strong foundation is generally vital to a house or a structure.
Using this analogy of a cornerstone, the Apostle Paul is telling the Ephesians,
and us that the Christian Church is built upon the Apostles of Christ, the
Prophets of the Old Testament, and upon Jesus Christ himself, who is the cornerstone.
In many buildings, perhaps you have seen
a cornerstone? They are not that all that uncommon. We have special stone in
fact, that is on the exterior wall of the front of this church. If you have
never noticed the front of this church, you likely have seen the marquee box with
my name and the service time in it, and above that box there is a special stone.
This stone says, “Methodist
Episcopal 1831 + Church + 1933”.
Our congregation, as some of you know, was started
by Mr.
and Mrs. Arvine Clarke, who hosted a Methodist Circuit Rider preacher in
their own house. A Methodist Episcopal Class meeting was organized,
and the first Sidney Methodist Episcopal Church was built on Main Street in the
1830s, and the Clarke family donated a land lot and the timber to build that
church. In 1933, as the stone in the front of this church says, this current
church, or at least this current part of this church was built in 1933.
Above that stone outside of our church wall, is this
beautiful stained-glass window. Portrayed in this beautiful stained-glass
window are the two founders of this congregation, the Clarkes, and next to them
is the cornerstone of our faith, Jesus Christ. The Clarke family commissioned
and paid for this stained-glass window when this church was built in 1933. This
is why the stone of the front of this church says, “Methodist
Episcopal 1831 + Church + 1933”.
This stone is also not really a corner stone, but it is certainly significant
to this church.
What is a cornerstone then? How can we formally define
it? Well let me tell you what www.dictionary.com says a corner stone is:
1. a stone uniting two masonry walls at an
intersection.
2. a stone representing the nominal
starting place in the construction of a monumental building, usually carved
with the date and laid with appropriate ceremonies.
3. something that is essential,
indispensable, or basic: The cornerstone of democratic government is a free
press.
4. the chief foundation on which
something is constructed or developed: The cornerstone of his argument was
that all people are created equal.
(https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cornerstone)
As we listen to these definitions of
what a cornerstone is, it becomes extremely evident that cornerstones are
vital. They unite masonry walls at an intersection, they are good places to
start building a structure or a building. They can be essential, indispensable,
or basic, and they can be the chief foundation by which something is
constructed or developed.
For the Apostle Paul to refer to Jesus
as the cornerstone then, is to say that this church, and nearly two-thousand
years of our Christian faith are built upon the cornerstone, the rock that is
Jesus Christ. While the Christian church has various beliefs, holidays, and
traditions, the church is solely and centrally built upon Jesus Christ. Why is this?
This is because God the Father created everything, the Holy Spirit fills us and
moves us, and the person of God who took on flesh, was God’s only son Jesus
Christ. Jesus came to earth, fully God fully human, and died for us. He shed his
blood and died on a cross, so that we could be set free from sin and guilt, and
so that we could be reconciled to God and live with Him, forever. Further, the
gospel that Jesus taught and lived, is our blueprint of how to live and to love
each other. Jesus is our savior, our Lord, and yes, our cornerstone.
Our gospel of Mark reading for this
morning once again, is two pieces of Mark 6. The first part of Mark 6 we are
given once again, begins with one of the narratives of the feeding of the five
thousand. Yet, the scripture Mark 6:30-34 does not get to that point in the
story. The gospel of Mark reading for this morning, once again, then ends with
healing of the sick in Gennesaret. So, let us look at this morning’s gospel
lesson briefly again. Right after the story of the beheading of John the
Baptist that pastor George preached on last Sunday, the scripture picks up
saying once again:
“30 The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they hurried there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 As he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things” (Mk. 6:30-34, NRSV).
Jesus
Christ, our Lord, our cornerstone, realized the importance of going to a quiet and
deserted place to get rest. This was short lived however, as a crowd developed
around Jesus and his disciples, and shortly after this in the gospel reading,
Jesus performs the miracle of multiplying the loves and fishes, to feed the five
thousand.
After this and after Jesus’ walking on
the water, we then close our gospel lesson for this morning with Jesus healing
the sick in Gennesaret. Once again this is how this morning’s gospel lesson
ends:
“53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored the boat. 54 When they got out of the boat, people at once recognized him, 55 and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went, into villages or cities or farms, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged him that they might touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were healed” (Mk. 6:53-56, NRSV).
Jesus, our savior, our Lord, our cornerstone, feeds the five thousand, walks on water, and heals countless people. Jesus is teaching us to love, to heal, and to forgive. Jesus is teaching us to live, and love like him. Jesus is teaching us to build our lives, our faith, and yes, our church upon the cornerstone, upon the rock which he is. Jesus saves us, died for us, and the whole church sits upon “Christ Jesus Himself As the Cornerstone”. Amen.
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