Usually when you and I think of a house today we think of a wood or wood frame building, but people in Jesus' part of the world who lived at the same time he did would have been much more likely to think of buildings made from stone. Woods -- especally the kinds of hard woods used to support buildings -- were scarce. Stone was plentiful.
The most basic kinds of homes were actually caves. Limestone caves are common in the region, and the limestone itself was soft enough it could be carved with the tools available at the time. Rooms could be enlarged and new rooms hewn into the caves relatively easily.
Some structures used what's sometimes called "rubble masonry." Stones would be piled together without necessarily being matched for size or shape. A more planned version might start with large stones placed together and then the gaps filled with smaller ones before some kind of mortar was added, but in a hurry rubble masonry walls might be made without mortar. If the city wall had been breached by invaders but they had been driven back, the gap might be filled with rubble before they could attack again.
As the Israelites knew from their own ancestral history, buildings could be made with bricks sized and cut for the work. The bricks could also be quarried and brought to the site.
A related but more elaborate kind of stone construction is sometimes called "ashlar masonry." Although ashlar may sound like an ancient Hebrew word, it's actually Middle English. Ashlar walls or buildings are made of stone cut and worked to match the size of the others. The rough ashlars are taken from a quarry and then "dressed" to have a regular surface and similar sizes. Ashlar walls and buildings could be joined with mortar but were also sometimes made without. A lot of ancient Inca architecture in South America is so-called "dry ashlar."
The dressing of the cornerstone in an ashlar structure was incredibly important. If the angle was just a small bit off, then the long walls that rested on it would not be at the right angles for the others. Construction would be much harder, if it was possible at all. A whole project might have to be knocked down and started over. So the cornerstone had to be as close to perfect as the stonemasons could make it, and unsuitable ones were rejected. They might later be used as ordinary stones in the wall, but they couldn't be cornerstones.
Peter, quoting Psalm 118, identifies Jesus with a rejected cornerstone. The religious leadership opposed him and judged that nothing worthwhile could be built from his words and actions. He didn't fit their design specifications. But, Peter says, though earthly authorities rejected him God selected him. In fact, God had long ago selected him and knew what he would build with his Son as the cornerstone: What we today call the church.
The work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers shapes them for their place in this great construction project. We come to Jesus rough-hewn at best and in our own minds completely unsuitable for any kind of work in his name. Surely he could build nothing worthwhile with me, we say. Ah, but I can, he replies. Allow me to shape you and use the circumstances of your life and world to form something more wonderful than you could have possibly imagined.
Or we might come feeling ourselves already prepared for a role in his project -- in fact, we know exactly what role we would like and we helpfully inform the Lord just how he should use us. More often than not, though, we find we do not fit the role we sought. Will we haughtily turn our backs, saying we will come to Jesus on our own terms or not at all, or will we humble ourselves and allow the Spirit to shape us according to his plans instead of our own?
Because the metaphor of the cornerstone has another layer. Jesus is the cornerstone of the church, which is built upon him and when it is what it is supposed to be it is completely shaped and directed by the way that cornerstone is laid. But he also desires to be the cornerstone of our lives, giving shape and purpose to who and what we do. Not only does he shape us for our place in the church he shapes our everyday characteristics with an eye towards what he will build us as.
A lifetime of following Jesus means a lifetime of being fitted out by him as he patiently smooths and shapes what is in us so that we match that image of God in which we were created. It means a lifetime of being fitted for our role in his greatest work, the salvation of humanity. Our role is to humble ourselves and allow him to work.
No comments:
Post a Comment