Cornerstone (2)

Happy Mother’s Day

What do we need to know about mothers and the Bible? Isaiah 28:16 (NRSV)

16 therefore thus says the Lord God, See, I am laying in Zion a foundation stone,

a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: “One who trusts will not panic.”

I don’t remember much about my childhood, but I have watched my grandchildren grow very attached to their mother’s milk. 1 Peter 2:2 (NRSV)

2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Pe 2:2–3). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Mother’s seem to excel at nurturing their young; it seems to be a God-given ability. Just as your mother treated you as precious, God does too. 1 Peter 2:4–5 (NRSV)

4 Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and 5 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.

Did you ever have anyone believe in you more than your mother? Mother’s are natural nurtures. My mother was the curer of wounds. As a nurse for fifty years, she was the one who gave hugs of love, kisses that healed, and confidence in me that never wavered.

God tells us through Peter that we are now like the newborn babies needing the pure milk that only a nurturer can supply. God sent His Son, 1 Peter 2:6 (NRSV)

6 For it stands in scripture: “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious;

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” I remember many times in my life when I felt shameful about my actions, but my mother was always someone in my life that I could always confide in. She never made me feel ashamed of myself in her presence. God is that way. This scripture assures us that if we trust in Him he will not let us down.

1 Peter 2:7 (NRSV)

7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,” Peter shows three different sets of scripture describing the stone. In these scriptures we are assured that God nurtures us, and protects us from those who would do us harm. In verse 7, we are described like Jesus Himself in that we who believe are held as precious, but for those who do not believe, rejection happens. So, we can become much like Jesus who was rejected and became the very cornerstone, we who have believed may also be rejected.

1 Peter 2:8 (NRSV)

8 and “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. It can seem at times, that the Christian world can cause people to stumble. It doesn’t seem possible but for those who do not believe, the witness of the world can seem counter-productive, obstructive, or just plain ridiculous.

The final verses in today’s message, I believe, is the message our mother’s always tried to convey to us as children, and today we thank God for making us somebody, and our mothers for helping us to believe in ourselves.

1 Peter 2:9–10 (NRSV)

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.