WATCHWORD:
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 39 So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.
40 “When the owner of the vineyard returns,” Jesus asked, “what do you think he will do to those farmers?”
41 The religious leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will give him his share of the crop after each harvest.”
42 Then Jesus asked them, “Didn’t you ever read this in the Scriptures?
‘The stone that the builders rejected
has now become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord’s doing,
and it is wonderful to see.’
43 I tell you, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation that will produce the proper fruit.44 Anyone who stumbles over that stone will be broken to pieces, and it will crush anyone it falls on. 45 When the leading priests and Pharisees heard this parable, they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. 46 They wanted to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowds, who considered Jesus to be a prophet. Matthew 21:38-46
Meditation:
What’s Next?
We are in a period of time when things seem to be so uncertain. We might be asking ourselves the question, how can we be sure of anything? We may wonder what’s next? How do we plan? Is anything certain in our lives? What can we count on? What do we anchor our future on? The stock market? Our comfort? Pleasure? What?
During my times of volunteering at Heifer International Learning Center, I was part of a team that hosted the “Welcome Center” at the Ranch. While our role was to welcome visitors and give tours, we also were a draw for other volunteers who would drop in for coffee and conversation, and to work on the large jig-saw puzzle that was often under construction for entertainment. Do you remember how you start such a puzzle? The key? Corner pieces. That’s where you start, find the corner pieces, and build from there. Corner pieces, cornerstones.
In construction and architecture, a cornerstone is traditionally the first stone laid for a structure, with all other stones laid in reference to that. Cornerstone has other meanings as well, such as the basic part of something important. One example would be the cornerstone of the suffragette movement was getting women the right to vote.
A true cornerstone is a point of orientation that does not vary. A surveyor knows this and relies on that point or orientation to draw proper boundary lines.
Ah, so, the obvious question now is, what is our cornerstone? What is our key, our corner piece that helps us sort out the puzzle of our lives? What is the point of orientation that we rely upon as we travel this life journey?
A song comes to mind, of course. Let’s see, how does that go? Oh, yes,
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus Name.
Christ alone, the Cornerstone.
The leading priests and Pharisees did not understand it, did not see it, and they stumbled over that cornerstone, and it crushed them. That same cornerstone dwells within each one of us, Jesus the Christ. We ignore Him to our peril. We embrace Him to our eternal blessing.
In the scripture passage above, Jesus quoted this from Psalm 118 to remind them that their rejection of Him said more about their guilt and coming judgment than it said about Jesus Himself. Though they reject Him, He was still their chief cornerstone.
And the song goes on — My hope is built on nothing less, Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand
What is next? Do you trust it? What is around the next corner? Does it matter? Are you worried? No? Good. Our Cornerstone never varies, always keeps us grounded on God’s will and God’s purpose for our lives. Can we honestly say, along with Alfred E. Neuman, ‘What, me worry?’
Amen.
Morning Prayer:
Lord, Jesus, today is Your day, and I want Your will to be done. So, whatever happens, hold my hand and let’s face it together. Amen.
Heavenly Father, I have been so wishy-washy when it comes to taking hold of Your promises and making them mine. But today, I’m putting my foot down! I will not allow my human reason to talk me out of my spiritual inheritance. I will set my foot down on every promise that You have given me today. I’m going in! In Jesus’ Name, Amen
