Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.?2Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation??3if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

4Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God?s sight, and?5like 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.?6For 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.??7To 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,??8and ?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.9But 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.?10Once you were not a people, but now you are God?s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Over the course of the past two years, we have found ourselves watching a show during the fall called ?The Curse of Oak Island.? One of the things that is interesting to me, other than the search for hidden treasure, is how the landscape of the island has so many clues as to the variety of people from across the globe that have inhabited the island, built hidden systems underground to protect treasure, and have almost recreated aspect of the landscape of the island to hide treasure or even pirate ships. One of the things that have been discovered is this giant rocks that definitely are not part of the natural landscape. These rocks point these treasure hunters on different journeys, dead ends, or more questions. These rocks point to something that is called ?Nolan?s Cross? and it is the belief that this information leads to treasure, more information about the people who were there-mainly the Knight?s Templar- and other information to the connections to the surrounding areas of the island as well as those in England, the Caribbean, and Pirates?

These rocks are stones that are guiding people, they have a presence and purpose, and inspire the stories to be told and understood. If we cannot that with our scripture passage from 1 Peter, I want to be thinking about what it means to be living stones who are guiding people, living stones who have a presence and a purpose, and living stones who have a story to tell so others can understand the importance of being in relationship. So let?s walk through this passage.

First, this is a little bit of a pep talk to the people who have felt forgotten, feel abandoned or rejected. It is also a reminder how our connectedness to the Scriptures of the Old Testament with many different references to Isaiah, Exodus, Psalms, and Hosea. It is also the reminder that we are all connected in one way. The people of Asia Minor are becoming the living stones. You see, that don?t have a place to worship, no temple. So it is a reminder that they are to be the ones who are being built up in the body of Jesus Christ and built as the moving community of faith.
Second, those who have set aside the past and toxic behaviors, and who have tasted the Lord?s kindness, must grow into salvation. Peter is expressing the desire for those who have left behind the toxic behaviors of the past would be in a position to desire the word, like a newborn?s craving for milk.
Third, ?Come to him, a living stone?and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house? would have reminded the hearers of this message about the importance of stones throughout the Bible. Jacob used a stone for a pillow when he was away from home, stones carried from the Jordan River when the homeless former slaves finally reached the promised land; the stone called to be a reminder of the people?s promise before God in Joshua 24: See, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the Lord that he spoke to us (Josh 24:27).? John the Baptist declared that stones could come to life when preached at the Jordan: ?I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham (Matthew 3:9b).?
Fourth, ?A cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame,? is the reminder of the importance of the cornerstone piece. A cornerstone is not only the stone set at the corner of two intersecting walls, but is one prepared and chosen for its exact 90 degree angle; and it is the basis for the construction of the whole building. Choosing the right cornerstone is basic not only to the aesthetics of the building but also to its stability and longevity.
Fifth, if the basic foundations are there, like solid building blocks, then the living stones help create a solid foundation together. Not as individuals, but as those who gather together in community and are a living presence of Jesus Christ. The identity of those living stones are found in these words: ?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.?
Sixth, God?s own people live in the real world and the real world is in constant flux. As living stones who are part of this chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation; we are called to proclaim something of what we know about God to the world. One place where we can all start as believers and followers of Jesus Christ is to continue to proclaim, ?He is risen, He is risen indeed.? As God?s people in the world, we are reminded in this passage, ?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.?

I read this story, and it just struck me for a few reasons. I felt this story hit on our hearts with our passion for serving with and for the Homeless Coalition. I think this story captures the pieces I mentioned earlier about being living stones, being present, and being in relationship.

?A few years ago a worship service was held at Union Seminary in New York, planned and led by homeless people. One of the seminary students had worked with a group called Picture the Homeless as part of your senior thesis project. For months she met with people who were accustomed to living on the streets. The focus of the service was to remember the hundreds of people who had been buried on Hart Island, New York City?s potter?s field. Most of them had been buried without names, never honored with religious services. The goal of Picture the Homeless was to move city officials to allow religious observances on the island, even if names were never known. Some of those planning the service could not read, so they memorized their parts. Everyone worked very hard to get things right.

When the day came to lead worship, they led the service with power and grace. Dawn led the opening litany; Robert read the story of Lazarus and the rich man?then preached an impromptu sermon that was not part of the planning. Others told their own stories of living on the streets. At the close of the service, each person in the congregation was invited to write the name of a homeless person on a purple post-it. A large sheet had been stretched between two tall candle stands at the front of the chapel. Scattered at random all over the sheet were anonymous names: John Doe, Jane Doe, Baby Doe. People were encouraged to place their purple squares over those anonymous names. One by one people went forward. It was obvious that the leaders from Pictures of Homeless knew far more names than the rest of us.

However, the names kept falling off the sheet. It is not easy to stick a post-it to a sheet suspended between candle sticks! Dawn was undeterred. She went back again and again to pick up the fallen names. Finally, a student held his hands behind the sheet to give her something to push against. She did not sit down until every name was in place. It was then that we discovered that the anonymous names had not been printed at random. The purple post-its spelled our words: WE ARE HERE. We are here, even though we were buried without names. We are here, even though you may not meet our eyes on the street.

Friends, once we were not a people, but now we are God?s people. Stones can tell a story. As the stones from The Curse of Oak Island have been directing and trying to tell a story for hundreds of years, The Living Stone, Jesus Christ, has been telling a story for a couple thousand years. What story are you telling as the living stones of Jesus Christ? Friends, what does it look like for us, in Port Charlotte, to be the living stones of Jesus Christ, to be present with the people we meet, and to tell a story that is so important. What does this look like where we are, the promise that we are God?s people and we are here?