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The Cornerstone

Cornerstone

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.


“The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone.”

We hear this theme over and over during the Easter season. Consider it: This theme is not about salvation, directly. It is also not so much about Resurrection from the dead as such.

What it directly speaks to, over and over again in this season, is the absolutely pivotal place Jesus has in human history through His victory, and how that place was attained specifically through the rejection of the craftsmen of human history. For Jesus, rejection is the path to critical relevance.

It is not much of a leap to identify that this metaphor speaks not only of Christ, but of the Christian as well. “If the world has hates you, realize that it hated me first,” says Jesus to His disciples in Jn. 15:18. So too, then, while Christ is the one true Cornerstone, through the rejection of the world we take our place as critical foundational stones for the salvation of humanity.

Every saint has the glorious calling and role to bring many others to heaven who were not previously on the path there. Every saint becomes one of these foundational stones. When we consider this, a Christian life aimed solely at avoiding grave sin makes no sense. We must take advantage of the glorious opportunity of our calling, to become saints, true intimates of Jesus, redemptive partners with Him, for the salvation of many.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus brazenly for a share in His glory. Tell Him that you want the eternal glory that He offers, not the glory that the world provides. And when He asks you, as He did the Sons of Thunder, “Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?”, answer like them: “I can.” (Cf.

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The Christian Cycle

Unicycles

This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.


Of the many servants of God throughout history represented by the servants who came to the vineyard in Jesus’ parable in today’s gospel, Joseph was certainly one.

The pattern Jesus describes holds with Joseph. The vineyard tenants beat one servant, stoned another…In the case of Joseph, his own brothers cast him into a pit and then sold him into slavery.

And the son killed by the tenants in the gospel passage, of course, represents Jesus Himself.

But note the way the gospel passage ends. Jesus quotes Psalm 118:

    The stone that the builders rejected
        has become the cornerstone;
    by the Lord has this been done,
        and it is wonderful in our eyes.

And we know, of course, that this psalm perfectly prophesies Jesus’ own destiny. Though rejected and killed by His enemies, Jesus is to become the cornerstone of history itself.

But wait! There’s more. Let’s look back at Joseph’s life as well, in the light of Jesus’ own destiny. We see that for Joseph, things work out similarly, in a sense. After being sold into slavery, Joseph ultimately becomes a ruler in Egypt, with decision-making authority over those same brothers who exiled him. He is even restored to his father, whose particular love for him was the cause of his brothers’ envy and resentment in the first place.

Rejected by his family, Joseph becomes the cornerstone of his family.

Now, we may think of Joseph as a foreshadowing of Jesus, because he came before Him, and we would of course be right. But consider the inverse as well. Jesus sheds light on Joseph–He explains him.

So it may be said that He sheds light on our lives too, and explains them. For every Christian, this reality, the stone rejected by the builders rising to become the cornerstone, is repeated as well. Our destiny, even on this earth, like Joseph and like Jesus Himself, is not to descend into a deeper and deeper pit of humiliation and ignominy. It is to descend in self-sacrifice out of love for our brothers and sisters, and then to see ourselves raised up by God Himself, exalted–and endowed with the very power of salvation itself. Maybe once, maybe multiple times, maybe in different ways. But this is the Christian cycle.

Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to infuse holy excitement and enthusiasm into your heart for your Christian mission, replacing any fatalism or hint of despair. Ask Him to help you to see your life as He sees it; indeed, as He saw His own. Tell Him you entrust your destiny wholly into His care.

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