The stone referred to in the parable refers to Jesus and is a quote from Psalm 118. This image comes from the times when highly skilled stonemasons would carefully choose stones from quarries to be used in construction. The cornerstone had to be exactly right so the builders would look until they found the right one. If the cornerstone were not
right, the whole building would be affected.
Jesus was the stone rejected by the religious authorities, but in his life, death and resurrection is the cornerstone of salvation. The message that Jesus preached was rejected by those in power. They hoped he would be silenced in death. And yet, from that place of rejection came the resurrection and the
foundation of a new church.
Sometimes, in our own lives, places and experiences of loss and pain can be transformed in ways that allow them to be a tremendous source of life and grace. God seems to delight in bringing great things out of apparent failures and losses. When we find ourselves rejected and excluded, we can
trust that in the struggles of our lives, God may be working on something amazing which is still hidden from us.
As you look back over your life, you may be able to identify experiences of loss or rejection through which you ultimately saw God powerfully at work. You may be too close to some of them still to see that. But we have a message of great hope that,
in all things, God is working for the good of those who love him.
God takes what has been pushed to the margins and brings it to the centre. Whom do we reject or push to the sidelines that God desires to place at the centre?
Reflections by Annemarie Paulin-Campbell
