During Lent this year, we have been on “The Way,” making a spiritual pilgrimage toward Holy Week and Easter. Along the way, you may have taken on a spiritual discipline such as prayer, journaling, Scripture reading, or getting out in creation—and each of these practices can help us grow in faith and awareness of God.
Early in Lent we selected stones to take home, or carry with us, to represent our discipleship. Along the Camino de Santiago, pilgrims do something similar, carrying stones to a cross. The stone represents their effort as pilgrims on the way. For us these stones may represent our effort as disciples, or perhaps something else–a burden you want to commit to God or a sin that weighs heavily on your conscience.
In Ecclesiastes we read that there is “a time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together” (3:5). As Holy Week approaches, it is time now to cast away our stones at the foot of the cross. On Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, and Good Friday, you will find a cross standing just inside the church doors as a visual reminder of where Jesus’ life led him, and where discipleship ultimately leads us. Please bring your stone to church this Holy Week, and as you arrive or depart, lay it down at the foot of the cross.
In preparation I encourage you to pick up your stone, and hold it as you pray…
O God, you are the Rock on whom we build our lives. As we prepare to cast this stone before you, we recall the many people in Scripture who found meaning in stones…
Jacob, with a stone as a pillow, dreaming of the stairway to heaven;
Moses, striking a stone and seeing water pour out;
Joshua, building a monument of 12 stones as a reminder of God faithfully leading the people to the Promised Land;
David, bringing down Goliath with a smooth stone;
Jesus, refusing the temptation to turn stones into bread and later refusing to take up a stone to condemn a woman caught in adultery;
The women at the tomb, who found the stone rolled aside;
Stephen, who was stoned for his faith;
Paul, who stood by at this stoning, but was later convicted of his sin, forgiven, and transformed;
Simon Peter, the rock on whom Christ built the church;
And Jesus, the Cornerstone around whom we build our lives, and the solid Rock on whom we stand.
Feeling the weight of the stone in our hand, we prepare for Holy Week, renewing our commitment to Jesus Christ, the Rock of our lives. Amen.
Pastor Laura
Scripture for Sunday: Luke 19:29-40
Sermon Title: “The Other Way”
