The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. Psalm 118:22
Here, of course, Jesus is meant, who accepted death on the cross in order to die for the sins of all people. And thus paved the way for every person to have the chance to be reconciled with God. However, this reconciliation only takes place when we develop an awareness of having sinned and then come to God and ask for forgiveness. Through the death of Jesus and the shedding of His blood, we receive forgiveness from God the Father.
The cornerstone is thus the basis of a stable building. Now if the building of our life has Christ as its cornerstone, we have a stable foundation. When we read the above verse, the question arises who are these builders who rejected the cornerstone. These builders are not just people from the people of the time, but these builders were among the most respected people in society at the time. Guides, scholars in word and writing. They were respected and they had something to say. In modern times they are church leaders, deacons, leaders of worship and praise, ministers and social deacons. And I keep hearing in conversations that something like that back then would be unthinkable today. But let's face it, many churches have their cornerstones. People who are out of line. Who do not speak the pious language, who do not wear the same clothes as the majority, who pray differently than most others, who are hurt and bitter and who are best avoided. People who might smell a bit musty and whose clothes always look like they've been worn for too long. People who are always at the back and who have no voice in the community. You might think that I can't compare it that way. That Jesus on the one hand and these people on the other hand are something completely opposite. But Revelation 16:15 says, "Behold, I come as a thief in the night." So Jesus will not appear in large numbers and with a big announcement, but incognito. And if we have read the Bible carefully, we can assume that he will not be sitting in the front row with the scribes and church leaders, but rather in the back row where they are out of the ordinary. So I have to decide where my place is. In the front and clearly visible for the whole community or in the back for the overlooked.
For me personally, the following verse has always been a guiding verse:
Mark 10:13-16: "When Jesus saw this, he became indignant and said to them, 'Let the little children come to me; do not prevent them! For the kingdom of God belongs to people like them. Amen, I say to you: Anyone who does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.”
The kingdom of God already belongs to the children and those who do not accept this kingdom as they do will not enter the kingdom of God. You still have that unforced, honest, non-calculating and always weighing everything up. They, the weakest in our society, need our special protection. Our special care, but without taking away their childishness, because they have something that we adults have already lost. For children, the clothes and the language, the looks and the behavior that adults display don't matter. They feel sympathy or antipathy on a different basis than we adults do.
Easter, the memorial day of Christ's crucifixion, is just a few weeks away. And we want to remember that Christ died for ALL. Both for those who sit in the front row in the church and for those who stand in the back row and have no voice. And it's up to us, to every single one, to give a voice to those who don't have a voice. appreciation and respect.
"Behold, I come like a thief in the night"
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