rejected cornerstone – The Noontimes

Psalm 89: Steadfast Love

Psalm 89: Steadfast Love

Saturday, October 4, 2025

Written on March 7 and posted today as a Favorite . . .

Righteousness, justice, faithfulness and steadfast love – these are the tenets of God’s covenant with David and we see steadfast love repeated in this song. This puts me in mind of Paul’s beautiful anthem to love in 1 Corinthians: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know it in part and we prophecy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfection disappears. When I was a child I talked like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

The Mosaic Law has many parts and multiple nuances. The Law that Christ brings, the Law of Love, is but one that supersedes all others; this one law is the perfection of love as we see it lived by Jesus.

In today’s Psalm we see the “creative work of God as a defeat of the powers of chaos.” The references to the north and south signify the entire whole universe. The great height of mounts Tabor and Hermon imply God’s might and omniscience. Steadfast love and faithfulness are “personified here as companions or servants who lead the way of the Lord.” Festal shouts describe the joy of the people. We may be taunted from time to time that God has abandoned us as is the king in this psalm, but we know that it is impossible for God to abandon his creatures. This hymn of praise to the creator himself helps to put us in proper relationship to God; and it reminds us of God’s most salient characteristic that God is steadfast love. (Mays 883-885)

In today’s Gospel from Mark (12:1-12) Jesus reminds us that although he is the cornerstone rejected by builders he will remain faithful and constant. He tells the parable of the farmer who erects a vineyard and wine press and leaves it with tenants to go on a journey. When the master wishes to collect what is due him, his servants and even his son are rejected and even put to death. So too are those who follow Christ; but we are to remain steadfast just as God is steadfast. We are to remain in love, just as Christ remains in love. And we are to sing of God’s steadfast love and proclaim God’s faithfulness to the generations. For this faithfulness is as firm as the heavens. There is no other cornerstone that holds up the heavens and stands firm on the earth. There is no other cornerstone on which to build our faith.

A re-post from September 9, 2011.

Image from: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/reasons-the-steadfast-love-of-the-lord-never-ceases-for-us.html

Mays, James L., ed. HARPERCOLLINS BIBLE COMMENTARY. New York, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1988. 883-885. Print.

October 4, 2025

1 Corinthians 13, constancy, faithfulness, justice, Law of Love, love, Mark 12:1-12, Mosaic Law, order out of chaos, rejected cornerstone, righteousness

1 Peter 2:4-9: A Living Stone

1 Peter 2:4-9: A Living Stone

Monday, May 20, 2024

Today Peter says to us,

Come to the Lord, the living stone rejected by people as worthless but chosen by God as valuable.

We reflect on the times we have rejected the Word that has come to us through the voices and actions of others; and we remember the times we are rejected when we struggle to bring light to darkness.

God says,

I chose a valuable stone,
which I am placing as the cornerstone in Zion;
and whoever believes in him will never be disappointed.

We examine the strength of our faith in Christ as the Living Stone, the foundation of the new temple in which each of us is invited to join Christ as living stones raising thanks to God.

Isaiah foretells and Peter repeats,

This is the stone that will make people stumble,
the rock that will make them fall.

We explore the depth of our hope, the strength of our love, the authenticity of our trust and the clarity of our minds as we give our hearts over as Living Stones for Christ.

Peter reminds us,

They stumbled because they did not believe in the word; such was God’s will for them.

As we reflect, we open ourselves to the reality that our stumblings are tumbles into Christ’s arms. Our shortcomings are windows into the New Temple of Living Stones. And our failings are invitations to join Christ as the cornerstone in our new lives of peace.

When we use the scripture link and drop-down menus to explore thee verses, we recognize the Word and we become more willing to tumble into Christ’s ample, healing and loving heart.

For better understanding of the city of Zion and what it might represent, visit: http://biblehub.com/topical/z/zion.htm

Images from: https://rcan.org/we-are-living-stones/ and https://studyprayserve.com/2017/05/08/3717/

May 20, 2024

hope, Isaiah 8:14, love, Peter, rejected cornerstone, trust, Zion

Matthew 21:33-46: The Stumbling Stone

Matthew 21:33-46: The Stumbling Stone

Friday, February 24, 2023

In this second of two parables using the vineyard as metaphor, Jesus addresses Temple leaders who attack him with a story, and then follows it with several pronouncements. He cites Psalm 118:22: The stone the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone; and then he acknowledges that many will indeed reject him. He refers to Isaiah 8:14-15: He shall be a snare, a stone for injury, a rock for stumbling to both the houses of Israel, a trap and a snare to those who dwell in Jerusalem; and many among them shall stumble; fallen and broken; snared and captured.

Jesus cautions religious leaders that apathy toward him is like standing in the way of a rock fall; he warns that opposition to him only leads to destruction. Jesus identifies himself as a stumbling stone that serves to bring down those who oppose him and at the same time serves to establish a foundation for our lives.

Rejection of Jesus is fatal. Indifference is deadly. So we welcome Jesus as a stumbling stone, a rock of salvation, a refuge of strength. This is the Good News we share with others today.

We remember our Lenten practice. Rather than thinking: “Let us make three tents to contain the joy of God’s wisdom,” let us think instead, “Let us share the joy of God’s great gift of love”.

Some ancient manuscripts contain verse 44 while others lack it. For commentary on this verse and parable, visit: http://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/21-44.htm

Tomorrow, squandering our inheritance.

Image from: http://heatherbaxterblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/pain-is-part-of-gods-plans.html

February 24, 2023

rejected cornerstone, stumbling over God, vineyard

1 Peter 2: The Hostile World

1 Peter 2: The Hostile World

Wednesday, Christmas Day, December 25, 2019

God’s house is built with the lives of those who are rejected. The world is hostile to those who frequent this house. The theme of the rejected cornerstone is a familiar one, particularly at this time of year when we journey toward a celebration of Christ’s entrance into a hostile world. Advent is a time when we await the one who frees all who are enslaved by a hostile world. On Christmas Day we celebrate our freedom in Christ.

In today’s Noontime, Peter speaks to slaves and women from his own culture, encouraging them to abide in their enslaved state, fulfilling their role as well as they might in their current culture. In reading these passages, we are not to suppose that we need to return to this way of living; rather, we might focus on the fact that Peter speaks to these marginalized people and does not exclude them – just as we are to work to include those on the margins today. Peter, like the other apostles, believed that Christ was returning soon to gather up the faithful to take them home to the Father. Peter, like the other apostles, and we today are called to further the kingdom in the expectation that it exists and now and will always exist. Through Peter, Christ calls us to live a life which demonstrates our constancy, our fidelity, our perseverance and our patience even in hostile surroundings. He asks that we live as Christ . . . as Christians in a world which sees as alien and in congruent the idea that all are truly free.

We will need to have compassion and forgiveness if we hope to be in the world but not of it. We must do more than accept, we must intercede on behalf of those who do us harm . . . just as Jesus does. Perhaps as a sign that we understand Jesus’ message of liberation, we might step forward this Advent and bring the presence of Christ to a hostile world.

First written on March 9, 2010. Re-written and posted today as a Favorite.

Image from: http://www.ingodsimage.com/?p=626

December 25, 2019

advocacy, hostility, liberation, rejected cornerstone, slavery

Psalm 118:19-29: Open the Gates

Psalm 118:19-29: Open the Gates

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Open the gates of victory; I will enter and thank the Lord.

Today we are reminded that we labor in vain if the Lord himself does not build the house in which we shelter. (Psalm 127:1) If our relationships – personal and professional – are based on fear rather than truth, all our efforts are futile. If our goals – individual and collective – aim at preservation of self rather than the common good, all of our secrets hide nothing. If our strategies – emotional and spiritual – rely on anything but God, we are doomed. We have failed to open the gates; we have failed to thank the Lord; our house is built in vain.

The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.

Catherine of Siena knows about the building of houses and the strength it takes to endure tribulation while we work. She reminds us that as we allow God to build with us, we will be ridiculed and even scorned. In today’s MAGNIFICAT Meditation of the Day Catherine gives us a view of how the divine builder operates; she gives us a window to open that pierces our own darkness with the light of God: I give and permit everything out of love, and they are constantly scandalized in me. Yet I patiently endure and put up with them because I loved them without their having loved me. They are always harassing me with impatience, hatred, complaints, and with all sorts of infidelity. They want to set themselves up to investigate with their own blind sight and opinion of my hidden judgments, which are all made justly and lovingly. They don’t yet know themselves, and so they see falsely. For those who do not know themselves cannot know me or my judgments in truth. (Cameron 33)

We are often frustrated by the idiocy of ourselves and others. We do not understand why or how God allows falsehood and deception to take hold in our hearts. We see God’s world as an imperfect place and we watch as cornerstones are rebuffed; doors and windows close tightly; hidden judgments and injustice overpower goodness and right. We become discouraged when we believe that we have labored in vain and yet it is precisely when the obstacles are the greatest that we best see God at work.

If we become disheartened by our tribulations we have forgotten what God has told us – that we die to be born, that the lowly are exalted, that the meek reign and the humble rise. We become perfect in our efforts to love eternally as God loves. We build strong houses when we build them through and in the Lord. We let in God’s mercy and justice when we open the gates of our hearts.

Open the gates of victory; I will enter and thank the Lord.

Cameron, Peter John. “Meditation of the Day.” MAGNIFICAT. 1.12 (2012): 33. Print.

Images from http://nature.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/142799/ and http://www.proactivesafetytraining.co.uk/Key-Holding-and-Alarm-Response(2006254).htm

December 22, 2019

Catherine of Siena, justice, mercy, Palm 127:1, rejected cornerstone, tribulation

Wisdom 4:20 & 5: Hope

Wisdom 4:20 & 5: Hope

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

These verses – actually beginning with the last verse of Chapter 4 – give us reflections of the wicked concerning the fate of the faithful. Here is an answer to all of the times the psalmist laments: Why do we suffer and the wicked get away with murder? Today we have the answer to so much questioning. The faithful will rest in peace after struggling so long in the temporal world. This chapter is a balancing counterpoint to chapters three and four: The Hidden Counsels of God.

So much about God is mystery. Perhaps this is why we like this time of year with lights twinkling in the darkness, carols piercing cold air, our breath forming vapor as we step into the early morning crispness.

Over the week end my grandchildren and I watched one of their favorite movies, Babe, about a pig that becomes a sheepdog. The story takes place in New Zealand and so Christmas is celebrated in the dead of summer; yet the farmer places a Christmas tree atop his house and the family gathers in the warm weather to exchange presents. The grandchildren and I had a lively conversation about what we would and would not like about having Christmas in July. At first it was winter that seemed more appropriate because it is the time when we are hunkered in and hunkered down, waiting for life to begin. On the other hand, the coming of Light and Truth into the world coincides with the full and open days of summer, jammed with activities that distract us. When do we need Christ more? The answer is likely: all of the time.

We also spent time – as we always do when we watch this film – reflecting on the faith and doubt of the farmer and his wife about the pig and themselves. We spoke again about the relationships between generations. And, of course, we spoke about the incredible idea that a pig might win a sheep herding tourney. We have sat in the bleachers at the Harford County Farm Fair and watched these dogs work a flock of sheep. We have also watched pig races, horse sled pulls and other animal trials. The children – and I – are impressed by the competency of this Hollywood pig. And we are all rewarded by the cheers of the crowd when Babe brings the final sheep configuration home. These were the same people who had jeered moments before. Yes, the hope of the wicked is like thistledown borne on the wind . . .

When we are confronted with sneering laughter we need only focus on the potential within and wear the Lord as our armor (verses 16-19). For when we put on Christ as recommended by Paul in Ephesians 6, we have no need of any other thing for the just live forever, and in the Lord is their recompense.

This is one of the times in the liturgical year when we hear the theme of the rejected cornerstone. It gives us the opportunity to think about surprises . . . and about unusual possibilities like Christmas in July . . . pigs that can herd sheep . . . cornerstones that no one recognizes. It is the time of year to think about arming ourselves with Light and Joy . . . Peace and Hope . . . about wearing the Lord as we set forth each day . . . about being Christ in a turbulent world.

Written on December 1, 2008, re-written and posted today as a Favorite.

Image from: http://catholicsensibility.wordpress.com/2010/03/page/4/

December 11, 2019

Ephesians 6, hope, joy, light, mystery, peace, rejected cornerstone, the wicked

Tag: rejected cornerstone

Psalm 89: Steadfast Love

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1 Peter 2:4-9: A Living Stone

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Matthew 21:33-46: The Stumbling Stone

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1 Peter 2: The Hostile World

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Psalm 118:19-29: Open the Gates

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Wisdom 4:20 & 5: Hope

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