Village Shepherd

In an episode of "Stargate", the television science-fiction drama, the main characters found themselves in something of a spot. They were sealed in a system of underground caves on some other planet, and a rockfall had completely blocked any escape route. But fortunately it turned out that the walls of the cave were built of organic, living material, and by dint of sticking the right crystal in the right place at the right time, the shape of the walls could be changed. Happily, the Stargate team soon managed to grow new tunnels at exactly the right point and in exactly the right direction and so were able to escape.

I thought it was quite an ingenious way for the writer to resolve the dilemma, and wondered whether we might indeed have organic walls at some point in the future. In the foreseeable future we should have access to "smart" clothes and "smart" shoes which adjust to our changing body shapes, so why not "smart" houses?

I rather took to the idea of organic walls, and thought how useful they could be. It might be fun to alter the shape of your house at will, or to build an enclosed tunnel out into the garden when it was raining, or even to design a new home with the flick of your wrist. But I also wondered whether it would be entirely comfortable to have walls which were actually alive, and thought that maybe there was something to be said for inanimate bricks and mortar after all.

In a way, human beings have always used organic materials in their building. Centuries ago, common people would build their homes out of massive sods of earth, and we've all seen pictures of mud huts on the African continent or igloos in the frozen North. Even today, we still use thatch on some of our houses, especially around here in East Anglia. But although those materials are organic, they're not alive. They don't move or change or grow.

Building materials, especially anything used for walls or foundations, must be exceptionally strong to withstand the rigours of the weather and of the passing years. Jesus told a story about the sad fate of those who build their houses on sand. The minute the first storm blows, the house collapses. Jesus urged his listeners to build their lives on strong foundations, for lives built on sand collapse at the first storm. Perhaps this story is in Peter's mind when he talks about living stones in today's reading from the first letter of Peter.

Basing his thought on Isaiah 28:16, the author (who may have been a disciple of the apostle Peter) sees Christ as the precious cornerstone, the foundation which supports the whole building, and he sees individual Christians as living stones who are to be built into a spiritual house or a royal priesthood. No-one can build a house with one stone, it needs many stones wedged together, just as a Church which is to be truly spiritual needs every member.

The letter may have been written at a time of persecution of Christians. Peter himself is thought to have been executed under the excesses of the Emperor Nero around AD 67, but many scholars believe this letter to have been written later than that, hence the idea that it was written by a follower or supporter of Peter. The churches to which he was writing (in the five provinces of Asia Minor - 1 Peter1:1) had all been evangelised by Paul and were largely Gentile churches.

These new Christians perhaps found themselves alienated from their previous religious roots and the society around them, which coupled with the threat of persecution, was enough to make anyone feel weak at the knees. So the author constantly encourages and exhorts the new Christians to remain firm in the faith.

Be like living stones, he says. Stones which are big enough and strong enough to be used in building are rock solid, reliable, and able to withstand any ravages of time or space. They give shelter from the weather and from the threat of invaders and so they protect those who live within their walls. But in order to do this they must work together, and they must be underpinned by top quality foundations and a good cornerstone.

But Peter doesn't speak of inanimate rocks, instead he speaks of living stones. Living stones must have all the qualities of good building stones, but remain flexible. Living stones don't become petrified or stuck at one spot, but go on living and growing and moving.

People who are living stones are strong in the faith and reliable and dependable. Of course, as today's reading about the stoning of Stephen shows only too clearly, stones can be used for harm, to hurt or injure other people. But living stones are never used for that purpose. They protect others from harm and they shelter others from the worst storms, while they themselves continue to grow towards God. They continue to move forward in their faith and don't remain stuck at one point. Above all, they work together with other Christians to achieve all these qualities, for the qualities of living stones can't be achieved by individuals alone. Living stones build into a spiritual building - a church - and they produce a royal priesthood.

Peter isn't speaking here of a "priestly caste", of those who are ordained by the Church specifically to act as priests, but is speaking of all Christians, all believers, and he spells this out in verse 9: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Since he's speaking here to gentiles, it would seem that he thinks of Christians as the new chosen race, called to proclaim the mighty acts of God. Those mighty acts can only be proclaimed by those who are living stones, working together in a spiritual church to protect and support and strengthen others.

And anyone who does that is a priest indeed.