March 30, 2003 - Fourth Sunday of Lent
Isaiah 28: 14-17
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1 Peter 2:1-10
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“Living Stones and Spiritual Houses”

This week, my wife Diane is out of town, but she has kindly left behind a list of home repair projects that “could” be taken care of while the house is quiet.  So far, I haven’t completed many of these items, but I have been thinking a fair amount about building, especially about the frequent mention of construction, buildings, and building materials in the Bible. 

The biblical writers consistently used building images to tell stories about the people of God, and to instruct readers about what it means to be part of that people.  The message for today will focus on a passage from 1 Peter, but the Bible is full of construction references from beginning to end.  While there is no mention of going to the hardware store in the Genesis creation story, by Genesis 4, the descendents of Eve and Adam are creating all kinds of bronze and iron tools.  By chapter 6 of Genesis, Noah is constructing an Ark that was 200 ft. long, and by chapter 11, the people of the earth start to build a city and a huge tower with its top in the heavens.  Of course the last item—the Babel Project--was cancelled when contractors couldn’t get the proper zoning variance from God, but by that time it was already obvious that building would be a central part of the human story.

At the end of the Christian Bible, there is also an emphasis on buildings.  In Revelation 21, the author describes a vision of the new Jerusalem descending from the heavens.  The seer is instructed to measure the heavenly city with a golden yardstick, and after doing so, he goes on to mention the beauty and richness of its construction, and also the fact that there was no temple present in the city. 

References to building are a constant source of imagery and symbolism for the biblical writers.  In the context of warning against promiscuity, Paul reminds the people of Corinth that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and should not be defiled (1Cor 6:19).  Earlier in 1 Corinthians, Paul refers to himself as the founder of the church in Corinth, and as a skilled master builder who has laid a foundation upon which other apostles have built.  Paul even suggests that the work of each successive crew will be visible, and will be tested by fire (1Cor 3:10-15).  Of course Paul is at an advantage here since of all the parts of the building, the foundation is least likely to be damaged by fire. 

It doesn’t take long before these and many more building allusions pile up and lead us to ask three questions.  Why is building imagery so significant?  What was the meaning of this imagery to the people who read it or heard it in biblical times?  And finally, what is the significance of such imagery, and particularly the living stones and spiritual buildings found in 1 Peter, for us as believers today.

I imagine most people would agree that building is something that we become familiar with very early in life?  Think of the excitement when a young child first puts one block upon another and makes a rudimentary tower.  As I recall, our children learned to demolish their buildings in much less time than it took to construct them.  How about your own childhood?  Did you play with blocks, or erector sets, furnish a doll house, or how about using the ever popular Lincoln Logs?  Did you ever make a fort or a house out of the big box left over after the washing machine or dryer was delivered?  Today the names of the toys have changed to things like super-duper Lego systems and K’nex, but whatever the medium, many children continue to be interested in buildings and construction.

As we age, our tastes in building will develop, and we may try to build a playhouse or maybe even a tree fort on that nice branch hanging over from the neighbor’s yard.  Some of these constructions may not be up to code, but nonetheless, they continue the impulse to build that is so much a part of being human.  Eventually we grow up, and we may turn to building real houses or at least remodeling a room or two.  Some people, some of you, have grown up to become professional builders, or to practice one of the many building trades.   

The imagery and terminology of building serves to make a powerful influence in a variety of ways.  Financial planners tell you to build a portfolio.  If you are a musician you build a repertoire.  You receive vaccinations in order to build up immunity to certain illnesses.  And if you want to get in shape you go to the gym for some body building.  It is not surprising then that the Bible makes use of so many related images, but what meaning did these images have for the original audience? 

In looking at any passage from the Bible, it is important to take into consideration the differences between modern culture and the society from long ago.  The passages and imagery related to building is no exception.  For instance, Matthew 13:55 refers to Jesus as the son of a techton a Greek term that Christian tradition has usually translated as “carpenter.”  While the occupation of carpenter has a very specific meaning in modern English, the Greek term is much more inclusive.  The Greek version of 1 Samuel uses techton when reporting that there were no smiths in all of Israel to make weapons (13:19 LXX)  Techton is used to describe both workers in wood, and stonecutters sent by King Hiram of Tyre to build a palace for David in Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:11 LXX).  And the father of King Hiram is described as a famous techton who worked in bronze (1Kings 7:14).  Given a shortage of trees, and the prevalence of stone and brick as building materials in first-century Palestine, it may be unlikely that the father of Jesus was a worker in wood, or a carpenter in the modern sense of the term.   

This example is one reminder that we need to use caution when reading about buildings in an ancient document.   There were obviously great differences not only in terminology and materials, but in construction methods, styles, decorations and even the place of buildings in civic culture.  If we read a passage about building and automatically think of Aisle 7 at Menards, we may be missing some of the important ideas intended for the original audience.  If we try to think about these images in the context of the first-century Roman world, the text may open up to us in surprising and powerful ways. 

In the book known as 1 Peter, the author is speaking to people who are oppressed; people who are forced to hide their beliefs and religious practices because they do not conform to the beliefs of the majority of society.  The author is aware of the people’s suffering, and is attempting to provide a “living hope” for the future based on their faith in Jesus (1 Peter 1:3).  In doing so, the author calls once again on building imagery.  This time, the text urges the people to be “living stones, rejected by humans but chosen and precious in God’s sight” (2:4).  Furthermore, the audience is admonished to let themselves be built into a “spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, and to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (2:5).  The mention of priesthood and sacrifice here would seem to refer to a temple of some sort, and the normal connection that modern readers make here would be as a reference to the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.  While this may seem obvious, let us consider the original context.  What would the mention of a spiritual house or temple have meant to the original recipients of the letter?

According to the opening of 1 Peter, this letter was to be sent to believers who lived in Pontus, Galatia, Capadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.  These areas are all provinces of the Roman Empire located in what we call Turkey today.  In Roman times this territory contained a very high concentration of significant cities like Pergamum, Smyrna, Sardis, and perhaps best known of all, Ephesus.  Even in their ruined state today, it is obvious that these were some of the most spectacular cities of the ancient world.  In these amazing cities the most prominent buildings were usually temples to the gods, and during the Roman period these temples were often symbolic of the Emperor and his power in the city.  The Romans were masters of using architecture and city planning to make their presence known.  Build a temple at the highest spot in town, equip it with the finest in decoration and splendor, and dedicate it to the divine spirit of the emperor, or the goddess Roma, or both. 

When the original audience of 1 Peter encountered this temple imagery, these were the kind of temples that came to mind.  When they were told that they were living stones and called to be built into a spiritual house for sacrifice, they heard it as a challenge to the imperial power structure by which they were being oppressed.  Rather than cowering in the shadow of the temples, and letting the abusive Roman rulers defeat them, or giving in to the temptations of participation in the cultic festivals, the first readers of 1 Peter were to see themselves as an even more worthy monument.  Their community was not represented by a building with stone columns and elaborate decoration.  Rather they were to be living stones fashioned into a spiritual house. 

When we come to the question of how this message is relevant to us as believers today, we encounter one of the hardest things to understand about the first-century church: the fact that there were no churches, no physical spaces that were especially designated for the gathered believers.  Since the Jesus followers were an illegal religion, they had to meet in secret.  Tradition has it that they met in graveyards, in the catacombs of Rome, or in the houses of wealthy believers.  They were not able to express their love of God and commitment to the community by building the kind of grand structures that marked the Roman empire, or that later came to be identified with Christianity in the West.  That is why they had to become living stones themselves.  They needed to be gathered together and formed into a spiritual house that would challenge the imperial temples not as a physical structure, but as a force of spirit that would sustain them in the face of whatever the world brought against them. 

Today, the physical church building is an incredibly important part of what Christianity is all about.  Many churches rightly spend a significant portion of their time and budget taking care of the building.  How do we maintain our sanctuary?  How do we decorate? How do we re-decorate?  How do we update?  How do we expand?  And of course, how do we pay for it?  For modern churches, these are all essential questions, but let us ask one more question based on the lesson from 1 Peter.  We have this magnificent physical plant, but are we a spiritual house?

As beautiful as our sanctuary is, the community we form in Christ is not dependent on this building of bricks and mortar.  A spiritual building is one that is literally filled with breath.  The same word in Greek is translated as “spirit” and “breath.” This is a breathing building.  It is alive.  It is dynamic.  It is moving. It is growing.  It is not just a pile of rocks without any life to it. 

In my archaeological work, I have spent countless hours picking over the dead stone remains of ancient buildings.  The people who worshipped at the temple in Omrit have left as a legacy a two phase foundation for a Roman podium temple, and a lot of broken rocks.  We have a cornerstone, but it is hardly honored considering that it was buried for 1500 years.  Except for the occasional discovery of an interesting artifact, the place is dead, and the beliefs of the people who worshipped there are for the most part historical curiosities.