In many indigenous cultures it is not unusual to accept material like rivers and stones to be sentient, holding memory or having spirit. In Anishinaabe Ways of Knowing and Being, Lawrence Gross writes about the Anishinaabe language and how it understands the dynamic nature of creation. It is a verb-based language, meaning that it talks about what things do rather than what they are. Simply put, we are not human beings; we are humans being.

Something I find curious about our first reading today is the phrase, “…like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house.”  It’s a bit weird to think of myself as part of a crucial ingredient within a spiritual house.

But, somehow, it’s rather affirming.  It upholds the sense that I am a human being (used as a verb), existing and participating in the fabric of a spiritual house. I am a crucial stone within that house – wow!!    And “wow” again when I think of Jesus as the cornerstone of that structure.  What an amazing house.  And, to think, we are all a part of that house.  Using the words of singer Graham Nash, “Our house, is a very, very, very, fine house!”

While speaking with his disciples, Jesus talks about God’s house as place where there are many dwelling places – and that Jesus would go prepare a place for them.  And then he said, “…where I am, there you may be also.”  Thomas is a bit confused by this and asks, “Lord, we do not know where you are going.  How can we know the way?”

Well, no wonder Thomas was confused.  Thomas was no doubt thinking that he had to navigate a convoluted map of spiritual direction – while perhaps secretly admitting he was directionally challenged. 

“How can we know the way?”  It’s a basic question for anyone in any walk of life. 

Today, there are some of us who have been asking that question and have been asked the question in different ways. 

For the two graduating HS Seniors, for the Confirmation students, for Sarah, for myself, for this congregation, etc., the questions are, “So what are going to do now?  What’s your plan? What will you become?”

And the most honest answer might be:  “We don’t know!” 

But, in the same breath, we might humbly and confidently confess, “We are living stones, we know we are in, under, and within the house of God.  We know that this house, this home, is infused with a way, a truth, and a life.  It is not a home in which we must navigate because we are already a part of the structure.

Sarah – Right! So, in a way, despite all the journeys and crossroads we’re facing, we are already home in our walk with Christ and each other. This is a way of being in the world, more than being worried about the specifics of life or even our circumstances.

We can always feel comfortable in any place because we are secure in him. We can always be loving to strangers because we know that he came before us in love with these people we are about to meet.

Christ imbues our way and so we can step into our futures with a sense of anticipation of always feeling at home, even as we are sometimes navigating times in our lives of great change.

This creates a lot of freedom for us because our security does not come from everything staying the same, but from Jesus going before us to prepare the way, to be the way, and support our every step.

Dave – For the young folks who are affirming their baptism today (for Annika, Maren, Oliver, Brooke, & Langley), they were infused into this house at their baptism.  On that day they became members of the body of Christ, the church.  It was the same for Valerie and Emma.  It was the same for Sarah, for me, and for many of you.

The dwelling place of God was not just a place to sit and twiddle thumbs, waiting for “aha” moments, but a place to move and have our being with Jesus.  To be the way, to be the truth, to be the life for the sake of the world.

Sarah – Along these lines of our mapless journey with Jesus, Benedictine and Celtic scholar Esther de Waal writes:

“In the Gospels we watch a Christ who, in dismissing certainties, shows us what freedom might mean. We watch the way in which he enters into people’s lives and dissolves an existing situation, whatever it might be. The likelihood was that the condition had promised security, safety, but now Christ challenges the people to leave their nets, or to leave a nice safe booth, and follow him. He says to Peter, James, and John, “Come,” and to Matthew, “Stand up, move, walk, come with me.” Our God is a God who moves and he invites us to move with him. [God] wants to pry us away from anything that might hold us too securely: our careers, our family systems, our money making. We must be ready to disconnect. There comes a time when the things that were undoubtedly good and right in the past must be left behind, for there is always the danger that they might hinder us from moving forward and connecting with the one necessary thing, Christ himself.”  

Dave – “Trust me,” Jesus seems to be saying. “Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God, believe also in me.”  “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.  If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?”

We are all being asked to let go of the safety of known things and to trust in Christ so that we can move forward with full hearts and continue to say ‘Yes!’ to God’s world, even when it’s hard.

Jesus has revealed a way for us, a truth for us, and a life for us. We don’t have to create a home for ourselves in his heart. He created a home for us.  He gave us dual citizenship – a home in his heart and a home on the earth.  Now, while the citizenship on earth might be finite, the citizenship in his heart is infinite.  But, while we are still citizens on this earth, Jesus has chosen us to be in partnership with him for the sake of mission – not for the purpose of remaining separate and aloof from the cares of the world.

He chose us to feed the poor, to heal the sick, to shelter the homeless, to forgive the sinner, to love the neighbor.   And with this choosing, Jesus promises to always be with us – even to the end of the age.  He not only promises a dwelling place…he promises we will be living stones within that dwelling place.

AMEN