When the people heard this, they said, "God forbid!" Jesus looked directly at them and asked, "Then what is the meaning of that which is written: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed." The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately, because they knew he had spoken this parable against them. But they were afraid of the people. (Luke 20:16a-19). Our text comes at the tail end of a parable in which Jesus warns that Israel is about to lose God's favour. (See yesterday's Wilderness Wanderings). She has not been living in covenant faithfulness. The teachers of the law and the chief priests rightly discern that Jesus ire is directed at them. After all, they are the ones who teach Israel about life with God. What is it that has Jesus so distressed? Earlier Jesus directly addresses the leadership, "you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?" (11:39-40). This reminds me of a chapter in the life of Willow Creek, a mega church in the Chicago area. A survey of worshippers revealed a very disturbing reality: people were attending church events regularly but were not growing as followers of Jesus. They were doing religious activity, but their hearts were not changed. To use Paul's language, "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness" (Ephesians 4:22-24). I wonder if Jesus would make the same accusation against the church today. Are we still more concerned with the outside of the cup, neglecting the inside? Do we put too much emphasis on doing religious activity without doing the more difficult work cleaning the inside? Of course, we cannot cleanse ourselves. We need the scrubbing power of the Holy Spirit and the Word and the soap of Jesus' blood. Sin is not easily eliminated. Its habits are deeply ingrained. To uproot them and replace them with the streams of love, takes a lifetime. For the first time in 2 years, it feels like the worst of this pandemic is behind us. Society, including church buildings, are allowed full capacity again. Many church activities are being taken off the back burner. It is an important opportunity to ask about the value of these activities. Are they helpful for 'putting on the new self'? Would it be more helpful if we did less or did other things? Our text also reminds us that Jesus is at the heart of all things. He is either the cornerstone around which the church, and thus Christians, are built, or the stone that breaks us. As the centre of that plan, Jesus through the resurrection becomes the base of a new community, a fresh temple where God's presence dwells. The Spirit in us is what gives this new living temple its life (1 Cor. 3:17–18). This spiritual life is not dependent on religious activities. The problem is that we think we are well shaped to be part of this temple. But we are not. We are all deluded. This is the difficult teaching of this parable. Israel's leaders thought they were doing exactly what God wanted them to do, but they weren't. When Jesus told them so, they got mad at him and had him crucified. Hmm. Would we do the same? Can we hear the teaching of this parable? Or would we too say, "God forbid!" Do we believe in this Jesus? And believing, do we do what he says?

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