A man lived in an old stone cottage that was badly in need of repair. He made do, day-by-day, and got on with his life, struggling to wrench a living from the meager land. Eventually the rain that leaked in on him got too heavy and the wind around his ears was too cold. He had to do something about the gap in his wall.
Up on the hillside there was an ancient Celtic cross. It had stood there since time immemorial. It was silent and uncomplaining in the Atlantic gales that swept over it, but its very silence said something about continuity, community, and interrelatedness. It had become a part of the local imagination and without ever really thinking about it, the people knew, with a sound instinct, that it was very important. It had something to say about what they hoped to be. It has something to do with the coming of the kingdom.
The man from the cottage, who was a stonecutter, went up to the cross one dark night. One of those stone arcs, he thought, would fit exactly the hole in his wall. He would come the next day with a hammer and a chisel and remove it. He smiled, perhaps uneasily, as he thought of how much warmer his house would be without the perpetual drafts. Almost satisfied with his decision, he turned toward his homeward path, but his plans were rudely interrupted. In the distance he clearly saw flames rising from his cottage. Panic-stricken he ran across the rough field, but when he arrived home, his cottage was still standing as he had left it. The fire had only been in his imagination.
A few days later common sense again reasserted itself and he once again set off up the hill with his hammer and chisel. It was dark, but he looked about warily, lest anyone else should see him there. It was only a piece of stone after all, and he needed it. He started to chip. The sound of the hammer against the solid head of the chisel rang out through the night like the tolling of a bell to alarm the very heavens. But he continued to chip until he remembered the strange events of his previous attempt and looked over his shoulder nervously in the direction of his cottage. And there on the distant skyline, a fire raged. Again, he ran home in terror only to find his cottage unharmed, just as he had left it.
More cold nights came and went; sleep came uneasily to the stonecutter. The bizarre images of dream and nightmare entangled themselves among the pressing urgencies of everyday life. The fierce winds from the sea were stronger by far than the breezes that fluttered through his unease. He made up his mind that the very next day his cottage would be sound again and that no irrational fears would deflect him from his purpose.
He walked up the hill, without looking to the right or the left. He worked quickly and efficiently, closing the doors of his mind firmly against any distraction, real or imagined. Soon the stone arc was in his sack. This time there were no flames on the horizon and, thus, no flash of panic disturbed him. He turned his back on the mutilated cross and walked home through the quiet of the night. And when he arrived home, the cottage was a heap of smoldering ashes.1
The stonecutter failed to heed the warnings that he received from his dream. He continued on with his planned destruction, rejecting the opportunity he was given to right the ship of his life as he sailed, possibly unknowingly, into perilous shoal waters. Saint Paul, in a similar way, warns the Corinthians that they must be watchful of their person so as not to run aground on the rocky shoals of the world's multiple temptations.
In today's Second Lesson, Paul begins by reviewing in brief the history of the Jews and their lack of fidelity to God. Yahweh sent Moses to the Israelites to lead them from bondage in Egypt to the promised land. God rescued the community through the waters of the Red Sea by providing a path and destroying Pharaoh's forces. The Lord led the people through the desert by a cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night. The people all ate the same food and drank from the same spiritual rock. Namely, they had the Law, the Ten Commandments, which God personally gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. In short, the people were given a secure path to follow to reach their destination. Yet, as Paul tells the Corinthians and we too know from our reading of the Hebrew Scriptures, that the people chose another route and most were struck down in the desert. The community wandered rather aimlessly for forty years; even Moses was not granted entry to the land God promised.
The apostle tells the people that these events happened to serve as an example not to follow. The community is to avoid the evil path their ancestors in the faith trod. Paul then gives more details on specific evils to be avoided, providing a short list of past sins and their consequences. He first mentions the idolatry of the Jews. The incident with the golden calf in the desert (Exodus 32:1-35) most assuredly was in Paul's mind, but there were many other manifestations of similar transgressions. Hosea warned the ruling elite in the northern kingdom of their infidelity to God.
The image of Hosea's marriage to Gomer illustrates how Israel was guilty of consorting with many other gods. The prophet wrote: "My people consult a piece of wood, and their divining rod gives them oracles. For a spirit of whoredom has led them astray, and they have played the whore, forsaking their God. They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and make offerings upon the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the whore and your daughters-in-law commit adultery" (Hosea 4:12-13). Paul next mentions the sin of sexual immorality, an issue he had raised earlier (5:1-12) in this letter to the Corinthians.
Most likely, here Paul was reminding the people of the infidelity of their ancestors in the desert when many had relations with Moab women leading to their worship of Baal (Numbers 25:1-18). Again, referring to the Israelites' sojourn in the desert (Numbers 16:41-49 and 21:5-6 as two examples) Paul tells the Corinthians how the people tested God and complained against Moses, God's chosen liberator. The people tried the patience of God, who it seems was the object of their anger. All of these incidents, Paul suggests, happened as warnings for those living at the end of the ages. Since the apostle, as indicated from his letters (especially 1 and 2 Thessalonians) firmly believed in the close proximity of the Parousia, he issues an important warning: "So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall." In other words, heed the many signs that have been given and do not delude yourselves into believing all is well, personally or communally.
Paul closes this section of his letter with an important note of consolation. He tells the people that various trials and temptations will come along the way. Yes, all will be tested; no one will escape. But Paul also firmly believed that no one is tested beyond one's ability to endure. All are given the strength to overcome the temptations and problems that come our way. Such testing will clearly involve some amount of suffering, but Paul also knew, as did the author of the letter to the Hebrews that it is through suffering that we gain perfection. Speaking of Jesus we read: "Although he was a Son, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" (Hebrews 5:8).
We should heed Paul's warning to the Christian community at Corinth, but we should also bask in the knowledge that God is on our side, supplying all that we need to overcome any and all obstacles in order to find eternal life. We all find ourselves, at different times in our lives, combating the temptations and evil tendencies we share and experience as humans. But we have had sufficient warning. We have the ethic our parents gave us, a history of Christianity that demonstrates a secure path, and most especially we have the scriptures. Thus, it is all up to us.
Raising our voice to complain seems to be, as they say, "par for the course" these days. Sometimes our complaints are completely legitimate. We may have been wronged; some injustice could have been perpetrated against us. Possibly our opinions or ideas on some issue were summarily dismissed without a hearing. Too often and too loudly, however, we complain for no justifiable reason. It may have been the case that things did not go our way and we think no one cares. We become intolerant and feel wronged simply because our idea or way of doing something was not chosen. Sometimes, as well, we cannot admit that we might have been wrong and, thus, we complain. There are some who cannot accept defeat and when this eventuality happens in our lives we react in less than positive ways. There are times as well that we complain against people whom we feel do not measure up or do things differently or have varied perspectives from our own. If our complaints are legitimate we can stand tall, as Paul suggests, but let us not simply "cry over spilt milk" because we don't like someone or something.
Complaints that have no legitimacy are matched with our tendency to put Jesus to the test, just as the Jews, our ancestors in the faith, did. How many times have we heard one say, "O Lord, grant me patience and grant it to me NOW!" It is a good thing that God is not like us. God has infinite patience with us. Yet, while God's love for us never lies dormant or is lost, surely God must grow weary and become disappointed with us. We know in our hearts and minds what God asks of us; none of us was born yesterday. God has provided plenty of signs and warnings, as well as a detailed and well-lighted path to follow. Yes, as Jesus says (Matthew 7:13-14) it is the rocky, less traveled road we must follow, but we know it is the only proper path. Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me" (John 14:6). We must do what we can to lessen the burdens of the Lord. Jesus said it well to Satan during his temptation in the desert: "Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test' " (Matthew 4:7).
The pervasive nature of today's world allows us too easily to try God's patience through the misuse of our great gift of sexuality. It is easy today to rationalize, to become our own "spin doctors" with respect to our actions. Again, we know what is expected of us. Yet, too often we hide in the closet of ignorance and fake ourselves into believing a reality that does not exist.
Idolatry is still another temptation that is omnipresent in our world. We might mistakenly think that idolatry is not a problem — after all there are few in our society who call themselves people of faith who do not acknowledge their worship of God, but that does not mean idolatry has magically vanished. On the contrary, it is ever-present, but has different names — power, wealth, and prestige, the three great temptations of humankind from the outset. Jesus himself was forced to choose between God and the world when he endured his temptations at the hand of Satan just prior to the beginning of his public ministry (Matthew 4:1-11). He is offered the three treasures of our world, but he never gives in to the temptation. The first temptation of power comes in the offer of changing stones into bread. Power is not necessary for Jesus; concentrating on God's Word is more important. Prestige is the second great temptation seen in the challenge to throw himself from the temple. Satan chides Jesus saying that he is an important person and thus his angels will care for him. Christ responds by saying that he does not need to show such prestige. The fact that Jesus is God is all the prestige that is necessary. The final temptation is wealth in the offer to grant all the kingdoms of the world to Jesus. Just bow down and worship me is the challenge of Satan. Jesus responds that he does not need such riches. Jesus will not honor Satan; God alone is to be worshiped.
While there is more than sufficient reason to be wary of contemporary temptations, we must not live in fear that when such events, people, and ideas come our way we are defenseless. On the contrary, we must, as the Pauline author suggests, clothe ourselves in Christ: "Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of the present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:11-12). We must have confidence, as we have been told and have said to others quite frequently: "No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13). Most assuredly this must be a great source of consolation amidst the darkness of today's world.
The stonecutter never heeded the warning and his house burned to ashes. God has provided us through scripture, history, and the experience of our lives, numerous signs, warnings, and opportunities to follow the narrow path to life. Let us not be foolish like the stonecutter, but rather heed the admonition of Saint Paul. Let us do so, however, with the supreme confidence that God is with us every step of the way. As he told his disciples just before he ascended to the Father, "And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20b). May this be our hope and consolation as we strive each day to live the Christian life. If we can persevere our reward in heaven will be great!
1. Taken from Margaret Silf, Sacred Spaces: Stations on a Celtic Way (Brewster, Massachusetts: Paraclete Press, 2001), pp. 49-51.