Morning Prayer — The Rejected Stone
“The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” (Psalm 118:22) We hear this and immediately think of Jesus — the One dismissed by the religious gatekeepers, underestimated by the powerful, and yet chosen by God as the foundation of everything new. The early Christians understood this verse as a quiet prophecy fulfilled in Christ: the rejected One becoming the essential One. But what does it mean for us today? It means God builds differently than we do. We tend to choose the stones that look impressive — the strong, the polished, the socially approved. We choose the parts of ourselves that seem presentable. We choose the people who seem useful. We choose the paths that look successful. God, however, keeps reaching for the stone lying off to the side. The overlooked person. The wounded part of our own story. The season we thought was wasted. The failure we hoped no one noticed. The part of life that felt like rejection rather than blessing. And God says: This — precis...