Sermon preached on Sunday 3rd May 2026 in Granborough

Easter 6

​

READINGS

 

1 Peter 2:2-10

 

2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

4 As you come to him, the living Stone – rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him – 5 you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For in Scripture it says:

‘See, I lay a stone in Zion,
   a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
   will never be put to shame.’

7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

‘The stone the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone,’

8 and,

‘A stone that causes people to stumble
   and a rock that makes them fall.’

They stumble because they disobey the message – which is also what they were destined for.

9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

​

GOSPEL READING

John 14.1-14

14 ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.’

Jesus the way to the Father

5 Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?’

6 Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’

8 Philip said, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.’

9 Jesus answered: ‘Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

 

 

THE TALK

 

Before we turn to today’s readings, I’d like to begin with a little challenge— for the young people or for anyone feeling brave enough to join in. I have here two packs of playing cards. A blue team and a red team. Your task is simple: in one minute, build the tallest, strongest house of cards you can. 

​

“Thank you, everyone—well done! In the time before the mobile phones, as kids, we played cards often with friends and so we would build houses from cards, just for fun… It looks easy at first, doesn’t it? Just leaning cards together. But, in reality it’s not as easy as it looks.  If everything goes right, if the table is steady, if no one sneezes, or nobody pushes you, seemingly by a mistake, a small house stands for a moment. But most of the time, it only takes the smallest shake for the whole thing to fall apart. But it’s fun.

 

It’s one thing to build a house of cards.
It’s another thing entirely to build the kind of house God asks us to build.

A house of cards never remains standing for very long. But the spiritual house Peter speaks of is made of something much much stronger and lasting.

 

 

When we look at the two readings we have heard today together and when we put into the mix our opening song, Let us build a house, where love can dwell, what you get is a vision of God’s home. 

 

Before we moved to Bucks, when we were still living in Liverpool, we enjoyed watching Escape to the country. Watching with interest all the different houses that were presented as well as the countryside, and of course wondering if would we choose any of the houses to live in?  What would tick the right box for you? Would you ask for a house with a character? Or would you rather find something more modern? How about the size and special features? 

 

In our reading today, St Peter had something to say about houses. And imagine, if he wasn’t talking to his audience, but rather was a presenter on Escape to the Country, what would he have to say?

 

If St Peter was here today, he would not talk about this church building, however special it is, but he would talk about us, about each one of us. Although I would like to think that he might be impressed with our recent repairs to the tower.

 

But he would make a point of speaking about every one of us, being a living stone, each precious and essential part of our house. How would he describe this house? Its features, what would be the selling point? What would make it a great house for others to want to live in?

 

Of course the foundation has to be solid. The early Christians knew what a cornerstone was—the first stone laid, the stone that determined the shape and strength of the entire structure. If the cornerstone was sound and well-placed, the house would endure. And so Peter urges the church to root its life in Christ, the one rejected by many, yet chosen and precious in God’s sight. We are invited to shape our lives around him. With Jesus the cornerstone, we become the living stones in the spiritual house we are part of.

 

And in God’s house, every stone matters, in God’s house every person matters, that’s why all should be welcome to become part of this house. And we should always see it as a priority that we are welcoming and caring community, and that our welcome extends beyond the walls of our church, As God’s people we are extend the grace and forgiveness and respect to others whatever their background and circumstances. Our house as the song puts it, should be a place where love can dwell and all can safely live. In God’s house, every stone is chosen. There are no spares. No rejects. No “extras left on the building site.” It is a very simple premise, but one that is extremely important to live by as a church, sadly one which is not always reflected in how church is perceived by the society. As a congregation, that’s something we can strive to do, to be welcoming and caring community and to be an inclusive church and where we can, to make a point that we are known as such and that we speak on behalf of those who are marginalised.

 

We should be a house where prophets speak—where God’s Word is heard, strong and true. Peter reminds us that we are a chosen people, called to “declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.” A prophetic church is a church where truth is spoken in love, and where people are encouraged to ask questions, wrestle with faith, and dare to imagine God’s kingdom breaking into the world, where we speak of what life and God’s world could be and should be like and speak about it on behalf of those who don’t have a voice or courage to speak for themselves.

 

The spiritual house we are trying to build  should be a house where love is found and where peace and justice meet. Think about a family kitchen, it is often the heart of a home, a place where people share what happened in their days, where problems are shared, where people celebrate and relax. In this spiritual house love is shared in the bread and wine, when forgiveness is offered, but also in the ordinary encounters, when we listen to each other, take notice of each other, notice when someone is absent and when we extend the same love to the community outside this church, and the world, by prayer or any action that brings comfort and relief.

 

Let us be a house where hands reach out—beyond wood and stone, as the hymn puts it, perhaps it means reaching out beyond comfort and familiarity. Peter encourages the church to be a holy priesthood, which means not a club for the spiritually successful, but a community whose life is based on service. The Gospel reading reminds us that Jesus says, “The one who believes in me will do the works that I do”—and that is our calling. It means healing, strengthening, serving, teaching, comforting, and standing alongside those the world ignores On the Escape to the country, we would be looking for a house which is big enough to offer hospitality and shelter to others, or you may want to feel that it can become a refuge. It’s not however about space, but about the welcome and about the grace offered.

 

Let us be a house where all are named, where their songs and visions are heard. When  Peter tells us we are “a royal priesthood, God’s own people,” that means no one here is insignificant. Everything that is shared, each joy, each sorrow, each doubt, each prayer, every act of kindness becomes part of the structure of this spiritual house. If you think of a home whose walls are filled with family photos, children’s drawings, mementos—every item speaking of belonging and memory and possibility. 

 

As a church we are not just a building, we have our stories, our hopes, our dreams, our vision. W should not stop sharing with each other what matters to us, it’s part of knowing who we are and offering ourselves to God, it is part of seeking his vision and following God’s calling, so that we can be a place in which others would feel welcome

 

And perhaps, as we finish, we might think back to our house-of-cards challenge and those episodes of Escape to the Country. A house of cards can look impressive for a moment, but it cannot stand for long; the slightest breath can bring it down. And on the TV programme, families search for the perfect house—one with solid walls, a good foundation, room to grow, and a place to belong. Peter reminds us that God is offering us something far greater: not a temporary structure, not a picture-perfect cottage, he is talking of a spiritual home that lasts, a place shaped by Christ the cornerstone and built with our very lives. This is the true house we are invited to help build—one strong enough to stand, generous and welcoming and loving enough for others to want to belong to. Let’s be such a house. Amen.