Brief synopsis of the readings: Speaking before the Sanhedrin Peter recounted how he and John cured a man who could not walk. He told those gathered that the man was healed in the name of Jesus. He quoted Psalm 118:25. He is the stone rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. Peter concluded by stating that salvation cannot come through anyone else except Jesus. In John’s Gospel Jesus speaks of himself as the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. Hired shepherds will not be the same as they will abandon the flock at the first sign of danger. Jesus further states that he has other sheep, not of this fold, who he must lead. “[T]he Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.” Finally Jesus says: “I have the power to lay [my life] down, and the power to take it up again.

So let’s talk about cornerstones: I’m neither an architect nor a contractor but it’s clear that cornerstones are important. Whenever a large or important building is being constructed we can find important people in suits with construction hats and shovels “laying the cornerstone” of the building. If the cornerstone isn’t laid exactly, the entire building will not be stable; think Leaning Tower of Pisa. Additionally the stone has to be cut perfectly. Any deviation will affect the laying all the other stones around it.

When Peter spoke in our first reading he was speaking to those who everyone considered the cornerstones of the community. Peter and John spoke to the Sanhedrin because they were summoned to explain themselves and by what right they cured the man. If you remember, when Judas betrayed Jesus, Jesus was taken before the Sanhedrin to answer the charges against him. That body consisted of not only the leaders of the community but also the most educated. It would be as if the nation’s Nobel laureates and Congress met together. And not only were they the cornerstones of their community, they determined who else was.

Given that it was a throwdown when Peter told them that they blew it with Jesus. When he said that Jesus was the cornerstone that the builders rejected he was pointing his finger at them. Given their power they probably expected Peter and John to approach them with contrition and acknowledge them as leaders but Peter and John did the opposite. Peter had come a long way from the last time, the night Jesus appeared before them and Peter claimed not to know him. Peter and John were looking for a fight, and they got one.

Now, if everyone back then wanted to be a cornerstone, nobody wanted to be a shepherd. I’ve spoken about this before but this was a hard way to make a living. While they give us the gift of wool and many of us love the taste of lamb they are not particularly talented at staying together or avoiding predators. Shepherds needed to spend virtually all their time finding places for the sheep to eat while keeping them safe and together. And no shepherd will ever give his life for his sheep. If some of them wander off the shepherd will cut his losses and stay with the rest of the herd and hope there are enough left to make a living.

So what do we do with the concept of Jesus not only being a rejected cornerstone but also a bad shepherd? At the risk of oversimplifying things, following Jesus means changing much of what we assume we know about how the world works.

The 4th Century philosopher and theologian St. Augustine’s book The City of God divides the world into the city of Man and the city of God and discusses the differences between those who do not follow Jesus and those who do. For our purposes let’s make this a little more inclusive and call the cities the human city and the divine city.

The human city values strength as defined by the ability to control others. Might makes right and history is written by the winners. Ambition provides the road to success and climbing over others to get rewarded is just the way it works. The cornerstone is obvious to all and a good shepherd brings in the largest herd.

But Jesus preached that strength comes through self surrender and preserving the sheep even at the point of our own death. History is written by those who love one another.

Fortunately we see experiences of this all around us if we pay attention. When I worked for hospice I cared for a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer while she was pregnant. Her doctors recommended that she terminate her pregnancy and begin chemotherapy but she decided not to. She was aware that continuing the pregnancy would result in a healthy baby but would also accelerate the cancer; she was admitted to hospice the day after her daughter was born and died six months later. Her daughter, wherever she is, is now 17 and I think of her often.

But there are also examples all around us. I volunteer at the USO (United Service Organizations); we are civilians who provide support for members of the military and their families. At the San Diego Airport we provide a lounge along with food, a place to shower, and video games. Young service members often ask how much it costs them and I tell them that to access the USO they need to pledge to protect my freedom, even at the cost of their own lives. It always gets a smile but I’m serious. They are the shepherds and we are the sheep. They are also the cornerstones. It’s become fashionable to deride members of Gen Z (those born in 1997 or later) as lazy or unmotivated but these men and women prove otherwise.

Finally I don’t wish to join the chorus of those who pine for the “good old days” because every generation has carried on the work of Peter and the other first generation disciples. And as for the Sanhedrin, well they haven’t met since the year 425.