"The stone that the builder refused shall become the end capstone."
The above adage is a paraphrase of biblical verse, found throughout many works of art and literature. Most people, though perhaps not consciously or actively, are familiar with this mysterious saying.
I myself have been ruminating on it's meaning for throughout the course of several years, and am happy to say found - and will impart unto you - the objective meaning behind this cryptic archetype...
But before I outright tell you what the 'stone that the builder refused' really IS, I ought to recount some of the various uses of this archetype have been that I've witnessed in my reading of the Bible and "Duncan's Rituals", a freemasonry ritual guide.
The "stone that the builder refused" becoming "the end cornerstone" is found most easily in the bible in one of the books of Peter, where Jesus the man tells a crowd of enraptured listeners a parable which I will paraphrase thusly:
"There once was a Landlord who owned land upon which tenants farmed crops.
When it came time to collect his rent, the Landlord sent his servant out to receive accounts payable.
The tenants killed the servant.
The Landlord was perplexed, so he sent his son out to collect.
The tenants killed his son.
So, when the Landlord went out himself to collect, what happened?" Jesus asked.
"Surely the landlord slew the tenants, etc." Everyone replied.
Jesus looked disappointed with them and in a way befitting a kind of reprimand of the crowd said:
"The stone that the builder refused shall become the end capstone"
...and somehow, everyone in the crowd repented and felt shame - because they knew Jesus was talking about them.
...or something to that effect.
confusing, huh?
Well, after some time spent witnessing just how central this end 'capstone' or 'cornerstone' parable is to Freemasonry (I myself have never attended a lodge but consider myself a freemason at heart), recounted repeatedly throughout the entirety of "Duncan's..." not to mention referenced in Dan Brown's "The Lost Symbol" in which the protagonist talks about how the founding fathers and framers would literally use stone refuse to ground the corners of capitol buildings, I must say - I was even more in the dark than the repentant crowd listening to Jesus in the book of Peter. I had to admit -
I didn't know what this recurring archetype meant!
And then I found it, just a day or so ago, buried somewhere in Ephesians.
It says....
....and merry christmas by the way.
The stone that the builder refused IS Jesus.
Think of the tale of The Passion.
God sent Jesus, his only begotten son, to give the world a glimpse of his grace and majesty.
But the builder, perhaps in this case Herod and ilk (whose tomb, btw, occupies a sizeable portion of Solomon's Temple), refused Him.
Yet now, as we all celebrate the birth of the Lord and Savior this Christmas, He has become the "end cornerstone" of the majority of Western Civilization proper!
There you have it, gift-wrapped for your Holidays...
For what it's worth,
not much
I suppose.
DDU 2014 RT
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