Definition for Stone in Bible
Glossary
Stone (in Scripture)
Refers to the body as a whole. It is like the distinction between gene and the genome. A gene is one functional segment of a molecule of DNA. The genome is the entire collection of DNA molecules in the body. In Scripture, stone can be good, or it can be bad. For example, referring to Jesus as a stone means that the incarnate component of his human composite substance/nature is unchanging and unchangeable Truth. On the other hand, referring to a fallen man’s heart as a heart of stone means that men can resist making positive changes in their attitudes towards God and their neighbors [Genome. (n.d.) Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014. (1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014)].
Ezekiel writes, "A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (Ez. 36:26). In Hebrews, Paul tells us that a hardened heart (aka a heart of stone) is a heart of rebellion (Heb 3:15) and disobedience (Heb 4:3-7). The heart of flesh is one in which the Holy Spirit dwells (see The Spiritual Heart).
For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall never enter my rest,’” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this place he said, “They shall never enter my rest.” Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he sets a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted, “Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb 4:3-7).
By contrast, the only biolgical stone that is good, is those who are baptized into the Mystical Body of Christ, through which we become Living Stones built into that spiritual house, i.e., the Temple rebuilt after three days. That is the only stone out of which Living Waters can flow. Peter writes, “Like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pt. 2:5). As Venerable Fulton Sheen tells us, “The plan of the Incarnation was based upon the communication of the Divine through the human, the invisible through the visible, and the eternal through the temporal. It was, in a certain sense, the foundation of a Sacramental universe in which material things would be used as the channels for the spiritual.”[1] Jesus tells St. Faustina that “I am Love and Mercy itself. When a soul approaches Me with trust, I fill it with such an abundance of graces that it cannot contain them within itself, but radiates them to other souls;”[2] Furthermore, in the Gospel of John, Jesus tells us, “If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes [ emphasis SML][3] in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart [“believers heart” in this passage would correspond to Jesus saying “approaches with trust” in his conversation with Faustina] shall flow rivers of living water’” (Jn. 7:37-38). This living water is the grace of the Holy Spirit, and it is a river flowing out from the believer’s heart. Our understanding of this passage will become more fully appreciated when we talk about the Eucharist.
Updated 03/03/2020.
ENDNOTES:
[1] Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, The Mystical Body of Christ, Ave Maria Press, Kindle Edition, p 26.
[2] St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy (Poland: Congregation of Marians, 1987; Marian Press, 2005), n. 310.
[3] The word believe in Scripture is often misinterpreted by non-Catholics; it is often interpreted in the context of present-day understanding, not in the context of ancient Jewish understanding. Scripture tells us this. “Whoever believes [SML] in the Son has eternal life; whoever disobeys [SML] the Son will not see life, but must endure God’s wrath” (Jn 3:36). The two parts of this passage are not mutually exclusive. In ancient Judaism, the word “believe” is inextricably linked to the words obeys/disobeys. Otherwise, the two parts of this passage would contradict each other. If you believe, but do not obey Jesus’ commandments (such as: “do this in remembrance of me” Luke 22:19), you will not have eternal life.