Stone

 

‘A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.’

the Lord God (Ezekiel 36.26)

Stone. In Old Testament Hebrew, this word is put to many uses. Precious stones, symbols of the way in which we give excessive abstract value to certain things, and, by extension, to those people who can afford them. Marble, to line the homes of the rich. Weights, and the false measures by which we exploit one another, and cheat the poor. Slingstones, as weapons; and iron ore extracted from the earth to make metal weapons. Hailstones, that destroy crops. Stone is a fitting symbol of the ways we ‘us’ and ‘them’ one another.

Flesh. Our mutual belonging to one another, and, by extension, to every living thing.

Today, teenagers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland receive exam results (those in Scotland have already received theirs) that reflect and reinforce the heart of stone. Lord, have mercy on us.