These Stones

Jesus said, "Congratulations to the one who came into being before coming into being. If you become my disciples and pay attention to my sayings, these stones will serve you. For there are five trees in Paradise for you; they do not change, summer or winter, and their leaves do not fall. Whoever knows them will not taste death."

Now what the heck does that mean?

It's often a gnostic assumption that the material world is not important. But, if it isn't important, why does Jesus talk about it so much?

He speaks of cleaving the piece of wood, and that he is there. He talks about wherever 2 or more are gathered. He speaks of meeting the material needs of others, and as you do unto the least of these, you do unto me. He speaks of rendering unto Caesar.

If Jesus, the exemplar, the Logos, is concerned with the material world, and even gives advice so that the stones (a common symbol of the material in general) will serve you, what are we to make of that?

We know that the material is not emphasized by Jesus. "Who, when his child asks for a loaf of bread, gives him a stone?" Who, when asked for spiritual guidance, will be satisfied with the material? If you ask me how to seek God, and I give you stock tips, that's simply not going to work.

However, when people begin to rail against the material, I simply want to ask "Then what is it for? Have you found the beginning, that you seek to know the end?" We need to come to a certain amount of accommodation to the material, to render undo Caesar. We must know the rules, so we can break them with deliberation and rational thought, which this world so greatly values.