Second Pentecost
Matthew 7:21-29; Deut. 11:18-21, 26-28; Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31
It seemed like a simple enough project. Tear down an old storage and wood shed that had stood on the farm for decades. It had been built so long ago that the foundation was field stone. The wood structure had been built from lumber cut from the trees that had grown in the woods behind the house. The structure was not all that large. It leaned to the one side looking like a strong wind would take it down. It had actually been a strong wind that at pushed it to lean. The same storm that took the neighbor's barn and did so much damage to their house. But that had been decades before--the old shed needed to go. We stripped the side boards away and then planned to just collapse the roof into the structure itself so we could burn the debris in a controlled pile. I remember we backed the tractor up to side of the frame and looped a chain around one of the heavy timbers anchored in the field stone foundation. We throttled up the tractor and began to pull. The chain had a weak link and as we pulled the link slowly opened until the chain gave way and the tractor rolled away. The next suggestion was using a field cable wrapped around the post. That worked a little better--the post snapped in two and the roof structure continued to stand leaning to the right. My grandfather had been watching it all. He finally walked over--picked up a sledge hammer -walked to one of the corner posts and took three or four swings at the field stone around the post's base. He repeated the same at each of the corners--then he returned to the first corner. He placed his hand on the post and pushed. With fewer than a dozen blows to that old shed's foundation the whole structure fell.
And Jesus said, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock." Foundations are important. Having been present for the building of the first worship unit in a new mission church in my former parish and two construction projects here at Holy Spirit over the last 13 years I know too well the building process. There are months of work involved in any construction project before any building actually begins. months of planning, designing, meetings and hearings for permits, surveying and testing of the soil. But for me the building doesn't really begin until the excavation of the foundation. Here at last you can see the dimensions of the project and have a sense of the scale of the work being undertaken. The first inspections we have are of the foundation--this is where it all begins. We know the importance of foundations. and we know what happens when the foundation fails. We have all seen pictures of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. A reminder of what happens when the foundation is not so sure. We have seen the cracks in the building wall, witnessed the door or window that will not open because the house settled. The tour of the Sears Tower always begins with a number of dramatic statistical facts about one of the world's tallest buildings. And the one that is always offered up first is that it took 118 caissons of stone to a depth equal to the height of the Statue of Liberty before construction could begin above ground level. Foundations are important. We all know this to be true. Maybe that is why this parable told by Jesus is in one sense the easiest of all the parables to understand. A solid foundation versus one of sand. Of course, Jesus wasn't talking about houses or church buildings. He was talking about lives. The foundations of our very existence. On what do we build our lives? This morning we have listed in the bulletin the academic benchmarks achieved by various individuals in this congregation. The nurturing of children through their school years is for most of us a process of laying foundations. We work on those vocabulary and spelling lists--review the multiplication tables. Purchase the computers to open their way to the internet. And along the way we coach them in basic sports activities. Teach them the fundamentals of competition and play. And in addition to the intellectual and physical foundations of life we give our children we also strive to establish spiritual and moral foundations for living. As we look upon the list of graduates there are some who would say the foundation is set. Several publications recently affirmed once again the earning power of those with high school diplomas and the millions of additional dollars that can be anticipated over a lifetime with a college degree in our modern world. We would like to believe that if the foundation is firm then everything will be all right. One of the curious facts about a foundation, however, is that it can look so solid and sturdy but we can never be sure of the foundation until it is tested. Only in the midst of the storm--through the passage of time can it be determined just how firm the foundation really is. Maybe that is why Jesus introduced the parable with a caution about judging others by their claims and surface actions. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name and do many deeds of power in your name?" Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.'" The point Jesus is making is that the level of one's commitment does not decide your relationship with God. There are too many people today who claim total commitment to Jesus when what they are really doing is claiming a commitment to their own priorities and views in the name of religion. Jesus warned that there would be many who would claim God as being committed to their goals--but such claims do not make it true. One of the great theologians of the 20th century was Karl Barth who cautioned that the modern world did not face a crisis of nonbelief as much as a crisis of culturally defined unbeliefs. Barth expressed concern about Cultural Protestantism which was basically the idea that people would embrace as God's will those beliefs and actions that advanced the needs and concerns of modern culture and societies. He saw Christianity as too often being identified with the interests of business leaders and the powerful members of society. Barth reminded us that Jesus came as someone other then the established political, economic or religious leaders of his day.
We like to believe that we can discern for ourselves the solid foundation for our lives. And the successes we have might cause us to truly believe that the blessings we have received from God are not totally a result of the accident of birth or an act of undeserved grace. While God may be the God of all creation and all people we do at times wonder if maybe God doesn't have at least a preference for certain people--political systems--cultures. We studied hard--worked long hours, sacrificed years of our lives to live the lives we live today. The sacrifice of those who have gone before us is appreciated but at least a part of us is tempted to believe that what we have become is due in no small measure to at least a little of our doing. We do good deeds--we help people--we care for others. But Jesus says that is not the criteria for a relationship with him. Our good works--our best intentions are not a proof of divine blessing. They are simply our good works. What matters is the foundation from which the works spring and that is far more then good deeds or good intentions.
We tend to hear the parable of a rock or sandy foundation as a stand alone story told by Jesus to the disciples--it is actually something much more. This parable is told as the concluding verses of a much larger presentation by Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus makes the claim that his words are more foundational than Moses. The law of Moses provides important guidance but it is not the solid foundation for the faith that Jesus would call us to follow. Certainly the intense discussions and political maneuvers reported in the media over the past few weeks have revealed how subjective the law can be made. How special interests and political agendas--even if claiming high ideals can be caught up in the undermining wash of quests for more power and the abuse of those who are not us or like us. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus makes it clear that the best foundation for building our lives. The best source for our faith is to be found in the very things that most of us try to avoid. Blessed are the poor--blessed are those who mourn--the meek--those who hunger and thirst. Those who make peace--those who are persecuted. A life that will be able to endure and survive the storms. A life that will be experienced as blessed. Such a life is built by living in the direction of Christ's words. His words remind us that it is the direction of the heart and not what we have. It is the direction of the journey in response to his words and not the right things or even the right beliefs we have decided to embrace as our own. Jesus goes to a lot of trouble to make sure that none of us can point to the laws we have kept. He makes adultery a look and a lust. He makes murder the flaming up of the passion for revenge and that desire to eliminate another. He makes the arrogance of condemnation in the calling of another a fool as guilty as murder. He says we all confess to being liar because there are times when we swear to tell the truth as if we normally do not tell the truth. Jesus reminds us that the quality of our lives is built in the ultimate recognition that we are just like everyone else around us. Blessed recipients of more grace than we deserve and more love than we have merited. And then come those moments that test us--The crisis moments. The measure of the foundation is the storm--How well does it stand--survive. We need to remember that the crisis moment does not always destroy--it tests. I have witnessed again and again the terror of a medical diagnosis. The collapse of a family system--the serious loss of a career. And seen how such moments were not an end but the means to new life. Faced with such moments of crisis people are often required to reassess their life priorities. How will they live from this time forward The crisis shapes the ultimate questions of our lives and reveals the foundations.
In the midst of graduation celebrations many young people are making decisions and choices that will set the course of their lives for the coming years. On this weekend of Memorial observances it is perhaps fitting that we consider the importance of these ultimate questions. We honor and remember those who have faced these difficult questions and found a direction through their doubts and confusion to act in service to others and higher ideals. Our lives are shaped by the answers to these questions that cut to the heart of our being. In a search for sure foundations for living we discover that it is more a question of where you build than what you build. Jesus says Good Works are not enough. The work we do must follow God's will. We are part of the process--the journey toward faith. While we may think we have arrived--the faith journey continues. A young architect watched with pride as the construction crew arrived at the sight of his first major project. He watched the heavy equipment roll into place and the demolition crew begin to work on the old building being leveled to make way for his new development project. He smiled with satisfaction as the crew began to work. Then he noticed someone standing off to his left just as intensely studying the activity. "This is going to be a great building"--the young architect observed to the stranger. "I'm really proud of the project and this is a great location." "Yes," came the reply. "This is a great location and you have a great new building." The young architect smiled at the other, "I have designed this building to serve people's needs for decades to come, maybe even a century." "It is good to dream such dreams" came the reply. "I had the same vision when I designed the building you are tearing down."
A good location--the ground does not change--The foundation endures. New buildings--new creations--that is the nature of our faith journey. To seek to follow God's will from our baptismal beginnings through the difficult questions of life. That is why the foundation is so important--that is why we are here today. And Jesus said, "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock."
Amen