Deuteronomy 11:18-21,26-28
Romans 3:21-25a,28
Matthew 7:21-27
Psalm 31 or 31:1-5,19-24
The land is as flat as a pancake as far as the naked eye can see. It seems as if it rolls on and on. It seems too as if the wind
never stops blowing and on an ordinary summer day one can watch the wheat in the surrounding field blowing in the wind! Coffee is the major beverage of choice and lots of it is consumed throughout every day. It reflects the Norwegian heritage of its citizens!
This is the place that Gina, my wife, and I found ourselves living in in the late 70s. In fact, it is the place out of which Megan was born. Notice I didn't say, "where she was born" but from out of which she was born because she was born 30 miles south of this place.
The town was Hendrum, Minnesota, 30 miles and only 28 minutes north of Fargo Moorhead in the Red River Valley. Today it is called "The Small Town With Big Dreams." In reality, it is a small village!
I was hired to be its Superintendent of Schools and the Board of Education offered us a School District home to live in called "The Teacherage," as part of my compensation package. The house wasn't anything magnificent but it looked structurally sound and would be adequate for a young growing family. There were a few similar type houses near it on the same street - same vintage and style.
In today's Gospel of Matthew, Jesus talks about a wise man who build his house on rock, and a foolish person who built his house on sand. When the rain falls and floods rise and the wind blows the house built on rock survives but the house built on sand falls as the water rages over it and high winds bring it down.
Jesus makes it clear what the good foundation is for us. It is in the hearing and most importantly DOING of his teaching. "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who build his house on rock...and "Everyone who hears those words and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
As with the "Teacherage" in Hendrum, the house seemed find, like a solid well built home to the casual observer.
The similar type houses near it seemed to be just as structurally sound as "The Teacherage." There were some major differences, however, between these houses build by two different contractors.
The "Teacherage"s foundation was not built as well as the neighboring houses. It was built without adequate preparation of the land and analysis of the water table and flood plain. After all, this is "Flood country." Every spring, I would close the schools early to release students to do sandbagging to protect the town from being flooded over by the annual floods.
The neighboring houses' foundations were built differently. The builder knew of the dangers from flooding and the impact of the water table and flood plain. Our house's basement was frequently filled with water, our library of books and LP records were destroyed by mildew and constant dampness. The neighboring houses had no such problems. Their foundations had been poured and laid properly.
Obviously, one person was a wise builder and the other person was a foolish builder. What was the difference between them? In today's Gospel, Jesus makes it clear that the wise builder was the one who hears God's word and acts upon them. The foolish builder, on the other hand, was the one who hears God's word and doesn't act upon them. Both builders heard, and both builders knew the building problems associated with the Red River Valley. Only one did the right thing - only one responded. Both heard, only one obeyed. And the one who obeyed stood. The one who only heard fell.
The key to our relationship with Jesus Christ and to standing through the storms of life is our obedience to God's will and his Word. It's not keeping a list of rules and regulations. Christianity is a relationship. It is supernatural at its core. Christianity is living out our lives out of a sense of communion with God. Christianity is allowing the life of Christ to guide us and infuse our very being. Christianity is knowing God and being led by God's spirit.
In these two house illustrations, Jesus made it very clear that it is not what we say that counts, it is what we do with what we hear. In other words, our response to Christ indicates both our standing before God and our ability to stand in this life.
Gina and I decided to move out of "The Teacherage" after a year of struggling and dealing with its water problems. If we're struggling with how to live our life for Christ, we need to listen to his message in today's Gospel. God isn't calling on us to commit to do a few more things for him. He's calling us to surrender our lives to him. He's calling us to live our lives around mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking, extravagant forgiveness, radical love of enemies and diligent seeking of God's reign of justice and righteousness. He wants the whole of our lives. He will give us his life in exchange for this total surrender. Christ will live through us and empower us, not to do a few more good works, but to do the greater works. He will enable us to really live our lives to the fullest!
How strong is our foundation and are we prepared to go out beyond these walls and live the Good News in our daily lives and with others who don't even know this message of hope and transformation? How far are we willing to go to strengthen our foundation and transform ourselves to live a richer, fuller life in Christ's image? Don't you think that you and I need to answer those questions today?
Amen.