CHOOSING TO BUILD ONE’S LIFE ON ROCK OR SAND
Matthew 7:24-27
Rev. Paul Wrightman 2/5/23
THIS IS THE FINAL SERMON IN OUR SERMON SERIES
ON JESUS’ SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT IS THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT
BLOCK OF TEACHING MATERIAL THAT WE HAVE
FROM JESUS OF NAZARETH.
WE HAVE SPENT THE BETTER PART OF A YEAR
LOOKING AT THIS SERMON IN DEPTH.
MANY OF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH CHURCHES
THAT FOLLOW THE LECTIONARY, A SERIES OF ASSIGNED
SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR EACH SUNDAY THAT TAKE PLACE
OVER A CYCLE OF THREE YEARS AND THEN REPEATS ITSELF.
ADOPTING THE LECTIONARY APPROACH TO SCRIPTURE
ENABLES ONE TO ACQUIRE QUITE A BIT OF BREADTH
IN TERMS OF BECOMING FAMILIAR WITH THE BIBLE.
WHAT THE LECTIONARY GAINS IN TERMS OF BREADTH, HOWEVER,
IT LOSES IN TERMS OF DEPTH.
IN TRYING TO GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF THE ENTIRE BIBLE,
IT COVERS QUITE A BIT OF MATERIAL
THAT IS NOT ALL THAT IMPORTANT,
WHILE HAVING TO COMPRESS MANY OF JESUS’
ESSENTIAL TEACHINGS INTO UNITS THAT ARE TOO BIG
TO ACHIEVE ANY REAL DEPTH IN TERMS OF SERMONS.
A DRAMATIC EXAMPLE OF THIS IS THAT THE LECTIONARY
SLAMS ALL NINE OF JESUS’ BEATITUDES TOGETHER INTO
A SINGLE READING, LEAVING THE PREACHER WITH LITTLE CHOICE
BUT TO GLOSS OVER EACH BEATITUDE RATHER SUPERFICIALLY.
ONE OF THE FEW THINGS THAT ALL BIBLICAL SCHOLARS AGREE ON
IS THAT THE BEATITUDES – SAYINGS OF JESUS
THAT BEGIN WITH HIM SAYING “BLESSED ARE. . ., SUCH AS
“BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT,” ARE AMONG
THE MOST IMPORTANT TEACHINGS OF JESUS THAT WE HAVE.
WHAT IS THE POINT, THEN, OF TRYING TO COVER ALL NINE OF THEM
IN ONE SERMON?
AS I’VE SAID BEFORE, ONE OF THE THINGS I MOST APPRECIATE
ABOUT SERVING HERE AT COMMUNITY CHURCH
IS THAT YOU DON’T INSIST THAT I FOLLOW THE LECTIONARY.
THIS HAS GIVEN ME THE FREEDOM TO EXPLORE IN SERMONS
THE ESSENTIAL PARTS OF SCRIPTURE IN A MORE IN-DEPTH WAY
THAN I HAVE EVER HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO BEFORE.
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME CHOOSE DEPTH OVER BREADTH.
OUR NEXT SERMON SERIES, BEGINNING NEXT WEEK,
WILL TAKE US MORE THAN A YEAR TO COMPLETE,
AND WILL HOPEFULLY GIVE US SOME BREADTH AS WELL AS DEPTH.
WE WILL TAKE A CLOSE LOOK
AT THE MOST IMPORTANT SCRIPTURE READINGS
FROM GENESIS, THE FIRST BOOK OF THE BIBLE,
TO REVELATION, ITS LAST.
FOR ME, THE GREATEST DEVELOPMENT IN BIBLICAL STUDIES
OVER THE PAST FIFTY YEARS HAS BEEN THE REALIZATION
THAT THE TRAJECTORY OF THE BIBLE AS A WHOLE
HAS BEEN TO SEE ISRAEL’S UNDERSTANDING OF GOD
GRADUALLY EVOLVING FROM SEEING GOD AS A WARRIOR-KING
TO SEEING GOD AS SUFFERING SERVANT AND LOVING FRIEND.
WE WILL LOOK AT THE MOST IMPORTANT TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE
USING THIS EVOLUTIONARY UNDERSTANDING OF THE BIBLE
FROM HOLY WAR TO HOLY PEACE AS OUR TEMPLATE.
NOW BACK TO TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING,
JESUS’ PARABLE CONTRASTING THE PERSON
WHO CHOOSES TO BUILD THEIR HOUSE
ON THE ROCK OF HIS TEACHINGS
IN CONTRAST TO THE PERSON
WHO CHOOSES TO BUILD THEIR HOUSE
ON THE SAND OF THEIR OWN OPINION.
NOTICE JESUS’ EMPHASIS ON ACTION, ON DOING:
“EVERYONE THEN WHO HEARS THESE WORDS OF MINE
AND ACTS ON THEM WILL BE LIKE A WISE MAN
WHO BUILT HIS HOUSE ON ROCK.”
FOR US TO ACT ON JESUS’ WORDS
MEANS TO PUT THEM INTO PRACTICE,
TO MAKE HIS TEACHINGS THE PATTERN
FROM WHICH WE LIVE OUR LIVES.
IN THE PARABLE OF THE TWO BUILDERS
JESUS PRESENTS THE ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION
OF HIS TEACHINGS AS AN EITHER/OR CHOICE.
JESUS, THEN, CHALLENGES HIS HEARERS TO MAKE A CRUCIAL CHOICE,
NOT THE CHOICE OF ACCEPTING HIM AS MESSIAH OR GOD,
OR WHATEVER, BUT ABOUT HOW WE CHOOSE TO LIVE.
SIGNIFICANTLY, IN THE GOSPELS JESUS IS ASKED
BY TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE
“WHAT MUST I DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?”
MOST CHRISTIANS THINK THAT JESUS RESPONDS TO THIS QUESTION
BY GIVING THE ASKER A LIST OF THINGS THAT ONE HAS TO BELIEVE,
YOU KNOW, STUFF LIKE “YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE
THAT YOU’RE A HOPELESS SINNER AND THAT ONLY I,
THE SON OF GOD, CAN SAVE YOU.”
BUT THIS IS NOT WHAT JESUS ACTUALLY SAYS.
ON BOTH OCCASIONS ON WHICH HE IS ASKED THE POINT-BLANK
QUESTION “WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE?,
JESUS SIMPLY RESPONDS “LOVE GOD AND NEIGHBOR.”
GIVEN JESUS’ OWN WORDS, WE MUST ALWAYS BEAR IN MIND
THAT THE CHOICE WHICH JESUS GIVES US CONCERNS
HOW WE LIVE OUR LIVES AND NOT WHICH
FAITH TRADITION WE FOLLOW.
IT’S NOT A MATTER OF BEING CHRISTIAN, OR JEWISH,
OF BUDDHIST, OF HINDU, OR ISLAMIC.
IT’S A MATTER OF FOLLOWING GOD.
AND THE HIGHEST AND DEEPEST TEACHINGS ABOUT GOD –
SUCH AS THE FACT THAT LOVE IS ALL-IMPORTANT FOR GOD –
ARE REMARKABLY SIMILAR IN ALL THE GREAT FAITH TRADITIONS.
A MINORITY OF CHRISTIAN SCRIPTURE SCHOLARS
AND THEOLOGIANS, BUT A STRONG MINORITY,
THINK THAT JESUS DID NOT INTEND TO FOUND A NEW RELIGION,
CHRISTIANITY, AT ALL.
THEY SEE JESUS AS STANDING ABOVE AND BEYOND
ANY PARTICULAR RELIGIOUS TRADITION, EVEN CHRISTIANITY,
AND SERVING, INSTEAD, AS GOD’S ABSOLUTE STANDARD
FOR ALL RELIGION.
THEY SEE THE KEY CHRISTIAN CONCEPT OF INCARNATION –
THE FACT THAT GOD CHOSE TO BECOME A PERSON IN THE PERSON
OF JESUS OF NAZARETH –
AS NOTHING LESS THAN GOD’S PERSONALLY SAYING
TO HUMANITY AS A WHOLE:
“LISTEN UP. IF YOU WANT TO KNOW THE DEEPEST CONCERNS
OF MY OWN HEART, LOOK TO JESUS, WHO IS MY HUMAN FACE.”
JESUS’ CLOSING PARABLE, SIMPLY PUT, IS THAT IF WE CHOOSE
TO LIVE OUR LIVES ACCORDING TO GOD’S TEACHINGS
IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT,
THE FOUNDATION OF OUR LIVES WILL BE STRONG,
AND WILL SEE US THROUGH LIFE’S MANY STORMS.
NOT TO LIVE OUR LIVES ACCORDING TO GOD’S TEACHINGS
IN THIS SERMON IS TO BUILD OUR LIVES WITH NO FOUNDATION,
OR AN INADEQUATE FOUNDATION,
AND TO SET OURSELVES UP FOR COLLAPSE
WHENEVER LIFE GETS DIFFICULT.
AND ONE THING THAT WE CAN ALL BE SURE OF
IS THAT LIFE WILL, INDEED, GET DIFFICULT,
AND NOT JUST ONCE, BUT MULTIPLE TIMES.
THE LIGHT FROM JESUS’ TEACHING WAS NOT INTENDED TO BE
SPECIFICALLY CHRISTIAN, BUT WAS MEANT FOR ALL HUMANKIND.
CONNECTING WITH THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS
CONNECTS US WITH THE HIGHEST AND DEEPEST TEACHINGS
OF JUDAISM AND OF THE BUDDHA.
CONNECTING WITH THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS
CONNECTS US WITH THE HIGHEST AND DEEPEST TEACHINGS
OF HINDUISM AS EMBODIED BY MOHANDAS GANDHI,
AND THE HIGHEST AND DEEPEST TEACHINGS OF ISLAM,
AS LIVED OUT BY SUFI MYSTICS AND POETS
SUCH AS RUMI AND HAFIZ.
GOD KNOWS THAT IN THIS TIME OF UNBRIDLED GLOBAL VIOLENCE,
IT IS TIME FOR PERSONS OF FAITH AND GOOD-WILL
IN ALL THE WORLD’S GREAT FAITH TRADITIONS
TO START STANDING TOGETHER AGAINST VIOLENCE.
CLOSER TO HOME, GOD KNOWS THAT IN THIS TIME
OF UNBRIDLED HATRED IN OUR OWN COUNTRY
IT IS TIME FOR CHRISTIANS WHO HAPPEN TO BE REPUBLICANS
AND CHRISTIANS WHO HAPPEN TO BE DEMOCRATS
TO START STANDING TOGETHER AGAINST VIOLENCE.
I’D LIKE TO SUM UP THIS SERMON SERIES
ON THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT
BY TAKING ANOTHER LOOK AT THE TWO
MOST IMPORTANT ILLUSTRATIONS I’VE USED.
THE FIRST IS FROM ERNEST KURTZ. HE WRITES:
“SEVERAL YEARS AGO, I FLEW FROM ATLANTA, GEORGIA,
TO DETROIT, EN ROUTE TO A MEETING IN NORTHERN MICHIGAN.
RENTING A CAR, I LAID OUT A BOOK OF MAPS
ON THE PASSENGER SEAT AND PROCEEDED TO SET OUT
FOR THE NORTHERN MICHIGAN PENINSULA.
THE MAP OF THE METROPOLITAN AREA WAS BEAUTIFULLY DETAILED,
SHOWING THE AIRPORT ON THE WEST OF THE CITY,
THE LARGE BODY OF WATER TO THE CITY’S EAST,
AND ROUTE 94, THE INTERSTATE HIGHWAY.
BUT AFTER ALMOST AN HOUR OF WANDERING AROUND
LOOKING AT ROAD SIGNS THAT FAILED TO MATCH THE MAP
AND OBVIOUSLY GETTING NOWHERE,
THE REALIZATION SLOWLY DAWNED:
THE FORD FREEWAY ON WHICH I WAS DRIVING
WOULD NEVER TURN INTO THE EDENS EXPRESSWAY
SHOWN ON THE MAP.
THE MAP OF DETROIT DIDN’T WORK
BECAUSE IT WAS THE WRONG MAP:
IT WAS A MAP OF CHICAGO.”
USING THIS ILLUSTRATION AS A SPRINGBOARD,
I WOULD SAY THAT IN HIS SERMON ON THE MOUNT
JESUS IS GIVING US A MAP ABOUT HOW TO LIVE.
HIS PROMISE IS THAT IF WE CHOOSE TO LIVE
ACCORDING TO HIS TEACHINGS IN THIS SERMON,
WE WILL LIVE LIVES OF GREAT FULFILLMENT AND JOY.
CONVERSELY, IF WE CHOOSE TO FOLLOW
ANY OF A MULTITUDE OF VARIOUS ALTERNATIVE WAYS –
WAYS SUCH AS SELF-CENTEREDNESS, SUCCESS AT ALL COSTS,
POWER, COMFORT, USING OTHERS AS MEANS TO OUR OWN ENDS,
PREJUDICE, JUDGMENTALISM, AND A HOST OF OTHERS –
WE WILL EVENTUALLY COLLAPSE LIKE THE HOUSE BUILT ON SAND.
AND WE NEED ALWAYS TO REMEMBER THAT JESUS’ TEACHINGS
IN THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT ARE NOT ABOUT WHAT TO BELIEVE,
BUT ABOUT HOW TO LIVE.
AND JESUS OFFERS HIS TEACHINGS ABOUT HOW TO LIVE
NOT AS PART OF SOME SECTARIAN PROGRAM –
BE IT JEWISH OR CHRISTIAN – BUT AS UNIVERSAL TRUTHS.
THESE UNIVERSAL TRUTHS, IF CONSISTENTLY PRACTISED
BY HUMANITY AS A WHOLE, WOULD LEAD TO WORLD PEACE
AS WELL AS INDIVIDUAL FULFILLMENT.
ON THE MOST BASIC LEVEL, JESUS IS PRESENTING HUMANITY
WITH AN EXISTENTIAL CHOICE: BUILD YOUR LIFE
ON THE ROCK OF MY TEACHINGS AND LIVE,
OR BUILD YOUR LIFE ON THE SAND OF SELFISHNESS AND DIE.
THE ASTONISHING THING IS THAT THE HIGHEST AND DEEPEST
REPRESENTATIVES OF THE WORLD’S GREAT FAITH TRADITIONS --
WHETHER BUDDHIST, HINDU, ISLAMIC, JEWISH, OR CHRISTIAN –
WOULD ALL AGREE WITH HIM –
SALVATION IS ABOUT RIGHT LIVING RATHER THAN RIGHT BELIEVING,
AND RIGHT LIVING IS A MATTER OF COMPASSION, NONVIOLENCE,
AND LOVE.
THE SECOND ILLUSTRATION I WOULD LIKE TO LOOK AT AGAIN
COMES FROM GLEN STASSEN, PROFESSOR EMERITUS
OF CHRISTIAN ETHICS AT FULLER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
IT POWERFULLY DESCRIBES THE IMPORTANCE
OF REPLACING DESTRUCTIVE PATTERNS WITH HEALING PATTERNS
IN ONE’S LIFE – EXACTLY WHAT JESUS IS TRYING TO EMPOWER US
TO DO BY GIVING US HIS SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
PROFESSOR STASSEN WRITES:
“A FEW YEARS AGO I SPENT SOME TIME HELPING
IN THE NURSERY DURING SUNDAY SCHOOL
AND THE CHURCH WORSHIP SERVICE.
A FOUR-YEAR-OLD BOY WITH BRAIN DAMAGE
COULD NOT RESIST THE TEMPTATION
TO CREATE SOME EXCITEMENT BY REPEATEDLY GRABBING
ANOTHER CHILD’S HAIR WITH BOTH HANDS AND PULLING.
THE OTHER CHILD WOULD SCREAM;
THE TEACHER WOULD RUSH OVER,
QUICKLY GET THE CHILD RELEASED, AND THEN SCOLD THE BOY.
THE EXCITEMENT WAS SUDDEN AND DRAMATIC.
MY JOB WAS TO TEACH THE BOY NOT TO DO THIS.
I TRIED PUNISHMENT BY SITTING HIM IN A CHAIR IN THE CORNER.
BUT THEN HE CRIED AND THIS CREATED MORE EXCITEMENT.
HE WAS DECISIVELY UNABLE TO RESIST THE TEMPTATION.
SO I CONSULTED AN EXPERT AT THE PERKINS SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND,
WHERE HELEN KELLER’S TEACHER WAS TRAINED.
SHE EXPLAINED THAT THE BOY WAS STUCK IN REPEATING A PATTERN,
AND THAT HE NEEDED A NEW ONE.
SIMPLY PUNISHING HIM WOULD NOT GIVE HIM A NEW PATTERN.
INSTEAD, I WOULD JUST WATCH, AND WHENEVER I SAW HIM
BEING TEMPTED I SHOULD GENTLY TAKE HIM BY THE ELBOW
AND LEAD HIM TOWARD THE BLOCKS OR ANOTHER KIND OF PLAY.
I WAS TO LEAD HIM IN DEVELOPING A NEW PATTERN.
HE COULD NOT DO THIS HIMSELF; HE NEEDED GENTLE LEADERSHIP.
I TRIED THIS THEORY OF PATTERNING.
THE NEXT SUNDAY, WHENEVER I SAW HIM START TO DEVELOP
THAT GLEAM IN HIS EYE AS HE WAS LOOKING AT ANOTHER CHILD,
I GENTLY TOOK HIS ELBOW AND LED HIM
TOWARD SOME OTHER TOYS.
IT WORKED BEAUTIFULLY; AFTER [A FEW] SUNDAYS,
THE PROBLEM WAS SOLVED.”
STASSEN CONTINUES:
“THAT FOUR-YEAR-OLD BOY WAS MY SON.
HE IS NOW A COLLEGE GRADUATE WITH BACHELOR’S AND MASTER’S
DEGREES IN GERMAN, INCLUDING A YEAR’S SUCCESSFUL STUDY
OF LINGUISTICS AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, PLUS A CERTIFICATE
IN TRANSLATION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINZ IN GERMANY.
HE TRANSLATES BOOKS AND ARTICLES FROM GERMAN TO ENGLISH
FOR GRADUATE STUDENTS AND FACULTY RESEARCHERS,
AND FOR PUBLICATION.”
PROFESSOR STASSEN CONCLUDES:
“[MY SON] HAS DEFINITELY LEARNED SOME NEW PATTERNS!
BUT NOT WITHOUT A LITTLE GUIDANCE AND HELP.”
(End quote)
LET’S LOOK AT THIS ILLUSTRATION AS A METAPHOR:
WE ARE ALL THE FOUR-YEAR-OLD CHILD
IN NEED OF LEARNING A NEW PATTERN OF LIVING.
LEFT TO OUR OWN RESOURCES,
WE WILL CONTINUE HURTING OTHER CHILDREN
AND EVENTUALLY BE DEEPLY HURT OURSELVES.
WE NEED SOMEONE TO STEP IN FROM “OUTSIDE,” AS IT WERE,
AND TEACH US A NEW PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR,
A PATTERN THAT IS FULFILLING FOR BOTH OURSELVES AND OTHERS.
A NEW PATTERN OF LIFE-GIVING BEHAVIOR
IS EXACTLY WHAT JESUS OFFERS US, AND ALL HUMANKIND,
IN HIS SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
WOULD THAT HUMANKIND FIND THE COURAGE
TO TAKE OFF ITS DESTRUCTIVE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR
AND PUT ON THE NEW PATTERN OF LIFE-AFFIRMING BEHAVIOR
GIVEN TO US BY OUR COMPASSIONATE, NONVIOLENT, AND LOVING
ELDER BROTHER, JESUS.
AMEN.