Sermon 601+October 11, 2009

Sermon 601
The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 11, 2009

Peace be to this place, and to all who dwell in it. Amen.

The Foundation of Our Life.

The Psalmist recognized God’s hand in Creation when he said, “Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands.” It was that ancient cosmology that saw the four corners of the earth fastened securely to its foundation, “so that it shall never be shaken.” The science was all wrong, of course, what with the flat earth, the dome of the heavens, and the great sea monster Leviathan carrying it all on his back—but the essential truth is there—God’s presence is the foundation of our life, and God’s activity in our lives is what holds us “safe and secure from all alarms,” to quote one of my favorite bluegrass songs. We all need a firm foundation, don’t we?

All my adult life the Episcopal Church has been my foundation and my rock, my crag, my stronghold, a castle to keep me safe. The Church has blessed me, my family, and us all. In times of trouble and alarm, the Church has pulled me through … the loss of a job, a terrible car crash, the death of my father. I’m sure the same is true for you.

Back in the day the Hebrews, the People of YHWH, the Jealous God of the Desert, knew nothing of foundations. They were nomads, wandering from place to place, living in tents. Even when they escaped from bondage in Egypt, they wandered, seeking the Promised Land, following Moses, following YHWH.

Moses gave them the Law on tablets of stone, and they built the Ark of the Covenant as a dwelling-place for YHWH. But they would not build a Temple until the days of the Great Kings. David desired to build God’s Temple, but the work fell to his son Solomon.

In the stories of Kings and Chronicles the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. The Temple’s foundation was built of costly stones, sawn and cut to exact dimensions. The prophet Ezra tells us, “When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests in their vestments were stationed to praise the Lord with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals.” It was a celebration of their life together, a life with the house of the Lord built as its center.

That would have been enough if not for the Babylonians, who conquered the land, destroyed the Temple of YHWH, and carried the People of God into exile once again. Only by the might of Cyrus, King of Persia, were they given freedom and a return home, at long last.

The Temple was restored and the priests offered sacrifices and prayers to the time of Jesus of Nazareth. When Jesus saw the moneychangers he lamented that the Temple was made a “den of robbers.” He said the Temple would be destroyed, and raised again in three days.

But Jesus was speaking of a new foundation, a new covenant, a new way of living. And the Temple was his own body, which would be raised from the dead. The second Temple would be destroyed by 70 AD, but the Church, the house of the Lord, would endure.

For fifty-eight years the Temple for us has been St. Matthew’s in-the-Pines, and it is Christ’s own body, the Body of Christ. St. Paul said that we are “members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” But the foundation is our responsibility—to care for it, to restore the foundation when necessary. Paul said that in Jesus Christ, “the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling-place for God.

I have spoken plainly with you, placing the responsibility for this foundation squarely on all our shoulders. St. Matthew’s in-the-Pines must be supported financially each year in order to do the work of mission and ministry. We must have your help—your time, your talent, and your treasure. For each of us, for all of us, St. Matthew’s in-the-Pines is nothing less than the Foundation of Your Life. Father John and I will be talking about this Foundation, and the Commitment of Your Life (Oct. 18), and the Blessing of Your Life (Oct. 25), and the Celebration of Your Life (Nov. 1) in the Sundays to come. Please join us. Amen.

770 words