June 2, 2002
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Mindekirken Matthew 7:21-29 House Inspection We have a problem with moisture in the church basement. On rainy days, water seeps its way into the basement of the new part of the church. Something has to be done. Clever people in the congregation are working on it. But the problem with moisture in the church basement is nothing compared with what Jesus speaks about in today’s text. There we hear about a flood that not only penetrated through a leaky wall. The flood took the whole house with it. In Norway, we had a great flood in the mid-1990’s Witty tongues said "House for sale in Gudbrandsdalen. Showing in Sarpsborg". That’s 200 miles south. I presume there might have been houses that unwillingly sailed on the Mississippi, too. But for the ones who are hit by bad weather and storm and are left without property, it’s a catastrophe. When Jesus told about the house that was built on sand, he said that "great was its fall." We want, literally, to have all of our houses on dry ground. Therefore we build on solid ground so storms and floods shall not take our houses and destroy them. We also want to have our lives on high ground , metaphorically spoken. We seek to be wise, for-sighted and moral to avoid falling. In the last weeks the question has been raised what Pres. Bush and the administration really knew about the possible terrorist attack. Could something have been done to avoid the catastrophe? Did they fail to build on solid rock in a way that gave the terrorists easy play? An open society claims an answer to such questions. The Catholic Church has recently been in a storm. It has been revealed that sexual abuse has taken place. Bishops have had the knowledge about priests who have been abusers, and even so, given them new positions under full cover of silence. But the media storm does not save the houses that in these respects have been built on sand. When it is revealed, that people who have enjoyed such great confidence have failed, it is a great fall. Hopefully, the revelations may help the victims in some way to recover. The last half year we have seen in the news, that businesses everyone thought of as solid, were shown to be built on sand, economically. In recent days I have been house-hunting. My realtor, Kari Friel, has a good eye for houses, but she says that before closing we have to have an inspection. Only a skilled expert can judge about the hidden qualities of a house and if it’s built on solid ground. Today’s text makes me think of the good inspector. A society needs leaders who know the political and economic foundation of the country. We need people with eyes for the basic ecological connection in which we live, people who are able to point out the course toward a development which is good for the future generations. We need clear sight when it comes to cultural and moral values that our society is built upon. And first and foremost, we need an inspector who will tell us the truth about our spiritual foundation. That is the task of Jesus. He taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes, it says in the text. Jesus has the skills, when it comes to the foundation, that are strong enough also in the destructive storm. We had the pleasure of welcoming a new member into the congregation today. We could have done that during church-coffee. As if we would have said: Isn’t Mindekirken cozy? It’s good to have it cozy, but the church is more than a club. The presentation of a new member came right before the creed. That underlines that a membership is also a faith-fellowship. It builds on the foundation that is laid once forever. No one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. 1 Cor. 3, 11. Faith in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit is fundamental to the Christian church. After the sermon we are going to sing a hymn that deepens this theme: The foundation of God’s church is the Lord Jesus Christ. Humanly speaking, we want to build on what we may manage ourselves. We think we are acceptable in God’s eyes when we do as well as we can. I’m not worse than most people. But it is not our good deeds that qualify us for the Kingdom of God. Just the contrary, I would almost say. Grace alone is enough. No one has deserved to get into the Kingdom of God. But everyone may receive it for free. It is a gift of God, given unconditionally, by his endless love: Grace alone, faith alone, the scripture alone. These are good ideals of a Lutheran Church. Life and teaching should be examined only by the Word of God. Jesus warned about false prophets. That is, people who are going outside of the Word of God. In recent decades a lot of new religious sects have been formed. Common for all of them is the positive evaluation of Jesus. But none of them have the picture of Jesus that we find in the New Testament. 1 John 3 says: Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God… Every spirit that does not confess Jesus, is not from God. We should have respect for other religions, but that doesn’t mean that there is salvation in every religion. Jesus doesn’t only speak about false prophets, but also false disciples. It seems to be difficult to distinguish the false from the genuine disciples. The distinction will be visible first on the day of judgement. Or to speak within the parable: It’s the storm that reveals if the house is built on a rock. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells the parable of the weeds amongst the wheat. They shall grow together until the harvest. The judgement of the nations in Matthew 25 says that the Son of Man shall separate people into two flocks. It’s there, Jesus says, that I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. The basis of the judgement is this: Just as you did it to one of the least of these who is a member of my family, you did to me. False disciples fail to bear the fruits of the faith: the deeds of love. In today’s text, Jesus tells about false disciples who say: Lord, Lord, who prophesize, cast out demons and do many deeds of power in Jesus’ name. But don’t be blinded by this. The mark of true Christianity is neither a high spiritual noise nor promises of miracles of different kinds. The true disciples are those who do the will of my Father, Jesus says. I have to admit that these words of Jesus have made me uncertain. Am I one of these? Am I a true disciple? Do I build my house on a rock? Am I one who hears these words of mine and acts on them, as Jesus says? I think John 6:29 gives a comforting answer: This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent. It’s therefore not the way of good deeds Jesus preaches. He points out the faith that has no other foundation than grace alone. We don’t have to be anxious if our house will stand on the day of judgement. Jesus Christ has house inspection here and now. Certainly he finds much that is rotten in our lives. But he forgives, unconditionally. Our house stands firm when the rains fall and the floods come. He himself is the rock upon which we can build Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, who was, is, and will be, one true God, now and forever, Amen |
The Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church · 924 E. 21st St, Minneapolis, MN 55404-2952 · (612)874-0716 |