I love you, Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18)
Props: river stones (rocks) passed out among the people at the beginning of the service or beginning of the sermon OR small tools (such as small hammer, nails, concrete trowel) OR bricks
Setting: Consider holding your service outdoors on the lawn today. One option may be to read the entirety of Jesus’ sermon (scriptures) while interacting with people, allowing questions. Then lead into your own sermon.
The Amish are famous for their “barn raisings.” In one day, the Amish can build a house or a barn. You can watch one of these “barn raisings” take shape in less than 10 hours on YouTube. It’s a 3 minute and 30 second video clip.
What is less well known is that the German tradition of communal house-building continued in certain parts of the US even beyond Amish circles, well into the second half of the twentieth century. This was true especially among the German “folk” of the mountains and woods of Pennsylvania and Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.
You actually may have someone in your parish who knows someone who built their house this way, or whose parents’ house was built this way. When a German immigrant came to build his house, all of his relatives showed up to help. Together, they had all of the skills necessary to complete the task. One was a carpenter, another an electrician, another a mason, and another a plumber.
Most of them could do almost all of those skills themselves, but each chimed in with his expertise and licenses in order to make the house “legal.” Together, as one extended family, they poured the foundation, layered the plaster walls, hoisted the beams, hammered the nails. And after about six months, the house was complete. These German immigrants built it “right.” No wall board in that house. No flimsy materials. They chose sturdy, solid materials, and they built it to last. Drive through Pennsylvania and Ohio and look at the old homes. Chances are the ones still standing and in good shape are the ones built this way. Communal house raisings. It took a community to build a house.
Similar to their house was their faith. Rock-solid and tough as nails, they got through everything in life with God, and with each other. They knew, like with a house, it takes a community to build a faith.
When the storms of life are raging,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When the storms of life are raging,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When the world is tossing me
Like a ship upon the sea,
Thou Who rulest wind and water,
Stand by me (stand by me).
Life and faith, like that house, both require the right foundation, the right materials, putting your heart and soul and commitment to the task, and trusting to do it together. A slab of concrete in itself does not make a foundation or a house. A house must be built, shaped, constructed, loved.
For many months, Ruth Graham put up with a sign on the Graham property that said “Under Construction: Thanks for your patience.” She made it one of her last requests that on her tombstone there would only be her name, her dates, and these words: “End of Construction. Thanks For Your Patience.”
We are all works under construction.
If the meek inherit the earth, the rest of humanity, it seems, goes to the shore. Especially on weekends. And what do we love to do there if we’re not in the water? Play in the sand. Make sand castles. Sand castles are not built to last. They are brief, dream-like structures that we build quickly and creatively, but knowing they will be swept away with the next high tide. It’s fun to build in the sand, but it’s not the kind of “house” we want to live in for the duration of our lives.
Jesus never intended us to live “sand castle” lives. To be sure, our lives are filled with times when our dreams, our visions, our hopes are swept away by the next tide, or storm, or flood, or rain. But our faith doesn’t have to be. We can afford to lose a dream. We can’t afford to lose our faith.
Faith and the assurance of our walk with God is what sustains us through every bad thing that happens in life, girds us for the unexpected, helps us endure through crashing turmoil and tsunamis of change.
In the midst of tribulation,
Stand by me (stand by me);
In the midst of tribulation,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When the hosts of hell assail,
And my strength begins to fail,
Thou Who never lost a battle,
Stand by me (stand by me).
What kind of faith sustains you? What kind of foundation keeps you steady and connected and loyal to God through thick and thin?
There’s a popular old folk tale that I’m sure you all know. It appeared first in written form in the Nursery Rhymes of England by James Orchard Halliwell in 1886. It’s called “The Three Little Pigs.” Can anyone tell us how it goes?
[Give people a chance to tell the story]. [You can elaborate the story any way you wish.]
The pigs grow up, they leave home, and they all decide upon a house to build. Although they are warned to watch out for the wolf, they get distracted with other things. The first pig happens upon some laborers who are willing to build his straw house for him. So he, glad to not to have to do it himself, goes with it. We all know what happened to that house!
The next pig decides to buy a batch of twigs that are on sale for half price. What a deal, he thinks. I don’t have to put out all of those big bucks. But the house doesn’t hold up under pressure at all. And that’s the end of him.
Now the third pig was wiser. He decided to take the time to build his house of bricks. He had to buy the materials, take the time to pack and mold the bricks, let them dry in the sun, then painstakingly lay them one by one on a firm foundation that he poured the month before. It took him a long time to build it, but in the end, it withheld every peril.
[You might also use another stone metaphor instead of the metaphor of bricks. For example, use a metaphor of dry wall vs plaster].
Our life is our house. We all build our own houses in this world. The way we go about it, the foundation we choose to lay our lives upon means everything for how our lives will flourish or perish.
The way of Jesus is not the easy way, and it’s not the cheap way. When Jesus said “I am the Way” he meant that the Way is the way of the Cross. God’ grace is costly. Following Jesus is costly. But in the end, the building blocks of our lives form the temple in which we feast with Jesus when the kingdom comes. “In my Father’s house there are many mansions.” (John 14).
Jesus tells us that not only is scripture the right foundation for our lives, but Jesus’ interpretation of scripture is the right mortar for those foundation stones. We need to listen to Jesus’ voice, be in relationship with him, put Jesus’ words into action, in order to build the kind of firm foundation that will last.
Jesus himself is the chief cornerstone. And Jesus is the master builder. Let’s face it. It takes more than just you to build a house. It is something you cannot do alone. You need Jesus to construct a solid foundation. He is the Rock of Ages.
You need others around you too to help you build your house. We don’t go through life alone. In a nation where more than one-quarter of all households now contain only one person, or to put it another way, never before have so many people lived alone for so long, we need to hear this again and again: God made us for relationships, and the church is intended to be our relational network. Every story is a communal story. God’s covenant is with a community of people. You don’t build a life alone, and you don’t build a faith alone.
Those around us help us choose the right materials to build our faith. The Scriptures are best studied together, not solo. As we study The Story together, we learn from each other, we help each other understand what Jesus wants for our lives. We talk about our faith, and we support each other through the storms of life. We look for ways to build a better house as we worship together, pray together, and heal together. Together, we build each other up, and keep each other going.
In the midst of faults and failures,
Stand by me (stand by me);
In the midst of faults and failures,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When I do the best I can,
And my friends misunderstand,
Thou Who knowest all about me,
Stand by me (stand by me).
Building your life around Jesus takes commitment. No matter how much others urge you, you can’t build your house without personal investment and commitment. It requires your time, your energy, your passion, your creativity. A Rock of Ages house is not a house built once a week in a nod-to-God hour. It takes initiative, industry, practice, patience, and a lot of friends who pick you up when you get tired, hold you up when you fall down.
In our scripture today, Jesus is raising the bar. He is challenging all of us to personal responsibility -–to ourselves, to others, to God, to the world. We need to build our house not alone, but with Jesus beside us, helping us to lay the right foundation, lay the right stones, build the right windows to the world, to hinge our life story to the Living Door.
Houses are not built by talking about doing it. They are built by doing it and spreading the joy of doing it together. Actions build houses, as Jesus tells us in his sermon today. We build them brick by brick, stone by stone, act by act, deed by deed.
[Ask people to hold up their stones or bricks].
You all have a stone [brick] in your hand today. Each one of you is part of Jesus’ Holy Temple, the Church. Every one of your lives is a house. Together, we build the grand house of the Lord. By your acts of hospitality, humility, kindness, love, by your commitment to God, and the way you choose to live your lives, you build the church stone by stone.
In the midst of persecution,
Stand by me (stand by me);
In the midst of persecution,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When my foes in battle array
Undertake to stop my way,
Thou Who savèd Paul and Silas,
Stand by me (stand by me).
Words are like straw. Words are nothing without actions. You can declare you are Christian all you want. You can say you admire Jesus. You can say you love others. But unless you commit your lives to following Jesus, unless you choose to enter a relationship with Jesus, every single day in word and in deed, you are building your house with straw.
And if you are building your house on anything other than Jesus, you are building your house on shifting sand.
Talk without substance is weak. Without a foundation in Christ, your house will fall, again and again.
You all know from your own childhood: you remember someone less by what they say and more by what they do. Those of you who are parents know that your children will remember not what you told them, but what you showed them. When it comes to faith, they will remember not that you told them to come to church, but that you prayed each day, showed grace to people in your life, were loyal to Jesus, built your house on the foundation of the Living Rock, and came with them to church.
Active faith in God, a living faith in Jesus builds abiding rock-solid foundations for living.
Scientists who study earthquakes tell us that one flaw in a structure can bring a house crashing down. One flaw. When an earthquake hits, the earth moves, and it vibrates the house at a certain frequency. When the building and the ground share the same frequency, the damage will be the worst.
Jesus is the only frequency that you want your house to resonate with. Build your house, your life upon Jesus, and you can be assured that your life will be storm-resistant and damage-protected. Jesus will not promise you a quick and easy “one-step” construction. Following him is hard. But he promises us that when the storms hit, our foundation and our faith will stand firm.
You know your soul is stable when you can sing this and mean it: “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand.”
Now hold up your rocks. Clench them in your hand. YOU are part of God’s glorious kingdom. Keep your life built upon The Rock.
When I’m growing old and feeble,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When I’m growing old and feeble,
Stand by me (stand by me);
When my life becomes a burden,
And I’m nearing chilly Jordan,
O Thou “Lily of the Valley,”
Stand by me (stand by me).
*Photo of the Henry Wood House in Narragansett Bay, RI from an article by the Boston Times, July 28, 2009.
Based on the Story Lectionary
Major Text
Matthew’s Witness: Jesus’ teaches his disciples and many others on a mountain in Galilee (Matthew 4:23 through 7:29): a “weeding out” story
Luke’s Witness: Jesus chooses his 12 apostles and then teaches them among others in Galilee (Luke 6:12 through 6:49)
Minor Text
Isaiah 2 (The Mountain of the Lord is the House of the God of Jacob)
2 Samuel 7 / 1 Chronicles 17 (God’s promise to flourish the House of David)
Psalm 84 (Psalm of praise for the courts of the Lord)
Psalm 18 (The Lord is my rock)
Ephesians 2 (You are members of the Household of God)
Matthew’s Story of Jesus’ Teaching to his Disciples in the Midst of Many
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is greater in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown out and trampled under foot.
You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder’; and ‘whoever murders shall be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.
It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be ‘Yes, Yes’ or ‘No, No’; anything more than this comes from the evil one.
You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the non-Jews (‘atheists’) do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases like other groups of people do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. Pray then in this way:
‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but spare us from evil doing.’
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
And whenever you fast, do not look dismal like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces so as to show others that they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that your fasting may be seen not by others but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the gras of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you –you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For it is the Gentiles (non-Jews) who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.
Do not give what is holy to dogs; and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under foot and turn and maul you.
Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will opened. Is there anyone among you who, if your child asks for bread, will give it a stone? Or if the child asks for a fish, will give a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
In everything, do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the Torah and the prophets.
Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thurs you will know them by their fruits.
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 our 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.’
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell –and great was its fall!
Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
Luke’s witness to Jesus’ sermon
You may choose to use Luke’s witness instead. Luke reports a shorter, abbreviated version of Jesus’ sermon, highlighting the preface (blessings), loving enemies, disdaining judging and urging forgiveness, imaging the log in your own eye, discerning the fruit of the good tree, and ending with the parable of the two houses, the one built upon the rock the foundation of his teachings. Luke reports approximately 1/3 of the entirety of the sermon that Matthew does. Jesus’ actual teaching may have been even longer; however, these are the sections that each of these disciples chose which impacted them the most.
Image Exegesis: The House on The Rock
Whether Jesus’ sermon in the hills of Galilee was taught just after the beginning of his ministry when he moved to Capernaum, just as he began to become popular (Matthew), or whether a bit later after he had chosen all 12 of his apostles from his growing number of disciples (Luke), we can’t be sure. But we can be fairly certain, the day-long teaching event occurred most likely sometime in the beginning six months of his ministry. All gospel witnesses tell us that as soon as Jesus reached Capernaum and began healing, crowds began assembling and following him around. We also know that during this time, he began to call disciples, 12 of which he named future apostles (echoing the 12 tribes of Israel), and he began drawing the attention of the Pharisees, his peers, and the Temple authorities.
Some of those Pharisees, such as Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, were certainly those of the Hillel school. The majority (and those who would oppose him) would have been Shammai. The time period when Jesus began his ministry was turbulent in Jerusalem, and in the Sanhedrin. The clash between the two Jewish “schools” of thought was prominent to the point where it is said that several of the extremist Shammai killed some of their Hillel brothers. At that point, many of the Hillel fled from Jerusalem into the wilderness areas, most likely linking up with the Essenes. Those who stayed needed to be cautious.
Jesus began his ministry teaching in synagogues, traveling from one town to another along the coast of the Sea of Galilee and also in Judea, but then as crowds began amassing in larger and larger numbers, he began teaching on hillsides, from the lake, and in any other public place he happened to be. They followed him everywhere, even into houses where he was staying or visiting with guests.
Jesus was a brilliant rabbi. His interpretations were authoritative. He was a master. He began his ministry carrying on the message of John the Baptizer, who had already garnered attention among the people and the authorities. He had provoked them. And now Jesus began doing that as well. Many wanted to hear what he had to say.
His message would be about the coming of the kingdom of God. But Jesus spoke as the messiah, and it was he who inaugurated the coming of the kingdom. He who would heal and preach and teach with the authority of God.
He began to call disciples (in the tradition of the great Hillel) --not the usual students of the Torah in Jerusalem, but those who came from John’s group of disciples, and others who were unexpected but with potential (such as Matthew –Levi). Jesus not only went to the lost, he called the lost. He called disciples from the more conservative Judaism of Galilee, those most authentic and loyal. He would teach them his way (his yoke). And that is what he began doing that day in the mountains and hills near the Sea of Galilee.
He had a huge group of people already following him, and they would never fit into the synagogue. Jesus took his called disciples up a grassy slope and sat down with them. All of the others followed to hear. Some of them would become disciples. Others would not. Some would be “paparazzi,” sensation seekers, the curious, the groupies. Some wanted to truly hear what he had to say. Some were stunned by this new rabbi with the authoritative interpretations of the Torah and the Prophets, interpretations that didn’t agree with some of the “rules” and “habits” displayed by the Shammai Pharisees. Others in the crowd were undoubtedly some of the “lost sheep of Israel” –those who intermarried after the deportations, those who embraced new cultures, who lost their traditions, whose faith had faded. Jesus attracted them all. And he would try to win as many of them as he could.
Jesus would later in his ministry claim that he could not bring back most of those from Capernaum and surrounding cities along the shores of the lake. But he would lay the seeds for an entire movement. The apostles would carry on his mission. God’s mission.
It was very important for Jesus to lay the groundwork with his disciples early on as to what kind of journey they would be on with him. It would not be easy. It was important that they knew, he was not going to change the scriptures –but fulfill them. It was important that they knew that he expected them not just to learn, but to carry out what they were learning, to be observant, to be faithful and dedicated. Anything less would not do.
To see God’s promise to Israel fulfilled –to build up the “House” of Israel, so that Israel might be a light to all people, bringing them back to God-- they would need to strengthen their foundation. To build up a house that would not fall, they would need to build it upon a right understanding of the Torah and the prophets, to act in ways that were counter cultural, counter establishment, to be prepared to be unpopular.
Jesus’ teachings that day early in his ministry would “weed out” the thrill seekers, those just wanting healing but not a firm commitment, would weed out those would could not dedicate themselves to the kind of rigor he demanded. He would weed out the disciples from the merely curious. And he would teach them his interpretations of scripture, teach them to build up their house.
His message: the kingdom of God is near, here. Repent. For God’s promise of restoration is coming. In fact, it has come in him –he is the Messiah!
Matthew gives us a fairly detailed report of Jesus’ ‘sermon’ that day. Luke gives a shortened version but with the same material. In it, he outlined --as a rabbi would at the beginning of his ministry-- his “take” on the Torah and the prophets, his theology if you will. He did it in images, metaphors, stories, parables. He began his preface with a twist –you are blessed if you are down and out. He would grab the attention of all those unaccepted by the institution. He would end it letting people know that you are part of God’s people not by looks, lineage, show, or traditions, but by righteousness, faith, devotion to God.
Jesus gives us many metaphors to chew on during his sermon. But the one that sums up his talk and sums up his message is the “house.”
The word house has multiple meanings in Hebrew. The word in the New Testament in Greek is oikia (house, household, dwelling place). The Hebrew word bayith has even more depth to it, meaning house, household, dwelling place, people, descendants, family, clan, temple, foundation. The connotations reverberate in the Hebrew Testament when we learn that David will build God a “house,” but that God will build up the “house” of David. God’s promise is embedded in the connotations of “house.” House metaphorically also means foundation, and the living temple of the heart. It can be both individual and communal. While God will lift up the “House of Israel,” God needs every one of us to build our personal “house” upon the rock of God’s commandments and the rock of God’s Son. Our house depends upon a relationship with Jesus. He is our foundation.
Every one of Jesus’ teachings in his hillside sermon adds to the foundation of his disciples’ faith. He is giving them the substance and the materials in order to build up their “households,” their inner temples and dedicate them to God. Jesus’ teachings are not fluff. They are tough. On one hand, Jesus’ way is more strict than some of the lenient practices the Jewish people were experiencing, especially among the upper levels of authority. On the other hand, his way is much more gracious and humble than the flashy way the Pharisees flaunt their religion in the Temple. Jesus’ messages encourage people to “get serious” about their faith, to build up a strong foundation that won’t be easily swayed by the currents of the culture, or the masks of false leaders.
He teaches people that words are nothing without actions. That hypocrisy can be seen through when one looks at the “fruit” of one’s actions. Is there follow through? He says you must live your faith. He teaches people that broken relationships are the worst possible sins, that holding grudges is vicious, that anger can get you into a lot of trouble, that commitments need to be taken seriously. Jesus teaches people not to flaunt their religion but to live their faith, to focus on God and God only. He teaches them to depend upon the sovereignty and grace of God, not to judge, but to pray for God’s will to be done.
There are a lot of sermons that could be taught just from one of Jesus’ examples that he taught that day. Certainly, discussion should ensue about each one of them. But most important is that these new teachings laid the foundation of a new way of understanding the Torah.
The house on the rock Jesus says could withstand anything. Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them”…..will be like that wise man who built his house on the rock. He didn’t say, everyone who follows God’s laws, or who goes to synagogue weekly, or who follows another rabbi’s teachings. But he said, “who HEARS these words OF MINE and ACTS on them.”
The act of building one’s house is the ingesting and then living of God’s will. And….acknowledging Jesus as the messiah! Jesus specifically says, “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. As the prayer says, “Thy will be done.” Jesus goes on to say that 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.’
Be careful what you do “in Jesus’ name.” Is it really the “will of God?” Or your own?
Part of Jesus’ sermon focuses on the hypocrisy of speaking/showing one thing, and doing another. Or interpreting the Torah in ways that don’t honor God’s will. God’s will, according to Jesus, is listening to him, doing the will of God.
When the crowd dispersed that day, some would “build up their house” on the rock of Salvation. Others would go their own way, or take Jesus’ talk less seriously than they should.
As is the case of prophets before him, Jesus calls all people to repentance. And the first way of repentance is to rebuild one’s house.
The house is an excellent metaphor. Not only does it have the connotations of the Hebrew scriptures inherent in the word bayith. But the metaphor of the house is a beautiful one.
A house is something you build, piece by piece. You do it with materials you choose. And you don’t do it alone. You need people to help you. And you need to use all of your time, attention, creativity, skill, initiative to get it done, to build room after room, roof, floor, and doors. It is the metaphor of the inner temple. It can be a place where God resides, or a place you litter with the things of the world, bad thoughts, evil intentions, grudges, anger.
A house must have a foundation. It can’t be built without one. And one must choose where to build it, upon what foundation. Everything built up comes up from that foundation and is of that foundation. If the foundation cannot be moved or broken, the house will not suffer.
A house requires a lot of construction. It is something you work on for the bulk of your life, something you build when you reach maturity. The house you once shared with your parents is gone. You must build your own house, choose your own foundation, choose your own place, choose who resides with you.
A house is something that requires a lattice work, a structure that holds up the walls. It requires windows and doors that enable relationships with others. It is a stabilizing place in your life, where you can go to find your balance, your anchor, your relationship with God.
Your house echoes your life.
A house cannot be secured to a good foundation without an entire rebuilding. You can’t build another story upon sagging and rotting walls. You can’t build anything that lasts and endures upon shifting sands or sliding mud. You need to sometimes pull down your house in order to rebuild it. We must sometimes be broken before we can be restored.
Jesus’ message of repentance and restoration is echoed in the metaphor of the house. His is the house built upon the Rock of Ages. Those who follow him will come upon a LOT of winds, storms, rains, violent weather. They’d better be prepared. The journey is about to begin.