The Parable
of the Builders
This parable has taken on renewed meaning in the light of Hurricane Katrina. Firm ground versus shifting sand. The house in the storm that stands versus the house that is blown away. Security versus instability. A city built thirty feet below sea level? Well, as Jesus said two-thousand years ago, “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash” (Matthew 7:27).
*****
The parable of the
builders is a parable Jesus told in both Matthew and Luke. Essentially the same
parable, it has some slight differences.
In Matthew, Jesus talks about building on rock versus building on sand;
it is easy to imagine that Jesus was telling this parable while standing beside
the Sea of Galilee, on the seashore where rock and sand stand side by
side. Where are we going to build the
foundation of our lives? We all know what becomes of a child’s sandcastle
overnight, don’t we. The choice is clear:
“Of course we will build on the rock,” we tell ourselves. But what does it mean to build on the
rock? Where is the rock? What is the rock?
In Luke, Jesus changes the parable ever so slightly, but, I think, in a more interesting way. Instead of rock versus sand, the two builders either “dig down deep” or build “on the ground.” It is easy to imagine that Jesus was telling this parable while standing in the mountains of Israel and so changed the details to fit the scene. In Israel, the rains come in the winter, so all building in the mountains in Jesus’ day took place during the summer. But the ground in the summer is exceptionally hard clay.
Ken Bailey, who is
a New Testament scholar and who will be our Theologian-in-Residence in October,
tells the story of going on a mission trip with his local church in
Lebanon. A crew of about forty adults
went into the mountains to help dig the foundation for a new church. He said the forty of them, armed with
shovels and pick axes, could barely scrape off six inches of clay in a day’s
work. Now, given how hard the ground is
during the summer, one can imagine the temptation it would be to build on such terra firma. And why not? The
foundation will be stable, the walls plumb; the house will stand. At least until the rains come in the
winter! At which time the hard clay of
summer melts into a winter goo of muddy waters. And the house falls down.
I find the way
Jesus tells the parable in Luke more interesting because it presents to us a
more subtle choice, a more modern choice.
Rather than rock versus sand, which any idiot knows that it is better to
build on rock, the choice in Luke is between building on that which seems strong, seems solid and which is imminently and immediately doable versus
that which is strong, is solid but which requires hours and
days and weeks of grueling work. This
is a temptation we face all the time:
Ø
Do we prep the walls for
painting by washing them thoroughly, sanding off everything, applying primer,
or do we say, “Oh, it’s just a closet, no need to go to all that trouble”?
Ø
Do we provide the
quality care that is excellence in our work, all the time, every time, or do we
say, “Oh, my boss, my client, won’t be able to tell the difference anyway”?
Ø
Do we make the extra
effort to read to our kids, to teach them the correct way to care for a pet, to
talk to them about sex or drugs, or do we say, “Oh, our kids are fine; they’re
good enough and better than most”?
Do we build on firm ground, hard clay,
that makes a decent house, or do we
dig down to the foundation that will never be swept away?
*****
In
Jesus’ day there was a well known foundation in Israel. It was in the Great Temple, in the Holy of
Holies itself, the most sacred space for all Jews, the place where it was
believed God’s presence existed on earth in its purest form, the place where
the priests would make sacrifice for the atonement from sin. When the Jews returned to Jerusalem from
exile in Babylon, they found this foundation stone in what had been the Holy of
Holies. The Babylonians had destroyed virtually everything, but this foundation
stone had remained, a remnant amidst the destruction of their city, a remnant
of God’s Temple. The Jews believed that
this foundation stone was an answer to prophecy and promise found in Isaiah
28:16:
See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who trusts will never be dismayed.
When Herod the Great rebuilt the
Temple, this foundation stone became the cornerstone of the new Holy of Holies,
the place of God’s presence, the place of atonement from sin.
We’re now in a position to see how radical were Jesus’ words. The common chord in both Matthew’s and Luke’s telling of the parable is that Jesus says that whoever “hears [his] words and puts them into practice” is the one who builds on the true rock that will stand forever. What Jesus is doing here is taking on the entire establishment of ancient Jewish society. He elevates his words not only to the status of the Temple, but above the Temple, beyond the Temple! We have here once again a “functional Christology.” Jesus is saying that the basis for Jewish society, the Temple, is a false foundation. The atonement found in the Temple will not stand forever, (as indeed it did not when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple in 70 A.D.) Jesus is claiming that the true presence of God in its purest form is found, not in the Temple, but in his own person! Jesus is claiming that his words are more redemptive than the Temple and its atonement. In this parable, Jesus is claiming that the promise of Isaiah is fulfilled in him: he is the stone being laid in Zion; he is the precious cornerstone; his words are the sure foundation; the one who trusts in him, in Jesus, by putting his words into practice will never be dismayed.
*****
Ben
Franklin once said that “more people like to celebrate Christ’s birth than to
obey his teachings, for it is easier to observe a holiday than to practice the
commandments.” I think this same statement is just as true in today’s world as
it was in Franklin’s time. Gallup type
polls consistently show that 80% – 85% of Americans claim to be Christians, yet
we know that not that many of our fellow citizens actively “hear [Jesus’] words
and put them into practice.” Do 80% -
85% of Americans practice these words:
Ø
If someone strikes you
on the right cheek, turn to them the other also…I tell you: Love your enemies
and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:40, 43).
Ø
When you give to the
needy (Matthew 6:2)…when you pray (Matthew 6:5)…when you fast (Matthew 6:16).
Ø
Therefore I tell you, do
not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what
you will wear (Matthew 6:25).
Ø
How many times shall you
forgive your brother who sins against you?
I tell you, not seven times but seven times seventy (Matthew 18:22).
Ø
Give unto Caesar what is
Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s (Matthew 22:21).
Ø
I tell you the truth,
whatever you did to of one of the least of these, you did to me (Matthew
25:40).
I dare to say it: 80% - 85% of
Americans are not putting all these words into practice. Some folks are,
perhaps, but not all of them! Some of
the words, perhaps, but not all of them!
Of course, to be honest, I’m not overly concerned this morning about 80%
- 85% of Americans because I’m not preaching to them; I preaching to you…and to
myself. What about us? Are we building our lives upon the solid
rock of Jesus Christ and his words?
*****
Here
is an interesting thought experiment for each of us to take. Answer only to yourselves and God, but,
therefore, be brutally honest.
Ø
Would you rather have
been a Nazi in Germany who was also a true Christian, or have lived in the U.S.
as a non-Christian?
Ø
Would you rather live
today in southern Sudan under Muslim persecution as a Christian, or live
anywhere in the West as a non-Christian?
Ø
Would you rather live
your life here in Pueblo pretty much
Christian, mostly Christian, or live
doing the difficult, spiritually challenging work that will allow the Word to
make you into a new creation in Christ?
Throughout
Scripture the promise of God’s Word is the renewing of life at its deepest
level.
Ø
The Lord God spoke
through the prophet Isaiah saying, “As the rain and the snow come down from
heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud
and flourish…so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to
me empty” (Isaiah 55:10-11).
Ø
St. Paul reminds us that
“faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the
word of Christ” (Romans 10:17), and “be transformed – [the Greek word is metamorphusthe, metamorphosis, the new
creation from caterpillar to resurrection] – through the renewing of your mind”
(Romans 12:2).
Ø
The writer of 2 Timothy
evokes a powerful metaphor, saying, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and
training in righteousness that the person of God may be thoroughly equipped for
every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16).
John Bell of the
Iona Community in Scotland tells the story of a group of anthropologists who
were studying a tribe of native people.
Upon conclusion of their research, the anthropologists gave a book to
the tribal chief of the written history of their tribe. The chief took the book, proceeded to tear
it apart page by page by page and give to each member of the tribe a page from
the book. The members of the tribe, in
turn, took their pages and ate the paper.
When the researchers wondered why the chief was tearing the book apart
and why the people were eating the pages, the chief replied, “If this is the
story of my people, then it must be inside each of us.” The Bible is the story of God’s people. Is it inside each of us?
Today we have our
kick-off Sunday when we begin again our Sunday School program for children,
youth and adults. Some of you will
choose to participate in adult Sunday School.
Some of you will choose to participate in a mid-week small group study
or at our Wednesday night Presbybar study.
Some of you will be devoted readers of the Word at home. I like what Dietrich Bonhoeffer recommended
to his students. Bonhoeffer counseled
them to read narrowly in the morning and broadly at night. That is, at night, read for a set period of
time and just read. Let the Word flow
into you, get the big picture, hear anew the Story of God. Start with the
Gospels and then continue on and read the New Testament. When you’re done with that, come see me and
I’ll give you another assignment. But in the morning, read narrowly. In the morning read the same verse again and
again, for a few days, for a week, for a month. Dwell with that verse
until the verse dwells within you.
Some of you will
do one thing, some of you another, but we all must do something for the
renewing of our mind, for all Scripture is God-breathed, and faith comes by
hearing the message, and the Word does not return empty and only the one who
hears Jesus’ words and puts them into practice is like the house built upon the
rock.
Look at the paper. Watch the TV. Never forget the story of New Orleans. Respond with compassion and care, as is our calling as Christians and as Americans. But know this: a city built thirty feet below sea level: when the rains come and the streams rise and the winds blow and beat against that house, it will fall with a great crash.
What is true of a city is also true of a soul.
Questions for Discussion and Reflection
1. How do you respond to the claim that Jesus himself was making an outrageous claim to superiority by placing himself and his teachings above Temple and Tradition?
2. In the spiritual realm, how willing are you to do the hard work of scraping off the hard clay to get down to the solid rock as you build your spiritual house? What are examples of your willingness to build a solid, spiritual foundation?
3. Is the story of the Word “getting inside you” a story of frustration? A story of inspiration? A story that stops and starts? What kind of story is it…and where do you want this story to go?