Proper 4 sermon - Tracy LeBlanc

June 1, 2008
Proper 4, Year A
Matthew 7:21-29, Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28, Psalm 46, Romans 1:16-17, 3:22b-28


The words in this Gospel can feel very uncomfortable to a lot of us. The idea that some people are “in” and some are “out” offends the inclusive nature in many of us. Let’s take a few minutes to talk about the nature of this kingdom that Jesus refers to, perhaps that will help us to understand the meaning and reasoning of Jesus’ words here.

First we must remember that Jesus proclaims that the Kingdom of Heaven is “at hand”. Certainly we believe that it refers to life hereafter, but it is clear that it is also something here and now – a present reality, though our awareness of that may waver. These words in today’s Gospel conclude the Sermon on the Mount – a collection of Jesus’ teachings that in many ways, I think define the (for the lack of a better word) culture of the Kingdom of Heaven. It is a place where the poor and meek are blessed, a place where being merciful, a peacemaker or yearning for justice doesn’t get you labeled a bleeding heart, but is championed. A place where people’s lives are about loving their enemy, humility and generosity. It is a place where pursuit of money, self-righteous judgment, grudges and seeking approval of the crowds cannot exist. If one lives with a set of values contradictory to the Kingdom it will be very difficult to be aware of it’s presence in our midst. Entrance into the kingdom isn’t a one time deal. we approach it and seek entrance on a daily, hourly, minutely basis as we interact with the world. When the place of our hearts is so contradictory to the culture of the kingdom I think we have put ourselves in a place where we are then unable to perceive it – we have put ourselves “out”. The purpose of the warning here then, isn’t to scare us into thinking “oh no, Uncle Bob just didn’t make it to heaven!” or so that we can pass judgment on our annoying pew neighbor. They are offered, I think, as a personal warning, a personal encouragement to live more fully into a life that fits the values of the Kingdom so that we can be ever more aware of its presence in our midst.

With that perspective on the purpose of these words, let us look more closely at what they mean – what warning or encouragement do they offer? I find the contemporary translation offered by the Message helpful with these verses. It reads:

"Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master, Master,' for instance— isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'
"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit—but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
"But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."
This version makes clear the intent of the words and actions of the offending parties is to find an easy way to look good, to make religion saying some magic words, but not really doing the hard stuff Jesus calls people to do. The words this version implies but doesn’t explicitly include are Jesus’ assertion “I never knew you” I think this is the crux of Jesus’ complaint. The people were never connected to the person of Jesus only to the outer religious trappings around them, the nature and culture of the kingdom, so very wrapped up in who Jesus is, is still foreign to their hearts. So they are rejected not because Jesus wants to be exclusive but because they just don’t fit in the culture of the Kingdom…the kingdom is about love of others, not building up the self – there will need to be some soul searching before the kingdom is a place where they can exist. To us Jesus says the crucial thing is being known by Jesus and knowing the heart of the Father in order to live out God’s call. The message said “what is required is serious obedience”, This requires a solid connection to the one offering the call.

Jesus moves from this statement into a parable about house building. I don’t know about you but every time I read this I think of the three little pigs (maybe that is a function of the amount of my life I spend reading children’s stories) It’s not the building materials here, just the building site, but the storm is as mean and greedy as that big bad wolf! My gripe with the three little pigs is, how were the first two supposed to know what to build with? Yeah, one was foolish and the other lazy, but had anyone ever really revealed to them that straw and sticks could not withstand the breath of a hungry wolf? I mean, I’ve had a lot of education, and I never would have guessed that a measly wolf could blow down my hut! So with our parable, how do we know what this foundation looks like? I mean, let’s face it – all of us would really like the house of our life to be built on something solid. But how do we discover what that is? Jesus says “everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock”. So, there it is, the key to a solid foundation…hear the word, act on the word. First, hear these words of mine.

Here our Old Testament text offers wise advise. 18You shall put these words of mine in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead. 19Teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. 20Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Put these words in your heart and soul. Sit with scripture and let it etch itself into your heart, let it affect all of who you are. Don’t let it be a peripheral thing that you hear on Sundays, but make it’s words seep into your soul. Fix it on your hands and tie it on your foreheads! Talk about it all the time, everywhere you are, especially with your children! Even write it on your doors so every time you come and go you are reminded. What a great image! Can you imagine your door painted with bold colors saying “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”. Or imagine your bathroom mirror plastered with sticky notes filled with scripture so the moments of angst we experience when we are looking ourselves in the eye is impacted by messages like “Where you are weak God is strong” and “I have called you by name and you are mine”. Imagine the impact on road rage if our horns had some sort of reverse honk and as we got angry in traffic it beeped out “blessed are the merciful, or “judge not lest you be judged”. And plastered to your forehead, inescapable every time you look up – boy that could change your perspective on the world – you’ve heard of rose colored glasses, well here we have “The love of God, hope filled glasses”.

The point of the author is clear, clutter up your lives with God – in whatever way you can, make yourself continually aware of the presence of the Holy around you and in you. Remind yourself of the promises and call of God before every step that you take. Hear the words…hear the words again and again until they permeate who you are. The idea, presence, promise, love of God etched in our hearts, shaping our very souls – making up every aspect of our lives in a way that the Holy becomes our hearts, becomes our lives.

The number of active verbs in this Old Testament lesson is impressive. Put, fix, bind, teach, speak, write. There is nothing passive about this. It doesn’t say “the words will be put in your heart or you will be reminded of God’s presence everywhere you go.” No, it is clearly something that involves choice, action and energy.

The second part of Jesus’ encouragement is to act - hear these words and act upon them. Surprisingly short and simple sounding suggestion, but hard in fact to bear out, especially when the words include the sermon on the mount with phrases like “be angry but don’t sin” or my favorite, “be perfect, therefore as my father in heaven is perfect.” To this, however, I have very good news. The sermon that these verses conclude begins with “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” The kingdom of heaven belongs to those who know they can’t do it on their own, who know their need. And the more we try to live out the values of the kingdom, the more, I think, we find ourselves in a place of poverty of spirit.

So as we hear the word and are permeated with it, of course we must stumble forward and attempt to act, knowing we will mess up but trying anyway. We will try to be peacemakers. We will want to want to want to be pure in heart. We will be angry and really wish we didn’t sin. And then we will get it right once in awhile. We will doggedly move forward in trying to make this culture of the kingdom part of our ordinary lives, not just our Sunday best. And as we fail we will remember that we have a God who loves it when we are able to say we just can’t do it, that we really need a Holy hand up out of the hole we have dug for ourselves. A God who proclaims through Paul’s letter today “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God but are now justified by his grace as a gift”.

So, if we can remember those two things. One: to clutter up our lives with God. Two: to yearn and long and doggedly try to act like members of the kingdom, falling back into the hands of Grace as we fail – well, then we are living with the Third little pig. Our house maybe stucco or adobe, or logs or brick…but it is built on an unshakable foundation where the presence of the kingdom is alive and vibrant and accessible to our hearts. Then, when the storms come, and they will come, we can proclaim with the psalmist: 2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; 3though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved.”
Thanks be to God.