Sermon Text

Twice in our lives, Betty Anne and I have built the homes in which we have lived. We have also lived in church parsonages, and in older homes, such as the one in which we live now. But 30 years ago, in the Glenshire subdivision in southwest Houston, we built a patio home; and then, about 6 years ago, we built our farm out in the country.

When I say, “we built them,” I don’t mean that we wielded hammers and saws and nailed things together. We had people far more skilled than we to do those things. We were in on the planning and completion of these houses, choosing design and design changes, paint colors, drawer pulls, carpet, and the like. It was nice to be able to make these houses “our own,” and to feel like we were building something for the future.

Particularly with our farmhouse, which is an elevated cottage up on piers and beams, we were conscious of how important the foundation was going to be. The man who did all the foundation work, and laid the stone for our fireplace, was described to us as a “rock star” in the world of stone masonry. And, you don’t have to live in Houston long to know how important a good foundation is, and how much it can cost you if it needs repair.

In Scripture, there are over 400 references to building and construction, often used metaphorically. Ecclesiastes, that well-known passage about “For everything there is a season,” refers to “a time to build.” But, according to Scripture, building by ourselves can be foolish. “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain,” sings the Psalmist. And God is a builder, too: “My hand laid the foundation of the earth,” says God in Isaiah. The church is called “the household of God,” and Paul refers to his readers as “God’s building.”

In our passage for today from the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about building, as a way of describing the choices we make in choosing to follow God’s way or some other way. God graciously allows us the freedom to make our own choices, to build our own lives. Each of us is busy every day, building our lives, brick by brick, board by board, one experience, one choice after the other.

One day, while working on the deck behind our house in Little Rock, I pounded one of the fingers on my left hand with a framing hammer. It didn’t bleed, but the tip of my finger is still crooked from that blow. We all have scars, and crooked fingers, maybe not on our bodies, but certainly on our souls, from the various misfortunes that have come our way over the years. Some of them, we hope, have left us “sadder but wiser.” The scars may not show from the outside, but we know they’re there, part of our building, part of what makes us who we are.

We make choices, decisions about what step to take next, what direction we should go, just like building a house brick by brick, and board by board. Our choices are of significance for us because they either contribute to, or detract from, the person we are becoming. When you build a house, some of the decisions you have to make are daunting, because you know you’re going to have to live with the results for years. We’re realizing some of that with our farmhouse, with decisions we made because of limited resources – such as small bathrooms, few closets, etc.

Our lives are like that, too. We can’t always foresee the long-term consequences of many of the choices we make. Sometimes we live to regret them. More than a few people have said to me, “I was working so hard, while my children were young, to provide for them. Then I woke up one day and my children were grown and gone. I was foolish to have missed so much of their lives because of work.” Others of us build and save and scrimp for retirement, deferring our enjoyment of much of life, and then end up living for very little of it, and what have we gained?

Jesus tells a story about a man who built his house on a solid foundation of bedrock. Another man, Jesus says, built his house on shifting sand. When the rains came and the water rose, the foolish man’s house was destroyed. Jesus says, “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 story is told of the man who died and found himself standing at the pearly gates. The angel who was to be his escort in the new life met him there, and guided him into the heavenly city. They walked together down streets of gold, past shining mansions of light. The man remembered the words of Jesus, “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” He wondered, “Which one of these glorious mansions is mine?”

Then they entered another area of the heavenly city. The streets here were concrete, and the houses were grand, but not as grand as the mansions of light. The man wondered, “Is this where I will live?”

Eventually they turned down a narrow dirt track, with small, lean-to shaped shacks on either side. The angel stopped. “Here is your new home,” she said. “But,” the man said, “what about all those mansions of light, and the comfortable cottages on the concrete streets?”

“I’m sorry, dear brother,” said the angel, “but this is the best we could do with what you sent ahead.”
“Christ is the cornerstone,” says Scripture; “the sure foundation.” Here is a solid, dependable foundation on which to build your life – the example, the teaching, the life and love of Jesus Christ, who comes to make a different kind of living possible for us. The Book of Proverbs says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” but Jesus seems to be telling us that the way to wisdom and knowledge is not through fear, but through listening to what he wants to tell us, and then, trusting what he says to be true and acting on his words.

You know, if you read through the whole Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7, it all sounds heroic, but also difficult, maybe even impossible. But in that sermon, Jesus says that to follow in his way is to build our lives on a solid and sure foundation. To walk in his way is to be wise. And the good news is, Jesus tells us that this way is open, not just to a select few, but to all. The way to a good life, built on a solid foundation, is not a secret. Jesus loves us enough not only to tell us of the way, but to show us, to give us in his own life the bricks and mortar, the lumber and nails, to build well.

How’s your house coming?