Proper 9How Firm a Foundation?[Jesus said] ‘Everyone 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 upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded upon rock.’ Matthew 7.24-25Our house of lifeHow is our house of life coming along? Its foundation is firm enough, for it is Jesus himself. But how have we built on this best of starts? Does prayer undergird every brick of mission, ministry and service? If so, the walls will stand. Do the windows in our house look out with the love and light of Christ? If so, they will shine. Does the fire burn with the flame of God’s Holy Spirit? Then it will heat the house with a warmth great enough to be shared with others. We are building a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Perhaps we shall actually see it when we get to glory – or perhaps we shall by then have other things on our minds. Into actionWe can listen to the words of Jesus until the cows come home, but listening is only the preliminary to the real work of life. Unless we translate the words we hear into action, we shall be of no use to anyone, least of all to God. Jesus placed such emphasis on his words that he told his disciples that one of the functions of the Holy Spirit would be to remind them of every word he had spoken. And, as John tantalizingly remarks, we know only an infinitesimal fraction in the Gospels of all that Jesus really taught in those three years of ministry; we can be absolutely confident that in that time he taught more than anyone else could have managed (John 21.25). We don’t need to look far in any direction today for opportunities to put Jesus’ words into action. Some Christians wear a cross and fix the ‘fish’ symbol to their cars; but the world is usually quick enough to spot a Christian by the way he or she lives, with or without the help of these outward signs. They can be, however, an advantage when we are away from home, often encouraging others to open up a conversation. But, if we ‘let down the side’, then it’s ‘the Church’ that gets the blame -which should surely be a sufficiently strong extra incentive for us to keep an eye on how we are building our spiritual house. We can, in fact, go too far the other way, making such a virtue out of action (albeit Christian work) that we neglect our prayer and quiet times with God (called, in earlier times, ‘waiting on God’). Every so often, Jesus retreated to a mountain or quiet place for quality time with God. We need these times just as much, if not more. ‘Oh, I want to die in harness, not to be put out to grass!’ is sometimes said by well-meaning, if rather hyperactive Christians. And God doesn’t want slackers in his service, either; but let’s take a leaf out of Jesus’ book and see that our days include prayer as well as action. Some would, in fact, see prayer as action – and history may be seen to be peppered with outstanding prayer-athletes, such as Augustine of Hippo, Monica, Lancelot Andrewes, Madame Guyon, Brother Ramon. But prayer should undergird and precede Christian action, not be relegated to the ten minutes before bedtime.
The wobbly housesIn the topsy-turvy way that the world works, some of the most grandiose buildings are, spiritually speaking, wobbly. Some have been built on extortion, many on arrogance and not a few on credit. Their wealth is for their individual upkeep and magnificence and yet, come disaster, they crack and crumble. In physical terms, they may have laid a heavy load on the land – but in God’s eyes they have been built on the flimsiest of foundations, and trouble sorts them out sooner or later. Of such, may the Christian steer clear! Family service inputEncourage the making of a collage/model showing Christ as the ‘rock’, and what the Church is doing in the parish as building-blocks. Add to these as the year progresses. Suggested hymnsChrist is our cornerstone; Christ is made the sure foundation; How firm a foundation; Rock of ages. |