“Solid Rock or Sinking Sand?”
Matthew 7:24-29
Pastor Deb Troester, STHPC, March 5, 2023
When I was a child, my parents purchased a piece of land to build their dream home. My father, a civil engineer, drew up the plans for it. He asked all of us what we would like in our new house. My mother wanted a kitchen where everything was handy. My brothers and I each wanted our own room – and mine had to have a balcony. We needed a family room where we kids could play and not bother our parents. The house my parents built expressed the unique personalities of each member of our family.
But none of us asked for the most necessary part of a house – a solid foundation. We just took that for granted. Of course, my Dad planned for that as well. As a kid, I remember watching the bulldozers make a level spot in the side of the hill. Then concrete was poured, a big thick slab, reinforced with steel rebar. Only then did the carpenters begin the construction of the wood frame.
The foundation of a house or building, while it may remain unseen, supports the whole structure.
In ancient times, people would search for solid terrain to build on, and solid rock makes an excellent foundation. Only a foolish person would build a house on sand. Jesus knew this, as did his listeners: the wise man built his house on a rock.
When I lived in Puerto Rico, I went through two hurricanes, and I can tell you, if I am going to ride out a hurricane, I want to be on high ground, in a substantial building, resting on a solid foundation, not in a house built on sand. When the rain falls, the floods come, and the wind is howling, the foundation may determine whether or not a house stands or falls. During the recent storms in California, I am sure many people must have been thankful that their houses were built on sturdy foundations, out of reach of the floods. In our lives it is the same way. To survive the storms of life we need a safe, solid place to stand.
Jesus tells this parable at the end of one of the most famous passages in the Bible: the Sermon on the Mount, which we have been studying these past few weeks: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” “You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world…” “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” “Do not worry…Seek first the Kingdom of God.”
Some have called the Sermon on the Mount “God’s Little Instruction Book.” In three short chapters Jesus lays out his basic teachings, summed up in Matt. 7:12: “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you.” He concludes: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock…. 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.” So what does this scripture mean in our lives? First, what it does not mean: God does not promise that there will be no rain, no wind, no floods. But it does mean that we can withstand the storms of life, if our foundation is built on faith in Christ and following his teachings. Keeping God in the center and doing all things because we love one another makes for a sure foundation.
Nor does it mean that we must work to earn God’s love. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by God’s grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” God’s love and grace are a gift. We serve others, following Christ’s teachings, because we are grateful to God who loves, cares for, and watches over us, not to earn favor with God or show that we are somehow better than others. The Sermon on the Mount reminds us that life is not just about us. It is about God and what God is doing in the world and in us; it is about what God is calling us to be and do for the sake of God’s kingdom.
I used to have a card in my wallet that said that I am certified in CPR – yet I haven’t practiced CPR in almost twenty years. I hope if someone has a heart attack, one of our nurses is nearby, because I don’t remember anything about CPR. In the same way, most of us have a baptismal certificate, or a certificate of church membership, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we put into practice what Jesus has taught us.
We’ve read the book, or at least skimmed the important parts – we know the Ten Commandments, the Golden Rule, the Lord’s Prayer, but we don’t actively live the Christian life – and when the storms come, our foundation may not hold. We need to ask God’s help to be who we claim to be, to live out the faith we profess.
We need to listen for God’s voice, trust God, and do what God says. Remember Noah and the Ark? In a world of evil and chaos, not unlike our own, Noah was listening for God. And somehow, incredibly, Noah heard God’s voice. And God gave Noah some rather strange instructions: build a boat, and put your family and pairs of every kind of animal on the boat, because it’s going to rain – a lot. Noah could have said, “Yes, Lord, I heard what you said,” and then sat down and waited to see if it would rain. But he didn’t – he built the boat – and he built it before the rain started. Once he built it, he got on it, and he trusted his life to it. It’s one thing to read a manual about boats. It’s another to actually build the boat, get on it and trust it to save you from drowning.
Many years ago when I was swimming at a beach in Puerto Rico, I decided to join some friends who were swimming out to a reef. So I borrowed a snorkle and fins, and swam out with them. Earlier that day the water had been calm, but the wind had picked up and the waves were getting higher. Suddenly I realized that the waves were coming over my head, and I couldn’t get my breath. I began to panic. Just then I felt a hand reaching out to me. It was our friend Steve, who was an experienced diver and excellent swimmer. He pulled me over and said, “Stand up.” I thought that was crazy, but did as I was told, and found that I was standing on a submerged rock, in about four feet of water. I was fine. I was able to catch my breath, and rest a while. I had been struggling in deep water only a few feet away from a safe place to stand. Those of us who have found Jesus – the foundation of our faith, the rock of our salvation – have the job of reaching out to others, to help them find a safe place to stand, on Christ, the solid rock.
As we do this, let’s remember we are not alone – we are part of a community of faith. Yes, we have the presence of Christ,
who promised to be with us always; we have the comfort and guidance of the Holy Spirit, but God has also given us sisters and brothers to help us along the way. Christianity is a team sport. We need each other’s encouragement. Just like divers always dive with a buddy, and we are taught to never swim alone, we shouldn’t attempt to live the Christian life on our own either. Remember Jesus asking the disciples to watch and pray with him in the Garden of Gethsemane? If Jesus sought the support of his closest friends in his hour of need, how much more do we need friends in the faith? If we don’t cultivate spiritual friendships with other Christians, when the waves of life threaten to overwhelm us, there may not be anyone close by to offer a hand. By the time someone on the shore notices that we are struggling, it may be too late.
In a culture which is often too busy to develop and sustain relationships, we need to create ways to build together. The church is meant to be our “spiritual support group,” but in reality we only see each other for an hour once a week and make small talk.
Studying the Bible together, working together at Santa Maria Urban Ministry, or just spending time together talking about things that matter can be ways of strengthening our faith. Let’s look for opportunities to get together with other Christians who can be our spiritual “diving buddies.” This morning we will accept a new member into our fellowship, Julius, who arrived here from Cameroon less than six months ago. He has done well to look for a church and ask to join. Let’s follow his example and build our house together with the community of faith.
Study the teachings of Jesus, with the help of the Holy Spirit and your Christian friends, put them into practice. Like Noah, listen for God’s voice, then do what He says. Even Jesus didn’t go it alone – so what makes us think we can? Join a community of faith. Then when the storms of life come, your house will stand, in good weather, bad weather, and always. Amen.
Reference: Barbara J. Essex, “Pastoral Perspective on Matthew 7:21-29,” Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A. Vol. 1, eds. David L. Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.
Deborah Troester © 2023