In the name of the one holy and undivided Trinity.
Text: Matthew 7:21-29
Summer is lurking around the corner, eliciting smiles with thoughts of much needed ‘r&r’ beckoning us to the beach and other vacation spots. Our current church season, referred to as Ordinary Time does not mean the Church takes vacation or shuts down with the exodus of the congregation. On the contrary, the Church considers this period a time of continuous growth. This is why the color of this season is green. This is the time for us as Christ’s disciples, to keep in mind even more the teachings of Jesus to sustain our faith through the new life we received in baptism. Shortly, welcome a new little one as a member in the Body of Christ. We will pray for her to grow in faith.
This is actually the Church period used to affirm our call to build and sustain a strong foundation for discipleship through the messages that Jesus gave his disciples. That same message is shared with us today in the Gospel of Matthew. We are called to act with faith on what we are hearing in the Gospel and to share the Gospel to build the Church and its mission as followers of Christ.
Jesus tells his disciples and the others gathered a parable about two builders. This parable gives us a lesson about the wise and foolish and is a part of the final instructions from the Sermon on the Mount to the disciples. Jesus says to them, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.” (Matt.7:24, NRSV). I believe the whole point of the Sermon on the Mount was to lay a foundation for a lifetime of paving the way as disciples in the Body of Christ. This means that to hear and do or obey would be a daily response to living out the teachings of the message as members in the Body of Christ.
I would like to share with you one of the highlights from my pilgrimage to Ethiopia where the first Churches were built. In January 2003, I had the pleasure of traveling to Ethiopia with some of my seminary classmates. One of the most exciting treasures this country possesses are eleven rock hewn* Christian Orthodox churches built between the 11th and 14th centuries during the reign of King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela. Many Christian pilgrims consider these churches are to be the eighth wonder of the world.
Our tour guide informed us that these churches were constructed out of one huge volcanic rock. This wonderful monastic settlement is surrounded by mountains at 9,000 ft. high and nestled in the remote village of Lalibela. We walked through carved out tunnels that connected the churches in three different sections. Each of the eleven churches has a priest who conducts services including the Holy Eucharist. I felt transported back in time to the culture of the Old Testament with Coptic interior design. I felt like I was standing on Holy Ground each time my bare feet touched the dirt floors of these magnificent churches. This monastic site was spiritually breathtaking.
The legend is that the churches were built by King Lalibela according to instructions he received from God following a life threatening experience that placed him in a coma for months. In the coma, Lalibela was told by God not to worry as he was being transported to three levels of heaven by angels. He was returned to Lalibela, known then as Roha the capital emphire of Ethiphia. He was instructed to build ten churches according to God’s specifications. God’s instructions specified the location, the interior, and exterior design. All the churches are named after Christian Saints. The King was very wise. He not only built his church on the rock but out of solid rock!
We can see that King Lalibela was faithful in acting upon what he heard and he faithfully followed all of God’s instructions. These churches stand strong after more than 800 years of providing sacred and holy space for Christian pilgrims. King Lalibela kept a trusting covenant with God. Annually Christian pilgrims from all parts of the world travel to Ethiopia to worship and participate in the mission of the Church.
It is not always easy to keep our discipleship covenant and we struggle to keep it going daily. However, we have the opportunity to remind ourselves of what discipleship truly requires of us each time we participate in the renewal of our baptism vows, as we will do shortly.
I am constantly reminded of how much I struggle to follow what I am hearing and asked to do as a disciple of Christ. I am not usually a big risk taker. I want a guarantee as to the outcome. It has been a long spiritual journey for me to learn and accept that this desire I have is not always possible and that is OK because God’s plans instead of my own are always better than what I could have imagined. I am sure you have your challenges as well which I will leave for you to name. Jesus knew the disciples and us today would struggle with God’s new way of life for us. The problem is that hearing and obeying doing all that Jesus asks of us for discipleship is a very tall order and hard to fulfill without sustaining faith and trust in God.
We are called to remember that there is a rock for us to stand on that provides an unbreakable and unshakeable foundation to sustain us in a trusting covenant with God. That rock is Jesus Christ. Some of you may remember the insurance commercial that advised us to’get a piece of the rock.’ Let us return from vacation to this location on the rock of St. Margaret’s, joyfully proclaiming, ‘I have my piece!’
May everyone have a blessed, restful, and peaceful summer. Amen
