Delivered by Rev. Ellen Brantley

Sunday, June 1, 2008

SERMON:       Wisdom – To Hear and to Act

TEXT: Matthew 7:21-29

          These days the story of the wise man and the foolish man brings to mind an unfortunately true story about a sink hole that swallowed a house right here in the Ozarks.  In that situation, though, we can’t say that the builder was foolish, for he had no idea there was a cave deep beneath his foundation of solid ground.  And the house over the sinkhole went “smash!”

          Wouldn’t it give you a horrible, sinking feeling (excuse the pun) to watch your home crumble to the ground?  Or to see the devastation left after a tornado, flood, hurricane, earthquake or fire?  We all felt helpless enough when many of our homes were unlivable for days or weeks during last year’s ice storm.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose everything and have nowhere to go.

             But I guess what I really don’t understand is those who have homes right on the ocean shore, and when the home is destroyed by a hurricane, they insist on rebuilding in the same place.  Granted, there are many things we can’t control, and Mother Nature is at the top of the list.  But it seems to me that to build a home right on the coastline is asking for trouble, because the odds are that you’d be at much greater risk in that location.  I know that I’m judging before I’ve walked in their shoes.  But, to me, the person who does that is like the foolish man who built his house on the sand.  How many times do you have to hear good advice before you act on it?

          According to Matthew, this is Jesus’ definition of WISDOM:  TO HEAR AND TO ACT.  “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”  It sounds easier than it is.  All of us hear lots of words – Jesus’ words, words in church, words from the Bible – we hear them, but we don’t act on them. 

          We are essentially the audience to whom Jesus directs his message.  This passage is the conclusion to his Sermon on the Mount, where he was speaking to his disciples and other followers who respected him and who wanted to learn from him.  They were not the bad guys, the outsiders, the Pharisees who felt threatened by Jesus.  They were good people like us, people who affirmed the basic creed of the church, people who would call Jesus “Lord.”    And Jesus is saying to us that if we hear his words but do not act on them, we will fall.

          We like to think of God as one who is slow to anger, quick to forgive, full of mercy and grace, abounding in steadfast love.  But we forget that there is also judgment with God.  Here’s what one biblical scholar says about judgment in this passage from Matthew:  “Judgment and grace are both dimensions of God’s movement toward the world.  Jesus, the Savior-Judge, graciously claims people for a life of obedience and relentlessly will not let them presume on the divine generosity.  The words of judgment in the [Matthew] text are aimed at those who take that generosity lightly, who want acceptance without change, forgiveness without repentance, grace without discipleship.”

          Again, it sounds a lot like us.  Often we want God’s acceptance without having to change; we want God’s forgiveness without having to repent; we want God’s grace without having to follow the demands of discipleship.  You know, it doesn’t bother me that most couples have taken the word “obey” out of their marriage vows.  But I imagine that it does bother God when we remove the aspect of obedience from our relationship with him.

          To hear and to act is wisdom.  But when we hear and do not act, it is called hypocrisy.  I remember a young woman from my last church.  She had been confirmed in the church, but had not been a regular church-goer since that time.  After I’d been pastor for about a year, I finally met her when I visited her in the hospital after she’d been in a car accident.  Several months later, brief biographies of the high school seniors were written up in the newspaper.  Her biography included that her biggest pet peeve was “people who said one thing and did another.”  I remember thinking that was an interesting answer coming from someone who had taken a vow to be a faithful member of the church, but hadn’t been to church in over a year.

          Of course, true discipleship is not just about going to church.  You and I have heard plenty of people claim that you don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.  And someone once said that you don’t become a Christian from sitting in church any more than you become a car from sitting in the garage! 

          On the other hand, how do we hear the words of Jesus and how do build our faith and our lives on a strong foundation without the help and support of the church?     

          Faith is not just an intellectual, emotional, or spiritual experience.  Faith is not just something that happens inside us.  Faith is action; faith is outward; faith is demonstrated in what we do and how we live.  Grammatically speaking, faith is not a noun; faith is a verb. 

          Like that young woman I spoke of, most of us have taken the vow to be a faithful member of the church.  But what does faithful membership entail?  The Book of Order of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) lists a number of actions, things we do as faithful members:

· proclaiming the good news

· taking part in the common life and worship of a particular church

· praying and studying Scripture and the faith of the Christian Church

· supporting the work of the church through the giving of money, time, and talents

· participating in the governing responsibilities of the church

· demonstrating a new quality of life within and through the church

· responding to God’s activity in the world through service to others

· living responsibly in the personal, family, vocational, political, cultural, and social relationships of life

· working in the world for peace, justice, freedom, and human fulfillment. 

Notice that each one of these begins with an action verb:  proclaiming,

taking part, praying and studying, supporting, participating, demonstrating, responding, living, working.  All of this is what goes into building our “house” on the rock; building a strong foundation of faith.  We hear the words; we even agree with the words.  But we don’t always act on them, do we?

          Throughout this summer, I will be focusing my sermons on each of these aspects of faithful church membership – in the hope that we will all commit ourselves more fully to building a strong foundation of faith for ourselves, for our children, our grandchildren, and all those who follow us.  As we do so, we will be better able to stand fast when the storms of life threaten to destroy us. 

          I invite you, I encourage you, I implore you – rain or shine – to continue to gather with our family of faith through this season and through the year.  Together may we grow in WISDOM, may we HEAR the words of Jesus, and may we ACT on them.

          To the glory of God!            AMEN.