Foundations
Matthew 16:13-20[1]
Most of you know that I moved here from Houston, Texas.
What you may not know is that owning a home in Houston poses unique challenges.
Besides the issues with Hurricanes and flooding, there’s the simple fact that
Houston was built in a swamp. Yes, you heard right. It was built in a swamp. Owning
a home in what is essentially swamp land can be an adventure in its own right.
The ground is a mixture of sand and clay. The locals call it “gumbo” after the
soup. It has a little bit of everything mixed in. The problem is that when it
rains, that “gumbo” mixture expands and heaves up. And when it’s dry, the
ground “shrinks.” That combination of expanding and shrinking wreaks havoc on
foundations. The “joke” is that if you haven’t had foundation work on your
house, you will. It’s not really funny, because it usually costs thousands of
dollars.
Our gospel lesson for today is about foundations. But it’s
not about the foundation for your home, it’s about the foundation for your
life. It begins with Jesus asking the question, “Who do people say the Son of
Man is?” (Mt 16:13, GNT). Up to this point, there have been a lot of
rumors and guesses about Jesus among the crowds. The disciples answer Jesus by
voicing those rumors and guesses: “Some say John the Baptist, others say
Elijah, while others say Jeremiah or some other prophet” (Mt 16:14, GNT).
But the crowd’s rumors and guesses weren’t enough. Jesus was more than a
prophet.
So Jesus asked the disciples to tell him who they thought
he was. It was Peter who answered for the group, “You are the Messiah, the Son
of the living God” (Mt 16:16, GNT). In Mark and Luke, this is the main
point of the passage. But in Matthew’s Gospel, there’s something else going on.
First of all, Peter confesses his faith that “You are the Messiah, the Son of
the living God.” In Matthew’s Gospel that’s not the first time the disciples
have affirmed their faith in Jesus. After the episode where Jesus walked to
them on the water, they all confessed, “Truly you are the Son of God” (Mt
14:33). So Peter is confirming what they all have already confessed.
But the focus in Matthew’s Gospel isn’t just on Jesus here,
it’s also on Peter. Matthew was concerned to demonstrate that Peter was going
to play an important role in building the new community, the church. We see
this primarily in the “blessing” that Jesus gives to Peter: “I tell you, Peter:
you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not
even death will ever be able to overcome it” (Mt 16:18, GNT). Unfortunately,
this statement is one that divides Christians today. Some say that Peter
himself was the “rock” upon which Jesus promised to build his church. And that
tradition is maintained by the line of Popes in Rome. Others say that the one
and only rock is Jesus (1 Cor 3:11) or what Jesus taught (Mt 7:24).
I think at the end of the day, however you read this
passage, the point is about building your life on the foundation of Jesus. Following
Jesus means building our lives on his words and his example. In Matthew’s
Gospel, it’s not enough to call Jesus, “Lord” and do all kinds of good deeds
“in his name” if we do not obey “the will of the father in heaven” as Jesus did
(Mt 7:21-23). And the final declaration of what that looks like comes in the
parable about the separation of the sheep and goats: “I was hungry, and you fed
me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited
me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me
clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited
me.” (Mt 25:35-36, NLT). When he refers to himself being in need, he’s
really talking about those who are “overlooked or ignored” (Mt 25:40, MSG).
As the Message translation puts it: “that was me—you did it to me.” In Matthew’s
Gospel, that’s what it looks like to build your life on the foundation of Jesus’
words and his example.
This is not something that comes easily or naturally. We
have a whole list of other pursuits that come before following Jesus. For most
of us, family comes before everything. We build our lives around our career.
Financial security ranks high in our lives. But then so do comfort, entertainment,
and a sense of feeling safe. We build our lives on these things. But inevitably
we discover that as good as they all may be, they can become like shifting
sand. And when we build our lives on that kind of foundation, we may find
ourselves in the situation Jesus warned about: “The rain fell, and the floods
came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was
its fall!” (Mt 7:27).
I guess the real question is where we start in trying to
build our lives on the foundation of Jesus. One of the vows our confirmation
students take is “Will you be Christ’s faithful disciple, obeying his Word and
showing his love?” It sounds straightforward enough. But as I’ve pointed out to
them, in order to obey Jesus’ word, we have to actually read the New Testament.
I’m not talking about reading for information, or reading to check off a box
that says “I’ve read through the Bible.” We have to read it as if our very
lives depend on it! And we have to go beyond “reading” and study it in order to
make it a part of who we are so that we can truly live it out. We read it
reflectively, we roll it around and let it sink into the core of who we are so
that we can follow Jesus’ words and his example.
I know that reading and studying the Bible can be a
difficult discipline to maintain. So maybe the way to do it is to start small.
Take your bulletin home with you and read the Scripture lessons throughout the
coming week. Maybe several different times, in several different versions. Or
if you want more, start reading through the New Testament alone. Or maybe you
want to read the Psalms as well. I would also suggest that you pick a different
version than the one you usually read. A different way of putting things sheds
new light we may not have thought about. You might try the New Living
Translation, which is the version we give to the confirmation classes.
I think the point is that we recover the discipline of
daily Bible reading. Again, we don’t do that to check off a box. We do it because,
without Jesus as the foundation for every aspect of our lives, all the
foundations we’re building our lives on amount to swampy, sandy “gumbo.” And we
may have to learn the hard way that the consequences can be costly. What is
true for our individual lives is also true for our church. In my experience, churches
thrive to the extent that the members are committed to Bible study. Not for the
sake of appearances, but so that we can be “Christ’s faithful disciples.” It’s
not only important for us in our individual lives, but also for our church. If
we want a different outcome than what we’re getting now, it’s going to mean a
major shift in our priorities and a change in the foundations upon which we are
building our lives.
[1] ©
Alan Brehm, 2023. A sermon delivered by Rev. Alan Brehm PhD on 8/27/2023 for
Hickman Presbyterian Church, Hickman, NE.
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