“The Rock” (Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; 1 Peter 2:2-10
May 22, 2011 (Fifth Sunday of Easter)
Rev. John B. Erthein, Euchee Valley Presbyterian Church
Childrens’ stories can impart great truths to adults. Consider the story of the Three Little Pigs, which I assume most of you remember. The three little pigs were building homes for themselves, and had to decide what building materials to use. One pig chose straw, because that was fast and easy. Another pig chose wood, which was a little more solid but still relatively fast and easy. The third pig chose brick, which meant it took him a long time to properly build his house. And you all remember what happened when the big bad wolf showed up … he easily blew down the house of straw, then the house of wood. But when he came to the house of brick, he was foiled. The wise little pig had constructed a home designed to last. And he was a gracious little pig as well, because he offered shelter to his foolish brothers.
I think the story of faith is like this story. Almost everyone has faith in something. And religion reflects faith. Almost everyone professes a religion of one kind or another. I want to focus on the Christian faith this morning. Again, many people profess the Christian faith. But what kind of faith do they profess? How well does their faith stand up to the blowing winds of life? Does their faith provide them with shelter? And will they share their faith with others?
Sometimes it seems like the wind is blasting into our faces. Are you heavily burdened with anxiety about something, like losing your job or making ends meet? I have to confess Lela and I have some anxiety about selling our home up in Erie, because of the mortgage attached to it (and as an aside, it was nice to be able to say we are homeowners, but in reality we are owners of about 13% of our home in Erie, Citi Mortgage owns the other 87%). So how does faith stand up to those winds? But I cannot complain, God has provided for us in so many ways. We have our health for example. How does your faith shelter you if your health is poor (or the health of a loved one is poor?)? How does your faith stand up against heart failure, or cancer, or Alzheimer’s? What about when a beloved family member dies? Many of you have been through some of these challenging times.
The two Scripture readings for today describe a faith that is designed for challenging times. Consider Psalm 31. This Psalm is written as a lament that seeks help from God for a faithful person worn out with trouble and beset by enemies who want to do him harm. David has been traditionally credited as this Psalm’s author, and one can easily connect many of the particulars in the Psalm to his life. But the wording is also general enough for all kinds of people to find themselves in the prayer. The first verse affirms that a person of faith takes “refuge” in the Lord, a word indicating dependence and trust in God. He implores that the Lord will never let him “be put to shame.” To be put to shame is to be publicly shown to have relied on a false basis for hope. The believer also trusts in God’s righteousness, which in this context means his faithfulness to his promises; it is grounds for assurance and not for fear. The first five verses of this Psalm twice refer to God as a “rock” and “fortress,” a common way of describing him. God will continually guide and uphold his followers for the sake of his name, meaning because of his character and reputation. God will protect the believer from the snares of the enemy, whatever they may be.
God’s character remains the same across the Biblical witness. Consider verse 5, where David says “Into your hand I commit my spirit.” Jesus uses these very words on the cross. He dies as the innocent sufferer, trusting in God for his vindication. And that right there is the mark of rock solid faith. Ask yourself if you have that kind of faith, a faith that remains strong even in the face of impending death, the faith of David and the faith of Jesus.
And this rock solid faith is reflected in the words from 1 Peter I read a few minutes ago. Peter wrote this letter most likely during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero (54-68 AD), which became a time of persecution against the church. Not all Roman Emperors persecuted the church: sometimes the Empire was actually beneficial to Christians by providing order and stability. But Nero, an erratic and gratuitously cruel tyrant, did persecute these early Christians, beginning in 64 AD. This letter contains a reference to Rome, meaning Peter wrote from there. Thus, the letter was likely written shortly before the start of Nero’s persecution of the church, in 62 or 63 AD. What is interesting is how Peter seems to anticipate the persecution, by exhorting his listeners to stay strong in the faith no matter what may happen to them. Even if persecution was not taking place at the time, the possibility of Roman persecution hung over the heads of the early Christians for nearly three centuries, until the rise of Constantine after 300 AD, when he made it legal under Roman law to worship Christ.
Verse two begins with the recommendation for a strong foundation in faith: that the believers “like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk.” That made me think. Isn’t it wonderful how newborn babies have a natural instinct to seek out their mothers’ milk? They know what they need! As Christians, we also need the pure milk of God’s Word. There are plenty of people who think that being a Christian means doing good works, or being nice. They worship a “nice” Jesus who did good works and taught good lessons. But I would submit that this “nice” Jesus is at best an incomplete Jesus. But according to God’s Word, Jesus Christ is God’s only Son, who was born to the virgin Mary, lived and died as one of us, rose bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven. It is this Jesus who intercedes for us with the Father. That is all from the Word of God. A strong church must rely on the unchanging, eternal and infallible Word of God.
Verses two and three also say that believers will continue to long for the Word of God, “you may grow into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” Peter likely considered Psalm 34 when he wrote this letter, for that Psalm is about how the Lord delivers the righteous in their sufferings. How does one taste that the Lord is good? In today’s terms, that is found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Verse four promises that if we come to Jesus, “a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious,” we ourselves will become the living stones that build the church. We ourselves are being built up as God’s temple. Peter recognized that the temple of the Old Testament, located in a specific place, Jerusalem, anticipated the new temple where God dwells: in the hearts of believers. But believers are not only God’s temple but are also a holy priesthood which offers spiritual sacrifices to him by the power of the Holy Spirit. The animal sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed to the spiritual sacrifices to be made by the people of God after the coming of Jesus Christ.
I want to consider the idea of spiritual sacrifices for a moment. What does it mean to offer God a spiritual sacrifice? I think it means to refrain from doing something we may want to do if it serves to move us away from God’s perfect will and plan for our lives. And that makes sense, I think. If we really love someone, we will indeed sacrifice some of our own desires out of love for them. Anyone who has been married and had children hopefully knows what that means. It means not just going off on your own and drinking in a bar or playing poker all night or spending your money just on yourself. It means making time for your family and making sure they have enough to eat and a good place to live and letting them know in so many ways how much you love them. And so it is with God … making time with him through prayer and worship. It means sacrificing some of your own desires and resources to support the work of God in this world.
As you know, I have been preaching from the Lectionary since I arrived here. But I had seriously considered not doing so this morning. My heart has been burdened by what has happened in our denomination recently, meaning the vote to allow for the ordination of active, unrepentant gays and lesbians. But as I read the Scriptures for today, I came to understand that the concept of pure spiritual milk (the Word of God) as well as spiritual sacrifices, do address the current situation in our church.
My impression in observing the ordination debates in our own denomination is that many people want a God who affirms them where they are, and does not expect them to offer spiritual sacrifices to him. That is why we have given way on so many moral questions over the past decades. I believe it is why we have now voted to allow gay ordination. What is the right thing to do with a sexuality that does not conform to God’s Word? To offer it to God as a spiritual sacrifice. But that is not what our church has been able to proclaim, and as a result, well, friends, we have built ourselves a house of straw. Many people want Jesus to be “nice,” and a “nice” Jesus would never ask us to sacrifice something really important to us. But I say to you that the church of the “nice” Jesus cannot withstand the storms of this world. People are looking for God’s direction in their lives, and any church that cannot affirm God’s will as laid out in Scripture will not prosper. Consider verse eight, which refers to a “stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense … They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” And that is what has been happening to us as a denomination. We are stumbling over God’s Word.
Nonetheless, I remain hopeful, because God is truly sovereign, and he is building up his temple using the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. People are being fed with the pure milk of God’s Word. God’s Word does not change. God’s Word does not depend on a majority vote at General Assembly or in the Presbyteries. God’s Word stands like a solid rock that cannot be moved. God’s Word is large enough to give shelter to all who want it. If we as Presbyterians cannot take this shelter, then God in his glory will raise up others to do so.
God is the rock. He offers you the chance to shelter in him. Through the storms of life, through illness, through depression, through broken families, through unemployment, through bereavement, God offers shelter. And he offers protection against the immorality and moral confusion of this world. Denominations rise and fall. But God and his Word stand forever. If you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, you are secure in him. If you approach the Word of God with an attitude of obedience and not defiance, you are safe. You are safe. Hold fast to Jesus Christ and the Bible. Whatever our denomination does, however lost it may look, nonetheless, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9)
So how will you build your house? Will you use the straw and wood of this world and of a church that is conforming itself to this world? Or will you use the bricks of truth? Will you come to Jesus Christ, the cornerstone? Will you take your stand on the solid rock of God’s Word? Are you ready to offer spiritual sacrifices to the Most High?
And now, to the God who has created us and sent his only Son to redeem us, may all honor and glory be given to him, now and forever, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment