June 2, 2002
Matthew 7:21-29
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“Building on a Firm Foundation”

The reading from Matthew’s gospel today is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount.  Most folks remember that the Sermon begins with the Beatitudes, but forget that it ends with the parable of the wise and foolish builder.  Jesus’ Sermon then begins and ends with language about wisdom.  A wise person knows how to build appropriately and knows how to choose a firm foundation.  The challenge of this text is quite direct: on what foundation does one build a house of faith?  Again and again we are invited to consider the way of wisdom, the right way, to build our house and our lives.  Each time we’re reminded that trusting in ourselves, in our abilities, in our righteousness will fall short and our house will collapse.  The only way to build is upon God’s love and righteousness expressed toward us in Jesus.

As it is with our lives, so it is with the church.  A church, like a building, is only as strong as its foundation.  There are many who try to found the church on narrow interpretations of Scripture, on repressive guilt, on laws of ‘do’ and ‘don’t,’ and on authority vested in a chosen few.  These are not, I believe, the foundations on which a Congregational Church is built.  Our forebears understood the fundamental truth of Scripture that God desired to fellowship with us and that Christ had come to make us a free people.  For them the only foundation solid enough on which to build a church is the person and work of Christ.  I believe that too, and the covenant of this church stresses it when we identify ourselves as “followers of Christ.”

Our Congregational forebears believed with all their hearts that the gathered church was where this freedom was to be lived out in covenant relationship.  It is here that we learn to be “followers of Christ” through our worship, our study, and our service to each other, both to the community and to the world.  To me that firm foundation rests upon a common love and respect that allows me to be who I am and for each of you to be who you are.  So the church becomes a haven, a safe place where everyone knows that he or she is welcomed, accepted, and loved.  This doesn’t mean that we’re merely ‘nice,’ rather it means that we become absolutely honest with one another.  It is only as we grow in transparency toward God and each other that such a place can be built.  To accomplish the task before us we must rely on God’s Spirit to empower us and embolden us to become what we’ve covenanted to be – a house of faith, built on a firm foundation.

I appreciate what Doug has said and the ministry he has had among you for the past year.  With him I believe that this church already stands on a firm foundation, one rooted in a covenant faith first articulated in a cabin not far from here back in 1842.  That this church has gathered here in this meetinghouse, in one form or another, since 1853 is a testimony to the strength, the vision, and the love that has been in this place.  Now what has drawn us and impelled us for 160 years must continue, deepen and grow.  I stand ready to walk with you, to learn with you, to worship and to work with you to make this happen.

I would be less than honest were I not to tell you that several of my most respected colleagues cautioned me about accepting this call.  What they said was this, “Your ministry was good there, Steven.  And it got even better after you left.”  Not too many days ago I heard basically the same message from the lips of a church member.  So let me model the way of honesty, a foundation on which I hope we will build a strong household of faith.  Beloved, I don’t walk on water – I don’t even know how to swim.  I don’t glow in the dark.  I don’t levitate – though I’d love to be light enough.  I am far from perfect, if you need examples merely ask my longsuffering wife.  And I am not a holy man.  So don’t expect more of me that there is to give.  What I have to give, however, you have.  I will love you with a pastor’s heart, I will laugh and cry with you; work and pray with you; and I promise you I will serve you as the Lord’s free people with all that I have within me.  I promise you that before God and as your fellow follower of Christ.

We are building upon a firm foundation.  I pray God that in the years ahead we will continue building a house of faith where many will know the depth of God’s love and the expansiveness of God’s freedom.