Grace, mercy, and peace to you from
God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text for this morning’s sermon is the Epistle text, read a few
moments ago.
The
summer of 2007 I helped my pastor, a contractor by trade, build a house. I distinctly remember how fussy he was when
laying the footings and pouring the foundation.
Everything had to be perfectly level, perfectly straight, perfectly
square. It makes sense, if the
foundation is crooked, the whole house will be too. If the foundation isn’t level, the house will
tilt.
In
today’s Epistle text, Paul speaks of building a foundation – a foundation of
faith. “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master
builder (literally architect) I laid
a foundation…”
The church in Corinth had a lot of
problems. There were divisions, sexual
immorality, lawsuits, abuse of the Lord’s Supper, they neglected the poor and
widows, you name it and it was going on in Corinth.
Yet, Paul, as the wise architect, came to this troubled church in order
to build a foundation. And what is that
foundation? “I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified,” as we heard Paul proclaim a couple of weeks ago.
Jesus is the sure
foundation on which the Church is built.
It’s what the Corinthians needed to hear, it’s what we need to
hear. So, Paul comes preaching the Law
in love and he preached the Gospel as a master architect and builds a
foundation which is the God-Man Jesus and His cross.
It
seems silly doesn’t it? A whole religion
based upon a crucified man. To the
world, it’s foolishness, a foundation crooked and out of square; a foundation
that certainly wouldn’t stand the test of time.
Who would center an entire religion around a God who is so weak that He
can even be crucified and die?
At
the seminary, as part of a class, several of us went to Chicago to visit a Muslim mosque, a Buddhist
temple, and a Hindu temple. Before we
were shown around the Hindu temple, our tour guide, who obviously knew nothing
about Christianity, was explaining to us the tenants of his Hindu faith. As we engaged him in conversation, we
proclaimed the Gospel to him. His
response? He laughed openly and slapping
his knee he said, “Your God died? That’s
very funny!”
Our
foundation isn’t pretty or gorgeous but gruesome and grotesque. It’s not something that anyone would think of
as the sturdy foundation of faith. But
as Paul writes, “If anyone thinks that
he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with
God.”
It seems foolish
that salvation is through the cross of Jesus.
It seems foolish that we splash some water on a little girl and rejoice
that through this water combined withGod’s Word He has saved her, claimed her
as His own dear child – that through baptism Daphnie has been given the gift of
the Holy Spirit who has given her faith.
But that’s how the strength of God is made manifest – under the weakness
of the cross; under the ordinary things of this world like words, water, bread,
and wine. Yet, through these things that
seem a foolish, weak, and simple God builds
His Church and He sustains His Church – through schisms rent asunder by
heresies distressed.
The
Church, with all its divisions and problems, is the temple built on the
foundation of Jesus Christ and Him crucified, held together by the His Word,
cleansed in Baptism, and refreshed in the Lord’s Supper. Similar to the Church in Corinth, the Church on earth has her warts
because the Church is comprised of sinful people. That seems foolish, doesn’t it – that the
Church isn’t full of holy people but sinners?
But that’s why the Church exists, not for the righteous, but for sinners
seeking salvation.
Yet, Jesus went to
the cross so that we would be made His people, His building, His temple. Redeemed, washed, and holy in the tide of His
blood. You’re a holy people, built out
of the precious material of Jesus’ blood, built out of the enduring nails that
were hammered through Jesus’ hands and feet.
Just as the
dangerous task of constructing an enormous building will, at times, take
someone’s life; so too, does constructing you to be a temple of God
require a life. It’s not an easy
work. Rather, it’s a difficult task, one
that requires much labor, much heartache, much frustration and a task that
absolutely requires blood - the blood of Christ - shed on the cross for
you. This is a foundation on which we
build. This is the object of our faith –
the crucified and risen Jesus.
God
builds His sturdy foundation of His Church on that which seems foolish to the
eyes of the world. But, we cling
tenaciously to the cross so that we can become wise to salvation through
Christ, for He is your salvation.
Through His nail-pierced hands and feet, His suffering and death, He has
granted to you His eternal Kingdom.
My
pastor was fussy about the foundation that summer when we
build that house. So are we. We keep the cross as the center of everything
we believe, teach, and confess. He is
your salvation, this man on the cross is bearing your sin and mine. He’s the firm foundation upon which our faith
is built, so if we lose Jesus Christ and Him crucified for sinners, we lose
everything.
It’s
foolish to the world, but it’s the wisdom of God to redeem sinners. Let us go forth with these words on our lips,
“The Lord has laid the foundation in my baptism which has granted me all the
gifts of the cross. He has made me His
own dear child and continues to grant me His forgiveness each and every day. Let the world and the devil scoff and blow
like a hurricane, for my faith which is anchored in the death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ for my salvation, won’t be moved. My foundation is sure. My eternal life secure in Him who died and
was raised again for me.” Amen.
The
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.
Amen.
