Matthew 7,24-29
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Are you Christian? Who of you all can answer: „Yes, I am“? Who would say: “No”? And who is uncertain, whose answer is: “Maybe, but I’m not really sure”?
Maybe – perhaps maybe is the human way to answer this question. You are not fixed, you leave all possibilities open. And so far, as human beings we are all not perfect, there are a lot of errors in our minds, why not in the knowledge of our Christian status? But this is a lukewarm point of view. Really interesting are the Yes or No answers. Everyone who fixes himself to one of these positions has an idea or perhaps a persuasion what it REALLY means to be Christian. Up to last Friday, I thought my answer would be clearly “Yes, of course I’m Christian!” I’m baptized. So, baptism isn’t the one and only Christian feature, but it’s a strong one. Baptism brings us in a visible relation to God. But it was not my own decision. My parents decided about my baptism. After being baptized, my life could have been driven into a completely wrong direction. Hitler and Stalin, the worst mass murderers in the last century, had been baptized.
So far, Christianity is not a state of life you can never loose, it will stay the same for the rest of your life, no matter, what you will do.
Okay, I didn’t stop with my baptism. I visited a confirmation class. I said “Yes” to my baptism on my own. But in my small home village, there was not really a choice. If I refused visiting the confirmation class, my grandmothers, parents and myself, we would all have turned outsiders in social life. And it was not only my faith, but the joy of having a party and getting gifts from others which made me visiting the class.
In spite of that, up to last Friday without any doubt I certainly would have answered: “Yes, I’m Christian. I believe in God, I believe, Jesus will guide me to a good life. I know a lot about the bible, I believe that the Prophets, the Apostles and all biblical scriptures are telling the truth about God, Jesus and mankind. And as a pastor, I spread this truth I try to convince others that Christian faith is a good attitude for the whole life and very helpful and I try to open ways to faith to people who are far from God. I’m Christian.”
But last Friday while preparing this preaches, I started to become doubtful. When I read the words first, I thought: “How boring, you are very familiar with it. The one who builds his house on the rock is the one who trusts in Jesus and he will stand all storms in his life. And the one who trusts in himself or in money or in some material goods will certainly not stand the storms. so far, so boring.
But after this I had a second look on this story. and I recognized: Oh, it’s a story about myself! It’s not sure that you are the one who builds his house on rocks!” It’s not sure because Jesus doesn’t say: “The man who hears God’s word is the man who builds on rocks” or “who believes in me builds his house on rocks”. No, these are not His words. His words are: “everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock, … everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man” . It’s the end of the Sermon on the Mount. These words are in a close relation to the whole sermon. To build a solid house, a lasting life, needs both: hearing His words and putting them into practice. Faith and action.
And if I try to relate my life to the whole Sermon on the Mount, I’m not sure if I hear AND do the words or if I only hear them.
The Sermon starts very smooth. Blessed are all with needing or sufferings. Okay, no problem to me. God will bring justice to all who are suffering. But after this it starts to become more severe to me. It’s not enough to love your neighbor; it’s your task to love your enemy. If one asks you for something, it’s your task to give him much more than he is asking for; Don’t care about any material goods, not even about clothing and eating, care puts you away from God. Not only divorce is a problem, but if another woman is in your mind, even without any physical relation, you commit adultery. Money brings you away from God. It’s all said in the Sermon on the Mount. and if I look to myself and other people, even Christians, around me, a lot of things get into my mind which make me ask if I am really Christian. For example, I like making plans and I cannot stop worrying about the future and live without any caring sorrows like the birds or the flowers. If people ring my doorbell and ask for money, I surely will not give them more as they ask for. I don’t have enemies who will take my life, but there are people who hardly get my respect, but not my love.
Maybe there are other people, close to perfect in their efforts to stop hunger or injustice or to solve other great problems, but it might be they are not true to their wives or husbands. Or there might be others, great in loving their enemies, but as businessmen closely related to money and economical success.
Again: Who is Christian? No one? Each baptized, because everyone fails sometimes? Or are true Christians a kind of a SWAT team, only very few with specially trained abilities and all others are no longer worth to be called Christians? Are those right, whose answer is neither yes nor no, but perhaps? But Jesus says in his Sermon on the Mount that Yes or No should be the answer.
After all, my personal answer is: Yes. I’m Christian! And I want to encourage everyone to answer in the same way, despite all uncertainties. My courage answering this way is enforced by the parable itself. If you start building your home, you’ll never come to an end. There’s always something to fix, to renew, to tear down, to rebuild. If I’m not willing to work and improve each day, the house will take damage. Life, especially Christian life, is unfinished in the same way. A faith is no property to get into it and sit back and relax, thinking it’s done for all times. Faith is a home, but an ever-changing one. A home in need for permanent rebuilding, life, reflection. Faith is dynamic, not static. It’s always my task to work in becoming Christian when I want to stay Christian, not only as member of a confirmation class or as person to be baptized, but as pastor, as elder, as co-worker too.
Another question is about the foundation, the base. No one sees normally under the house. You recognize the building, but not the foundation. If the foundation is stable, if it’s able to stand storms, earthquakes and danger, I might misjudge it. Only the Lord knows everything about the foundation. Mine and the other’s foundation. It’s not my job to judge about the foundation of others, to tell others, they might be not Christian. That’s the Lord’s job. I have to care about my foundation. And I think, mine isn’t always very stable. I don’t know if the house of my life, of my faith will stand all challenges.
Nevertheless: the more I think about it, the more I’m empowered to feel, to say: I’m Christian! I’m Christian, knowing that my way has dead-end-streets, detours and rocky roads. But I can accept it, I’m invited to turn from wrong ways. Why? Because Jesus builds His church, the community of men trusting in Him, on St Peter, the rock. It is said shortly after our verses. He, St Peter, of all the people! He, who is not always calm, who denies his relation to Jesus, he, who wants to put the children back from Jesus. And Jesus encourages St Paul to follow him. He, who wanted to kill Christians, who is not always a hero. Jesus encourages imperfect people. Men became guilty, men become guilty, also in faith. Men don’t know the whole truth. But our foundation, on which we can build our life’s house is His forgiving love. The love to the guilty. This loves gives the chance to change and restart your life. I guess, this is the point, the meaning of putting the Lord’s words into practice. You should not be afraid in making mistakes, your guilt shouldn’t tear you down, but the love of Jesus should encourage you to do better in the future, to practice on faith’s foundation and not to hold your faith only in your mind. His love encourages me to live, to confess, to work because I know: despite all my mistakes and imperfection, I’m His beloved child.
Amen.
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