laying the foundation

Firm Foundations

Posted on by Betsy

Since 2020, more than 31 ocean front houses have fallen into the Atlantic Ocean in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore area in North Carolina. These beautiful beach cottages had stood in place for decades, built when the coastline was many blocks away and the strong dunes covered in protective woven sea grasses and oats blocked the water from eroding the shoreline. But time and tide slowly encroached and one by one, each stilted house fell off its water-worn pilings and drifted away into the ocean. Coastal erosion, shifting barrier island sand, and rapid sea-level rise all contributed to the problem. The scenes were tragic, as Outer Bankers scrambled to save their neighbors’ homes with sand bag upon sand bag, and then attempted to save their neighbors’ possessions by carrying pictures, lamps, and scrapbooks down rickety ladders that were perched under the windows of the walls of the house. 

Jesus’ words in in Luke 6:48-49 warn of the devastation that can happen when the foundation of our faith is weak and unstable, unable to withstand the floodwaters of our secular society because we didn’t heed his words and put them into practice.

Luke 6 (Common English Bible)

46 “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’ and don’t do what I say? 47 I’ll show what it’s like when someone comes to me, hears my words, and puts them into practice. 48 It’s like a person building a house by digging deep and laying the foundation on bedrock. When the flood came, the rising water smashed against that house, but the water couldn’t shake the house because it was well built. 49 But those who don’t put into practice what they hear are like a person who built a house without a foundation. The floodwater smashed against it and it collapsed instantly. It was completely destroyed.”

Jesus is blunt in his statement: Why do you call me Lord and then don’t do what I say? Why, indeed! His story about the two houses and what actually lay beneath each one is striking. From the outside, these houses looked alike. But one was built on a firm foundation of bedrock that had been dug deep. We have to pause there to realize that firm foundations come with hard work. Digging all the way to bedrock was no easy task. But the payoff was huge; when the floodwaters came, the house stood unshaken because it was well built.

Woe unto the man who built his house right on the sand without a foundation! It easily collapsed and was completely destroyed in the storm.

So it is with us. When we build our lives upon the firm foundation that is Jesus Christ, we can weather all the storms that come our way. Tragedy, illness, sudden death, betrayal, loss, divorce, addiction … every threatening situation is better withstood when we have our lives firmly planted on Jesus’ shoulders. When we build that same life on the whims and promises of a shallow, groundless secular world, all will be lost with the first breath of an impending gale. If we spend our lives pursuing the temporary pleasures of wealth, attraction, power, status, and greed, we have squandered our time and energy on things that can’t possibly last. The real foundation of life is usually hidden and can only be proven in a storm. By then it is too late if your foundation is weak.

What are you building your life on? Jesus is clear here; doing what he commands is our only sure foundation. We discover this by taking verse 47 seriously: “I’ll show what it’s like when someone comes to me, hears my words, and puts them into practice.”

Come.

Hear.

Do.

May we hit a bedrock of faith as we dig deeper into the life-giving teachings of our Lord.

Take Shelter by Michelle Robertson

New Foundations

Posted on by Betsy

     Many of us grew up thinking that certain things would always be the same. Summertime baseball, Grandmother’s homemade biscuits, going away to college, attending church every Sunday, and the nightly news brought to you by a serious anchorman in a suit were all things that we thought would last forever.  Pretty much all of that has changed. Baseball lasts until November, biscuits are easier to pick up from a drive-thru, college can be done entirely online, the “news” … well, what serves as “news” today is all over the place. And then there was that terrible thing called a global pandemic shut everything down, including Sunday worship.

     Do you remember how it felt to be away from your sanctuary for months? As a pastor, I felt as though I was in a really bad Twilight Zone episode. Nothing in life or in seminary prepared me for leading a church in a global pandemic. The disruption that shutting down in-person events brought has left many of us with some post-trauma stress. Let’s not even talk about schools being closed for months.

     But then there came that wonderful Sunday when we could regather in our buildings and worship together. What joy filled our hearts, even with masks and social distancing! To be gathered in our familiar church was a tremendous relief and blessing. Some of us wept over the changes, but we were home.

     As we read Ezra today, we can truly relate to the Israelites’ joy and sorrow as they laid the foundation of the new temple. Some had worshipped in the old temple, which was destroyed by the Babylonians many years before. As the rebuilding began in earnest, the older generation wept with the memories of Solomon’s grandiose glory days when an elaborate temple existed. But the new generation, having no burden of memory or expectation, shouted with joy to see the return of a permanent place of worship after such a long absence.

Some looked forward while others looked back.

Ezra 3:8-13 (Common English Bible)

8 In the second month of the second year after their arrival at God’s house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel, Shealtiel’s son, and Jeshua, Jozadak’s son, and the rest of their kin—the priests and the Levites and all who had come from the captivity to Jerusalem—made a beginning. They appointed Levites 20 years old and above to oversee the work on the Lord’s house. 9 Then Jeshua with his sons and his kin, Kadmiel and his sons, Binnui and his sons, the sons of Judah, along with the sons of Henadad, the Levites, and their sons and kin, collaborated to supervise the workers in God’s house.

10 When the builders laid the foundation of the Lord’s temple, the priests clothed in their vests and carrying their trumpets, and the Levites the sons of Asaph with cymbals, arose to praise the Lord according to the directions of Israel’s King David. 11 They praised and gave thanks to the Lord, singing responsively, “He is good, his graciousness for Israel lasts forever.”

All of the people shouted with praise to the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s house had been laid. 12 But many of the older priests and Levites and heads of families, who had seen the first house, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this house, although many others shouted loudly with joy. 13 No one could distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping, because the people rejoiced very loudly. The sound was heard at a great distance.

     We are invited to look forward. In those moments of remembering the good ole days it is good to remember that not everything was so good. Nostalgia can haze our thoughts, but God has promised us a future with hope that is a guarantee of joy that helps us look forward. (see Jeremiah 29:11)

     One thing we learned in the pandemic is that worship cannot be restricted to a building. We worshipped at a baseball field, the beach, the front lawn of the church, and even a graveyard on Easter. Ephesians 2:20 reminds us that we are built on a foundation of the patriarchs with Christ himself as our cornerstone. Our foundation is set and stable.

May we shout for joy!

Looking Ahead by Michelle Robertson