Bethlehem Lutheran Church

Sermon series: Heaven on Earth

2011-08-28.mp3

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Text: Matthew 16:21-28

As many of you know, I loved the year I spent living in Jerusalem. Because I like history, one of the favorite things I liked to do with visitors who came to the city was to walk around and show them the many layers of stones built on top of each other. At certain points, there are sections of the walls that have been excavated all the way down to the enormous, beveled foundation stones which are from the time of Herod. On top of them are later additions from each period including the Umayyad, Crusader, Mamluk and Turkish periods. Often we would climb on top of the walls—the walls that used to serve as protection from enemies--and while we were on top of the wall we could look around at the many buildings packed in the Old City. Most prominently on the skyline, you can see the places of worship including the most holy sites: the Wailing Wall, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque. Each time I pointed out each of those sites, I was always struck with a strange mixture of awe and sadness.

You see, each place of worship commemorates a time when God’s people felt God’s presence moving and speaking to them. Each site is the place from which layers upon layers of tradition and teaching arose telling followers that God was present, God was among them and God cared for God’s people. Somewhere along the way, however, each of these sites became a place of division and a flashpoint for disagreement. The place which once communicated God’s faithful love after God’s people were in exile, the place which once communicated God’s faithful love even in the face of death, and the place which once communicated God’s faithful love which unites all peoples—all three places are now the human battle grounds for power and control. The places, themselves, are now the things to be worshipped instead of being the signs that point us to God who is to be worshipped. In other words, the structures made with these old stones have now become stumbling blocks to true faith.

We see a similar transition when Peter becomes the stumbling block in Matthew chapter 16. The first part of the gospel was read last week. In it, Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” No one responds except Peter who says, “You are the Messiah the Son of the living God.” Peter gives this correct confessional statement and then Jesus says that Peter, namely his confession, is the foundation and the rock upon which the church will be built. (And as Pastor Mary reminded us last week,  Jesus did not mean the kind of church built with stones, but with people making that same confession.)

Soon after, in our gospel reading for today, and while Peter is still bathing in the glow of Jesus’ affirmation, Jesus begins to tell the disciples what will happen to him. He tells them that he will suffer, be killed and on the third day be raised. You can almost see Peter’s face turn from the glow of pride to the astonishment of “Huh? What are you talking about, Jesus?” That’s not how this is supposed to turn out.  Peter has visions of having a nice plot of land, perhaps, getting a new house with a lot of grape vines, and living what he has been taught is the good life. “What’s all this about suffering and dying and losing one’s life?” he must have thought. Of course, what’s really behind Peter’s remark is a very human way of thinking about kingdoms. Peter wants the power and prestige that go along with what he has associated with kingdom and reign. But Jesus came to bring about a very different kind of kingdom—the kingdom of God.  And Jesus knows where Peter’s mind is going and calls him “Satan” of all things. OK, so he misunderstood, but that’s pretty harsh don’t you think? Calling him “Satan”? Where did that come from?

Well, it could have something to do with Jesus being tempted in the wilderness by Satan earlier on. We read about Jesus being tempted in chapter 4. Satan tempts Jesus with just about everything: food, power, and wealth. And Jesus expects this of Satan because he is…..well, he is Satan. But to have the disciple, the one on whose confession he wants to build his church, his “petros” which means rock—to have HIM tempting him to stray from his mission, from God’s mission? Well, perhaps Jesus was just a bit exhausted at that point…..or perhaps Jesus knew just how subtle and how tricky Satan can be.

Peter, the foundational rock--just when things were going well--becomes Peter the stumbling stone—the one trying to trip up and tempt Jesus from doing God’s mission. There have been countless times in religious history where the thing that God does to communicate new life to God’s people becomes the very thing that is worshipped, that causes divisions and that keeps people from following God.
One example is the Law about the Sabbath. The Sabbath which was given to us to renew us and refresh us became a strictly binding law during the time of Jesus. Instead of giving life, it functioned like a straitjacket limiting how one could heal and love their neighbor on the Sabbath. Jesus’ response to the Pharisees in the Bible was that the Sabbath was made for humans and that humans were not made for the Sabbath. And oh, by the way, the Son of Man is the lord of the Sabbath…..
Another more current example can be seen in worship liturgy. This has often become a battle ground for churches. People of faith want worship that is meaningful and relevant to their lives and so there have been changes made to the liturgy and wording from time to time. I can still remember when I was young and our church made the change from using the red hymnal to the green hymnal. It was a really big deal…..The red hymnal had communicated God’s grace and love in worship for a generation, so it was very difficult to see that praise to God could happen with a different songbook...That is until everyone began to realize that the hymnal was not the thing we were worshipping and that it was not to be the stumbling block that would get in the way of worshipping God.

The church, that is, the people who are the church, have always been caught.  We have been caught in between holding on to that which once communicated God’s grace and love on the one hand and on the other, hearing how God continues to communicate God’s grace and love today. This is where we need to hear Peter’s confession again. He said, “You are the Messiah, Son of the living God”—the living God TODAY not just in the past.  Many Christians living in Israel and Palestine understand this all too well. A cry I have heard over and over again from Christians living there is for tourists to come see the living stones (the people in ministry) instead of only the dead stones, the archaeological sites, of the past. They want visitors to come learn about what God is doing in their midst today and not just about what God did 2000 or more years ago. It is important for us to see the living stones and the living God in our midst today as well.

Those things which communicated God’s activity at one time in history can often become a stumbling block for the next generation…….but that is not always the case. One formative story in the history of Bethlehem is the story about Ed Langemo. Pastor Chris tells part of this story in the new member class, but there is another part I learned about recently. We all appreciate the stained glass windows in this building every Sunday. Perhaps we even take them for granted. But did you know that the funds for these windows were raised during some really tough economic times? And so the stained glass windows represented the sacrifice and united mission in, what was then, a brand new mission field on the outskirts of Minneapolis. These windows symbolized the faith in what God was boldly doing in this new place and in a new time. Later, there was much debate about where to install the organ because it would block the view to the eastern stained glass window--this sacred window that symbolized God’s activity in the church’s history. Ed Langemo, in particular, was one who was opposed the organ because it would block the view to the window. Soon it was time for the congregation to vote and the overwhelming decision was to install the organ so that it could lead the congregation in praising God in a new way and in a new time. Now disagreements like this one can often be a huge stumbling block for a church. Instead of mission, divisions begin and there is anger. And so much attention is put on the division that no one gets on with the original mission of the church or where God is calling them. That division did not happen here at Bethlehem. Ed Langemo, while disappointed at first, was the first one to come forward and write a huge check for the organ. The stained glass did not become the object of worship or cause him or this congregation to stumble and be distracted from God’s mission. We have continued to confess that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God—the living God today, here and now, inside and outside of these walls, with our words and with our actions.

Over the years, similar bold decisions have been made to follow where God was calling God’s people. In 1963, the congregation decided that “at least 15% of all monies raised for long range projects should be earmarked for Outreach.” That means that over 15% of every Capital Fund Drive since then—and there have been seven--has been earmarked for global and local mission. And this has gone toward the building of a children’s hostel in Brazil, funding a mission start congregation in Baxter, MN, starting a rock and roll congregation, funding Journey Homes transitional housing, building a church in Panruti India and the list goes on and on. 
We continue to follow our living God as we leave the stones that make up this building and as we are living stones in the mission fields of our daily lives. We know that our main mission has very little to do with this building, we know that the main reason we come here is to learn better how to share our lives and our hope with those who are not here. We come to worship so that we are filled up and so that we can share our hope and God’s love with others.

One way for you to confess that God is living among us today is to participate in the Living Creed experiment. This was mentioned in the sermon last week and it is written about in the August Beacon newsletter. The experiment involves each one of us making a public confession of faith outside of these walls. On September 10 we are encouraging you to make a cardboard sign with some kind of confession that God is living today. It can say something simple like “I believe” or “God’s love is for you” or be creative………. We will then stand in our neighborhoods or street corners and communicate our hope in a living God. Yes, this is a little scary. Then on September 11, this day that has come to have great significance in our country, we invite you to bring your sign to worship so that it might be blessed. In having the signs blessed we will ask that God might transform our signs and our confessions into a living faith that knows no barriers or boundaries.

Another way to confess that God is living among us today is by being God’s hands in the world. There are many service opportunities listed on the STAR cards—I invite you to take them out now--and there will be many more opportunities in the weeks ahead. The past two Sundays we have invited you to write different comments on the cards, but this week I am only asking you to check a box. There are many to choose from…… But then, if you don’t see something that interests you, go ahead and write down something else and put it in the offering plate. We are looking through your comments every week and we thank you for them. Someone will follow up with you soon.

We invite you to do these things because a living faith isn’t simply about getting the words right, as Peter found out.  Faith in a living God isn’t about protecting ourselves. We don’t come here to build up walls to protect us. Building walls between us and our neighbors is Satan’s work disguised in all too human form. We come here to set our mind on divine things—on things that matter to God and God’s mission in the world. We come here to learn about a very different kingdom—the kind of kingdom where the huge stones of our selfish desires are turned into tiny little pebbles.…and the kind of kingdom where our love for our neighbor and our hearts grows larger and larger.So , as you set your mind on the things that matter to God, the things that make you stumble will become less and less significant. As you set your mind on divine things, God’s activity around you will becomes more and more visible. 
And as you set your mind on our living God, you will begin to see that in every place and in every time,
God is present,
God is among us and
God cares for God’s people.
Thanks be to the living God. Amen.

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