LAKEWOOD UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
2601 54th Avenue South St. Petersburg, FL 33712
On land originally inhabited by the Tocabaga
727-867-7961
lakewooducc.org
lakewooducc@gmail.com
Date: March 30, 2025
Scripture Lesson: Luke 6:46-49
Sermon: Connections: Grounded
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells
Why do you call out, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi,’ but don’t put into practice what I teach you? Those who come to me and hear my words and put them into practice — I’ll show you who they’re like: they are like the person who, in building a house, dug deeply and laid the foundation on a rock. When a flood arose, the torrent rushed against the house, but failed to shake it because of its solid foundation. On the other hand, anyone who has heard my words, but has not put them in to practice, is like the person who built a house on sand, without any foundation. When the torrent rushed upon it, the house immediately collapsed and was completely destroyed.”
There is a series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith, of Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency fame, that takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the 44 Scotland Street series. In the book The Importance of Being Seven, one of the characters is in the process of buying a new flat; Scot’s speak for apartment. Matthew has married Elspeth and they are expecting triplets and they decide to buy a bigger apartment on the ground floor instead of their current third floor walk up. After having his offer accepted on a large apartment in the chic complex, Moray Place, Matthew must have the dwelling assessed by a surveyor. The person who turns up to do the job is someone Matthew knows and does not like. Here’s how the inspection goes.
Matthew and Bruce meet outside the building. They greet each other. And then:
“Let’s go in,” said Bruce. “Let’s go in and see what’s wrong.” . . . “Let’s ` take a look at this place.”. . . “Let’s go through here. . . . Hold on, hold on.”
Matthew watched as Bruce looked up at the ceiling.
“Odd space,” said Bruce. “Usually you find . . .”
“I think they did some alterations,” said Matthew. “The lawyer said something about not having had permission. I thought that it wouldn’t matter too much as we weren’t planning to sell it again in the short term.”
Bruce frowned. “Hold on. . . Look, you see up there? There? Yes. That’s where a wall used to join the roof. That’s what they took away. And it went all the way to where that Chinese thingy is — that cabinet.”
Bruce pointed to the far side of the room where a large Chinese display cabinet reached all the way up from floor to ceiling.
“Yes,” said Matthew.
Bruce turned to look at him. He lowered his voice. “That wall, Matthew, was a supporting wall. You see — look up there. You see that bulge in the ceiling? That’s your proof.”
“A supporting wall?”
“Yes,” said Bruce. “And you know what a supporting wall does? It supports. And you know what happens when you take away a supporting wall? You have no support.”
“But if that were the case,” said Matthew, “then wouldn’t the ceiling have come down?” Bruce nodded. “It should have. But you see that cabinet over there? That, I think is holding up the ceiling. Move that and the whole thing comes down.”
Matthew stared at Bruce in horror.
“And here’s something else,” said Bruce. “If the ceiling comes down, then that could bring down the ceiling above it, and so on — all the way to the top flat and the roof. And if that happened, then the flats next door could lose vital support and come down as well. So the whole of Moray Place could fall over like a house of cards.”
“Oh,” said Matthew.
“So the fact of the matter,” Bruce said, relishing his newly found Jeremiah role, “the fact of the matter is that all of Moray Place is probably being supported by one Chinese cabinet. Quite a thought, that!”
“So what do we do?” asked Matthew.
Bruce smiled. ”Don’t move the Chinese cabinet.”
[Alexander McCall Smith, The Importance of Being Seven, large print, pp. 363, 365-367.]
Ah, an unstable situation caused by the bad judgment of people choosing expedience and expense over wisdom. We know about that. And they did in Jesus’ day as well.
Jesus saw this again and again. The teaching we heard this morning comes at the end of the Sermon on the Plain in Luke. Jesus has offered his most important teachings. Laid them out. Given a direct account of the Word and ways of God. Shared with people the basics for a good life. For a community that is intended to thrive and flourish. And his followers are still chasing after him, pleading, Rabbi, Rabbi! Like, what do we do? Like, we’re having trouble. Like, we need your help. Like, the sky is falling.
We know this reality. We, too, have been given all we need to live lives of purpose, meaning, peace, and compassion. And yet, look at the state of things in our country and our world.
If there is anyone that can relate to the image used in the gospel of a house built on the sand versus a house built on the rock, it is we the people of Florida. We live in a state that is essentially a sandbar atop porous limestone. Not a very firm foundation for building. In Luke, there is reference to the threat of flood waters. We KNOW about that. In Matthew, the same image includes mention of not only flooding but wind and rain as well. Oh, yes. This teaching was meant for Floridians. We know the risks of unstable building practices. What about Surfside in Miami? And we know the perilous power of wind, and rain, and floods. We know how things can be washed away in a storm. Our homes. Our belongings. Our dreams?
And we know first hand how rights can be washed away in a political storm. And how healthcare can be swept away. And how sound educational practices and books can be whisked away in a bluster of fear.
We see in our state, our country, and the world, the sweeping power of greed for money. We see the damage caused by greed for power. We see the devastation wrought by lies. Our happiness ranking is falling in the world. We who are promised life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in our Constitution. We see division and discord each day. We know that things are not right. And lives are at stake.
And there are still people, in this very state, after all of the weather cataclysms recently and the billions of dollars in damages, who say, it was a one hundred year anomaly. That will never happen again. Ah, no. It’s actually human induced climate change. And if you think pursuing sustainability is expensive and inconvenient, look at the bills for the storms, floods, and fires. There is NO comparison. There is only intractability. And blindness. And greed. We are not standing on solid ground. We are not building a future on solid ground. Our cities and communities along the coast of Florida are like sandcastles on the beach. And we just keep building more. If only it were as easy as – Don’t move the Chinese cabinet. It’s all falling down. Around us. Literally. Add to climate destruction the devastation to society and culture.
We can well image those followers of Jesus, pleading, Rabbi, Rabbi. Save us! Help us! It’s all going down. And what does he say? I have saved you. I have helped you. I have given you all the teachings you need to thrive. The Sermon on the Plain, like the Sermon on the Mount, basically says it all. Who is your model? Jesus. Follow him. Emulate him. Tend to your own faults before worrying about the faults of others. Have a good heart. A good heart bears good fruit. Bless the poor. Warn the rich. Love your enemies. Love generously. Be nonjudgmental with others. There is no place for smug superiority. Dig deeply. Lay the foundation of your life in the word of God, the teachings of Love.
You see, it has been all laid out for us. We have been told all that we need to know to build our lives on a stable foundation. A foundation that nothing can shake. All it takes is hearing Jesus’ words and PUTTING THEM INTO PRACTICE.
The putting them into practice part must be the challenge because there are numerous places in the writings of the New Testament where there is an emphasis on doing not just hearing Jesus’ teachings. So, already, the people who actually heard the first century Jesus were struggling with this. Jesus is aware of the inherent nature of humanity, and still we are called into relationship with God. Maybe because of our inherent nature, Jesus makes the plea to us to listen to and follow the word of God.
Here is a story of someone who did choose to follow the word of God; the teachings of Jesus:
During World War II a German widow hid Jewish refugees in her home. As her friends discovered the situation, they became extremely alarmed.
“You are risking your own well-being,” they told her.
“I know that,” she said.
“Then why,” they demanded, “do you persist in this foolishness?”
Her answer was stark and to the point: “I am doing it,” she said, “because the time is now and I am here.”
[This story is in 25 Windows into the Soul: Praying with the Psalms, from the writings of Joan Chittister, p. 338.]
It is not always easy to follow Jesus. It can require boldness and courage. Yes, times are challenging for us, and we know the teachings of Jesus. So, we can take encouragement from the wisdom of the 16th century saint, Ignatius of Loyola, who said, “In times of desolation you should never make a change, but stand firm in the resolutions and decisions that guided you the day before the desolation.” Our deep foundation, laid upon the rock of the word of God spoken through Jesus will see us through. We are facing so many challenges and desolations today. Yes, we have been given all that we need to be agents of good, of love, of compassion, of justice. We have been given all that we need to create a society with engaging education, a fair and just economy, a culture of compassion, with thriving arts and recreation, and readily available healthcare for all. And, we have been given all that we need to tend to the health of our dear mother, Earth.
Our spiritual teachings tell us to have reverence for all life. We are told of the earth as a precious gift given to us that we must cherish and care for so that it can continue to sustain us. We have been given the knowledge to stop global warming with its increasing storms, rains, winds, and fires. We know what we need to know. It has all been given to us. Including the wisdom to see what the consequences are of ignoring the teachings we have been given. The basis of the word of God is reverence for God, creation, and each other. All sacred. Let us not be afraid to dig deep. To build on the rock of the gospel of Jesus. To live grounded in the ways of Divine Love. Amen.
A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.
Lakewood United Church of Christ 