Thursday of the First Week of Advent
Is 26: 1-6; Mt 7: 21, 24-27
Dc. Larry Brockman
Fragile! That’s what life and our plans in this world are- fragile. And yet most of the days of our lives are spent dealing with our goals and objectives based on optimizing our fragile earthly existence. Whether it be our health, our security, or our relationships, we need to make sure we don’t build these things on sand, but on rock. Because ultimately, we will pass away, these earthly things will pass away, and all our efforts can come to nothing.
We are in Advent, a time when we are called to reflect on the coming of Christ and what that means to us. This morning, we are concerned with the second coming of Christ when all of us will be judged on the basis of our lives. Jesus makes it clear, that we should build our houses, our lives as Christians if you will, on something solid, like rock, rather than on sand Because not all those who cry “Lord, Lord” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
Now there are those who claim that they believe, but they concern themselves with building a life based on the passing sand of today’s secular world. Given your status in life, whatever it is, which I liken to a building site, you can choose to settle into the life God gave you in a certain way, one that is built on sand; or alternately, one built on a foundation that will last into the Kingdom of God.
So then, what kind of foundation passes the test? Well, Isaiah says it clearly this morning. He says that those will be saved who are: “A nation that is just; one that keeps faith; and one with a firm purpose; trusting always in God.” These are the folks who will be welcomed into the Kingdom of God.
I think the Faith part of it is absolutely critical. We all not talking about the kind of faith that involves what we believe in as much as the kind of faith that says: “I trust in the Lord that he will be with me at all times and guide me at each moment to do the right thing.” And the right thing is what we feel in our hearts is right whenever we have a choice to make. That will be a course of action that is just in the eyes of God, a firm purpose that holds to the right thing, no matter what.
I don’t know how many of you have seen the new film Lincoln. But I think the message in the movie is a perfect example of what we are talking about in building our houses on rock vs sand. It was Lincoln’s task to deal with the issue of slavery at a critical time in our history. Lincoln understood that our nation had to be built on equality for all and despite the politics and pressures of the day, he held to that conviction through thick and thin. Lincoln pursued justice with firm resolve and passed the thirteenth amendment that freed us of slavery because he trusted always that God would be with him if he did the right thing.
Today’s world is full of sand. Our challenge is to find the rock on which we build our lives. The rock we seek is real faith and trust in God. If we build our lives on that then fragile as our human existence may be, when we pass on for judgment into the Heavenly Jerusalem, we will have survived the rain and floods and turmoil of life and will still be standing tall at the Last Judgment.