A
House To Build
Sermon preached by the Reverend Patricia Farris
May 29, 2005
Scripture:
Matthew 7:24-29
In
these short verses which come right at the very end of Jesus’
long Sermon on the Mount, we hear that the crowds were astounded at
his teaching for he taught them as one having authority. What was
that about, that authority? Jesus surely had no titles, no degrees,
no honors, no stellar resume, no outward recognition or worldly status.
Jesus would have had trouble at that point applying to college and
being accepted or getting hired for a job. Yet, Scripture tells us,
large crowds were coming out to hear him and were astonished at his
teaching. What was it about him, about the way he spoke to them, the
way he acted with them, the way he lived with them . . . what was
it that conveyed authority?
Now
we know from our own experience that not everyone with a title, a
shingle on the wall, a position of prestige, is perceived as speaking
with authority. Some may be given credence because of the role they
play or the position they hold but not many, maybe just few, are persons
whom we perceive as speaking with authority. We can probably count
and name in our hearts those persons who have touched our own lives
and made an impact on us because of the real, authentic authority
with which they lived and spoke: a teacher, a parent, a pastor, a
leader, a boss or co-worker, a friend or a spouse. You know it when
you see it.
In
the New Testament, the Greek word we translate as “authority”
appears in many verses. In other place in Matthew: “But that
you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive
sins, he said to the paralytic: Rise, take up your bed and go home.”
Or in Acts, in this verse we heard just a couple weeks ago: “You
will receive power (same word for authority) when the Holy Spirit
comes upon you and you will bear witness to me to the ends of the
earth.”
The
Greek word used in all these verses is not describing the kind of
power we find in most organizations, in the military for example.
It is not top down. It is not imposed on others down the chain of
command. The authority of the Gospel is very different. It comes from
within, from the core of the person. It is a power or authority which
flows from the inside out. It is grounded not in our status or role
but in the center of our being, in who we are. Gospel authority is
power rooted in the deepest authenticity of the person.
(continued...)
"A
House To Build" Sermon by Rev. Patricia Farris, May 29,
2005
Jesus
clearly lived and taught from a deep place of inner authority and power
that was instantly recognized by those who knew him and heard him teach
and preach.
It
came at his baptism and through his testing in the wilderness. The Spirit
of the Lord came upon him and he saw that his power and his authority
were to be used to advance the God’s kingdom. “The Spirit
of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good
news to the poor, release to the captives, recovering of sight to the
blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed and to proclaim the
acceptable year of the Lord.”
Jesus
knew that the authority God gave to him was for a purpose and he set
out to do just that. He sought to be the bearer, the embodiment of God’s
good news. He emptied himself of his own unique power in order to empower
the weak and the marginalized and to bring healing and wholeness to
us sinners and to this broken world. Through his living, his teaching,
his doing, his being, his dying, his rising, Jesus taught as one with
authority.
Jesus
is our model for true authority, that power from within that Scripture
tells us is poured out on us by the Holy Spirit, that our very lives
might give witness to what we know and believe in Christ Jesus. This
is authority which, first and last, is of God and is grounded in the
authority of the Creator. It is power that is connected to the very
Source of Life and points to something beyond itself, to God. It is
authority which is marked by authenticity, integrity, consistency and
passion. It is authority which is compassionate, forgiving, healing,
vulnerable, serving and saving. It is power which is interdependent
and shared for the common good, not authority over others, but power
with and within so that all might stand.
Our
publications editor, Rachel Rogers Berry, and I made a little visual
joke on the front of your OOW today. You see a rendition of our beautiful
steeple, the image that symbolizes for so many the very enduring presence
of this church and all we stand for in the midst of this community.
Then you read that teaching of Jesus, that teaching that he gave with
authority. He said: “The rain fell, the floods came and the winds
blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been
founded on rock.” But we know that even our majestic steeple is
vulnerable, is it not? Nothing in Santa Monica is built on rock. We
are vulnerable to rain and to mudslides and to earthquakes.
We
have done the best we can, in building this magnificent sanctuary, the
best architects and engineers can devise, to make it sound, and in case
of earthquake, this sanctuary is actually a very safe place to be! But
the teaching of Jesus reminds us today that the only real authority
this church has comes not from its buildings but from within. The authority
of this congregation to witness in our community must be deeply and
firmly grounded in the love and the power of God in the lives of God’s
people. “How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid
for your faith in his excellent word!…Fear not, I am with thee,
O be not dismayed, for I am thy God and will still give thee aid; I’ll
strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand upheld by my righteous,
omnipotent hand.”
(continued...)
"A
House To Build" Sermon by Rev. Patricia Farris, May 29,
2005
This is the source of our power, our authority from within, as individual
Christians and as a church. It is authority marked by authenticity,
integrity, consistency and passion. It is authority that is compassionate,
forgiving, healing, vulnerable, serving and saving. It is power that
is interdependent and shared for the common good, not authority over
others, but power with and within so that all might stand.
How
will this kind of authority, this power from within, shape us and
form us and direct us? We look to Jesus to see. This authority, bestowed
upon us by the Holy Spirit that we might witness to the truth of God,
will take us into self-giving service. It will cause us to give our
best, and not just the bits left over. It will energize us to teach
that which we have found to be true in our faith. It will necessitate
that we stand for and with those who have been marginalized and abandoned
by the side of the road or at the door of the church. It will propel
us to care so deeply for one another that our own needs will get all
bound up in their well-being. This power from within will drive us
to prayer, again and again and again and again, to draw from the wellsprings
of faith.
How
firm a foundation! People of God the Holy Spirit has poured out on
you power to witness to the truth of God in Christ Jesus. Now come
and draw strength from this holy meal and go forth as those with Gospel
authority.
Amen.
© Patricia Farris, 2005. Permission is given for brief quotation
with attribution. All other rights reserved.
|
