Sermon preached at St. Alban's, Spirit Lake, on June 1, 2008
(Third Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, BCP Lectionary)
by the Rev. Carl D. Mann

Texts:   Deuteronomy 11:18-21,26-28
Psalm 31
Romans 3:21-25a,28
Matthew 7:21-27

The words of the first part of the Psalm remind me of many rock climbing experiences in my life. One particular story came to mind in light of the Gospel.

When we were younger, several families from Church would plan a weekend camping trip over Labor Day Weekend. These were usually more fun for the kids than for the adults because we didn’t let things like lousy weather dampen our adventurous spirits.

One such weekend was at Palisades-Kepler State Park just east of Cedar Rapids, which was a Civilian Conservation Corps camp during the depression. Throughout the park are many buildings, bridges, and pillars built by the men living there from the natural stone found on site. Lining the Cedar River is a stretch of limestone bluffs, for which the park is named. These palisades provide amateur rock climbing and even a little spelunking to the local area.

Now being avid readers of Mark Twain, my brother and I had explored the bluffs enough to know the location of a few caves, caverns, and crevices, and how to get to them when necessary, especially in a hurry.

The weekend in question had my brother driving his car into the park exceeding the 20 mph speed limit, as we raced by the Park Ranger’s house. As our luck would have it, the ranger was coming out of his house at that moment and went to his truck to chase us down. Now not wanting to drive to the cabin where we were staying, and paying the price of our youthful indiscretion in front of our family and friends, we took the other fork in the road to the picnic area and left our car in the general parking lot, high-tailing it down the hill towards the bluffs. Our plan of escape involved climbing down the face of the bluff and hiding among the protection of the rocks.

Of course we were more agile than smart because we didn’t stop to consider that the Ranger could figure out who we were and where we were staying by tracing the license plate on the car, and there weren’t that many 1965 aqua blue Ford Galaxy 500’s in the parking lot from which to choose.

Anyway, we got to the bluffs before the Ranger could spot us, and we went down the face lickety-split knowing where each and every hand and toe-hold was in our memory, and made it to the safety of the cave in record time, never once considering the potential danger of one missed step or loose rock, which could have resulted in injury or death. Looking back, we thought we were secure in our rocky fortress but in reality we weren’t.

Security is usually accompanied by a sense of peace and true security is accompanied by a divine peace, a peace that passes all understanding that comes only when one is obedient to God. My brother and I thought we were safe because we believed we had outwitted the Ranger or that we were in a position to outmaneuver him because of our youthful prowess. But there was no peace because we knew that we were in the wrong. Sure there was suppressed laughter and bravado as we retraced the descent in our minds but we were far from at ease because we couldn’t be sure that we wouldn’t be caught in the very near future. It was a false security based on faulty thinking and bad decisions and before long we were wondering how we were going to get out of this predicament. Do we go to the cabins first or back to the car? Do we wait until dark to retrieve the car? Do we make a break for it and go back home to switch cars? We didn’t know what to do? In very short order what had begun as our strong tower of refuge had become a crumbling, comfortless prison of our own making. We had used the protection of the rocks for the wrong reasons.

The misuse of our knowledge of the rocks and the caves is similar to the person who says, Lord, Lord; we did many things in your name, but then are not allowed to enter into the kingdom of heaven. We knew in our heart what the right thing to do was but failed to do it, choosing to listen to the so-called wisdom of the world to guide our thoughts; which was ‘if it feels good do it’ or the general anti-establishment sentiment of the early ‘70’s. Our fundamental knowledge of the rocks kept us safe but when we arrived at our destination, reality set in we were clueless. By our actions we had chosen to separate ourselves from the goodness of the Lord and in turn he acted as if he knew us not. There was no peace. The solid rock around us was changing into shifting sand before our eyes. Instead of peace within our house, our house was breaking into pieces.

 During Lent and Easter, John’s Gospel emphasizes our belief in the Lord, and this is essential to our salvation. But Matthew’s Gospel wants to look at our life which is the result of such belief. For Matthew, it appears that actions speak louder than words, but don’t be confused. He is not saying that we can earn our salvation through works!

Let’s put it another way. For John we must believe in the living Word of God who is Jesus Christ. For Matthew, after we encounter the living Word of God, our lives will be transformed so that we can’t help but act correctly upon his words. Our actions will not speak louder than the Word but rather are the product of the Word.

By virtue of our baptisms, when we proclaim that Jesus is Lord, and believe it, the Holy Spirit dwelling within us will manifest its fruits through what we do. And we will be held accountable for how we live our lives after encountering the living Word. As Jesus has said, he came into the world the first time in order to save, but he will come again in order to judge us, the living and the dead, and how we have lived according to his word. And on the Last Day not all will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Now many of us don’t like to think about this. We say, "I can’t believe God wouldn’t do everything in His power to save everyone that He created.” The answer to that is that He already has. In fact, He has done more than we deserved. God loved us so much and wanted to save us so badly that he gave up His only Son, to die an ignoble death upon a cross in order that we might all have an opportunity to be reconciled to Him. And all we have to do is make a simple choice: choose to obey and be blessed or choose to disobey and be cursed. Making a choice seems easier than dying on a cross and yet they are the same because they require obedience to God, the Father

It’s not a whole lot different than rock climbing. Choosing a solid rock will sustain you but choosing a loose rock may cause you to fall. As we climb through this life, we are to examine each rock and be sure they are as strong and stable and not loose. The solid ones are the commandments of God of which we are to obey and rely upon, helping us to grow in strength and bringing us ever closer to our final destination. The loose rocks are the empty promises of the false prophets and teachers of our culture, upon which if we rest all our hopes without first assessing them will send us plummeting to our death.

It is my prayer that we all choose correctly, building our lives on the solid foundation, which is the Word of God and His commandments, so that when the tempests and floods of life assail us, including those of our own making, we will be blessed with the outcome and not cursed. Gloria Patri