Sermon, The Rev. Leah D. Schade; Reformation Lutheran Church, Media, PA
August 23, 2009
1 Kings 8:1, 54-61
“Houses that Matter, Part Two”
It's been a long time comin'! But we finally made it! The Temple of Solomon has been built in Jerusalem, and the Ark of the Covenant finally has a home. Do you know how long it took for the Temple to be built? Seven years, according to Chapter 6 of 1 Kings. But the journey to get to this point actually began much earlier than that.
It really began about 300 years before, with Moses receiving the Ten Commandments on Mt. Horeb. These were the stone tablets on which were written the fundamental laws of the Jewish people. They were placed in a large, ornate container called an Ark and carried with the Israelites as they wandered in the desert for 40 years. This was known as the seat of God, the place where God's presence was most intensely focused, so it was carried with the utmost reverence. When they finally made it into the Promised Land of Canaan the army would carry the ark before the troops, believing that the powerful presence of God would send the enemy running scared into retreat. And, indeed, much of the territory was conquered by the Israelites as they settled the land.
If you were with us back at the beginning of the summer when we began this "Dynasty" sermon series, you'll remember the day when King David brought the Ark into Jerusalem for the first time - how he danced with joy before the Lord as the holy Ark was placed in the new capital city. David had wanted to build a temple to house the Ark, and thus God. But God had told him that there was too much blood on his hands for him to take on the task. Instead, the job of building the temple would fall to David's son, Solomon, whom (we learned last week) ruled through peaceful wisdom.
So after 300 years (and 3 month's worth of sermons!) we have finally arrived! This is the crowning moment for the people of Israel. This Temple is the symbol of everything the Nation of Israel has accomplished through the power of God. The Jewish people survived slavery and oppression in Egypt. They survived four decades of living in the desert wilderness. They survived skirmishes and battles with surrounding armies all intent on destroying the tiny itinerate nation. They survived infighting and civil wars among themselves under their first two kings - Saul and David. Now, finally, they are enjoying some rest and peace. Solomon is so highly respected by the surrounding nations, and has created so many alliances through his international marriages, that the nation of Israel at last has the time and energy to devote to building this glorious temple to house the very presence of God on earth.
On this day of dedication, Solomon offers a beautiful prayer which acknowledges the singular presence and power of God in the world, and recognizes the fact that God kept the promise to bring the Israelites into the Promised Land and build this amazing Temple. Then Solomon blesses the assembly gathered there for the dedication. That is the text we have this morning. And as I am drawing to the close of my ministry here at Reformation, I find his words to be appropriate encouragement for a gathering of God's faithful people:
"The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors; may he not leave us or abandon us, but incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments, his statutes, and his ordinances, which he commanded our ancestors. Let these words of mine, with which I pleaded before the Lord, be near to the Lord our God day and night, and may he maintain the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel, as each day requires; so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other. Therefore devote yourselves completely to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day."
There are three things in this blessing that I would like you to take home with you today. We'll start with Solomon's last point and work backwards. First, Solomon implores the people to devote themselves completely to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments. This is about you and how you live your life. The Ten Commandments which are housed in this new Temple contain the basis for how we are to live in right relationship with God and others. Being a follower of God is by no means an easy task. Take it from someone who has been trying to teach the Ten Commandments to Confirmation students for the past ten years! The concepts are simple, but living them out is not, given the complexities of life, the competing interests of so many people, the temptations that lure us away from God, and our own egos which so often get in between us and our care for others. That's why the Temple is so important. It is a place where people can go to hear again and again the commandments of God, to be reminded of what is necessary to live as God's faithful people. And it is the place where they know they can come to discern God's will among others who share their faith and can give guidance. In this holy place they will hear their Scriptures read, and they will hear them interpreted by their priests and scribes, who will help them apply God's Word to their everyday lives.
Similarly, I encourage you to continue your faith-learning and your growth in moral and ethical maturity. Read your Bible. Better yet, read it with others who share your faith and can give you guidance. Come to church where you will hear the Scriptures read at every worship service, and where you will hear sermons that will help you interpret what they mean and apply it to your everyday life. Pastor Smoose will continue the Book of Faith study this Wednesday, and then lead a great series in the fall on the big questions about the Bible. Take advantage of every opportunity to read and listen to scripture. Because this is how God communicates with us - through language that we can understand and talk about with each other.
The second important thing in this prayer has to do other people. It's based on Solomon's words, "that all the peoples of the earth may know that the Lord is God; there is no other." Now this is not a shameless plug for evangelism, although that certainly is important. I'm talking about living your life in a way that anyone who encounters you, no matter if they're Muslim or Hindu, atheist or agnostic, Catholic or Protestant, they will know just by the way you conduct yourself that you are aligned to the commandments of the God in whom you believe. This will follow naturally from our first point - studying the Scriptures and applying them to the decisions you make, how you raise your children, how you treat people in your workplace, the way you spend your money, the way you make your money. Your life and your actions are to be a reflection of the God whom you worship, thus enabling others to encounter God through you. The Temple, then, is not just for the people of Israel. It is for all the nations of the world to witness the justice, righteousness and holiness that comes from God through God's people. In the same way, the Church does not just exist for Christians. It exists for the whole world, carrying out the work of justice and mercy that was taught by God through Jesus Christ. So then, the Church, like the Temple is for you, but also for others.
And the third thing has to do with God. Solomon is asking for God to take action here by inclining our hearts to him. The fact that he is saying this prayer in the midst of this new Temple is significant. The Temple is the place where the people of Israel are sure to encounter the presence of God. Similarly, I encourage you to come to this place to encounter God, because God promises to be present here. Now I know that lots of people will say that they encounter God outside of church. And I don't dispute that. I myself have encountered the presence of God in hospital rooms, in my home, and especially out in nature, in forests and gardens. I even encounter the presence of God in my car when I'm praying.
But right here in this sanctuary is where God promises to be with us in a wholly unique way that we can't find anywhere else. God is here, in the waters of baptism, in the bread and wine, and, most importantly, among God's assembled people. What we do here - the singing of hymns, the confessing of sins, listening to the Word and preaching, offering our prayers, and gathering around this font and table - church is where we do this. So I am encouraging you today to continue coming to worship. If not here, then somewhere where you know that these essentials of worship are carried out in an inspiring and meaningful way. If worshiping God in the house of God was important enough to the Israelites to survive slavery, the desert, and war, then that must tell us that worshiping God in the house of God needs to be just as important for us. When you come to church, week after week, you'll find that the other two things - living a life according to God's commandments, and living in a way that others will know God through you - will naturally flow from your participation in worship. So the church, like the Temple is for you, for others, and for God. Because God knows that this is a place where God's people will set themselves apart to encounter God's presence and create the relationship that is essential for everything else.
That is what Solomon wanted for his people. This is what I want for you, as your pastor, even when I am no longer here to encourage you in person. I want you to be living a life that reflects God's love, living in right relationship with God and other people, and centering yourself regularly in worship of God. And I want you to be filled with joy, just as the Israelites were so joyful on that day when they gathered at the brand new Temple, celebrating God's presence with them in this sacred space. It was a glorious day for the people of Israel, and marked the culmination of their time of peace and prosperity. It would not last forever, because neither Solomon nor Israelites were able to maintain this high level of intense focus on God. They became distracted by other gods competing for their attention and their worship. Eventually their glorious Temple came to ruin. And to this day, the Jews long for a restoration to this glorious time in their history, and they struggle to maintain their adherence to God's commandments and their identity as God's people.
Similarly, our time here on this wonderful morning can not last forever. We will continue to make mistakes, let our egos get the best of us, let our temptations reveal the worst of us, and stumble in our attempt to walk as people of God. We, too, wistfully long for the "good ole days," when church mattered more and it was easier to make worship a central part of life. And as much as we love this church, even this place probably will not last forever. Even Jesus warned that our holiest places are still only temporary stackings of stone upon stone that are easily destroyed.
What is most important is the foundation of our faith - God; and for Christians, God through Jesus Christ. We can be assured that God will continue to find ways to gather the faithful together, to continually form and reform us, and send us out to transform the world into the peaceable vision that God has for us. God gathered the Israelites that day, as they marched the Ark right into that Temple. Jesus gathered people on hillsides and seashores, in homes and synagogues, as they marched themselves right into his presence to encounter the living God in human form. God gathered your parents and grandparents in this church and other churches, as they marched right up to the font to watch the water splash on your head and open their hands with you to receive the bread and wine. God will gather your children and grandchildren, generations stretching on and on into the future to hear God's Holy Word, to taste and see that the Lord is good. Can you hear that drum beat, marching us right into the presence of God today and tomorrow, O saints of God? When the saints go marching in, oh Lord I want to be in that number, when the saints go marching in!