10/11/64

Whose Builder and Maker is God?

Scripture: Hebrews 11: 1-10.

Text: Hebrews 11: 10; “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

One of the great religions among the peoples of the earth is the Hebrew faith. It is great because of the numbers of Jewish folk who are students and followers of that way. It is great because it has a long and venerable history. And it is great because of so much intrinsic worth in it.

Our Christian religion has firm, long roots in the Hebrew tradition. Its scriptures are the sacred writings that Jesus studied and memorized, and quoted more than most of us realize. When we speak of the Christian’s Bible we refer not alone to the 27 books that make up the gospels, the letters, and the apocalyptic writings of the New Testament, but to the 39 books that make up the history, poetry and prophecy of the Old Testament. The 66 books of the two Testaments are bound together in one truly great library of matchless religious literature.

And so it is perfectly natural for the New Testament writer, in his letter to the Hebrews, to refer to Old Testament persons. He mentions the faith of Abel, of Enoch and Noah. Then he refers to Abraham. Probably a great many Jews would speak of Abraham as their father in the spirit. Abraham is often thought of as the father of the Jewish people; and Moses comes along later in Jewish history as the liberator and the great teacher of Jewish law to the Hebrew people.

The writer to the Hebrews speaks of the faith of Abraham who, feeling a great spiritual urge, went out in obedience to his faith, not knowing for sure where he was going, but confident of God’s leading. By that same faith, he lived as a nomad, sojourning in a land of more promise than realization. His son and grandson were regarded as heirs of the same promise. But they did not expect to be nomadic wanderers all of their lives. For, as the New Testament writer remarks, Abraham “looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Abraham was not the one to find, or to erect, a city of substantial buildings. He and his people were essentially nomadic wanderers. But he had the kind of faith that builds life in men. And it is probably this to which the writer of Hebrews alludes.

Long centuries after Abraham, and after Moses had led the Hebrew people out of a long period of slavery in Egypt, there appeared the first king of Israel. After they had been governed by a group of Judges in the promised land, they were finally united under one monarch, Saul. Saul’s life was a stormy one, and this is not surprising. He was a moody man and his problems were great.

He was succeeded by David, whom many Jews think of as the great king of Israel. David’s son, Solomon, the third king of Israel, came to the throne at a time when there was less stress within the kingdom and less danger from enemies without. He was a man of wisdom and vision. As a symbol of human aspiration for the good life, he purposed to bring into being a splendid temple. By that time the Israelites had ceased to be a wandering, nomadic people. They had settled in their promised land. They cultivated the soil. They built villages and cities. For generations, their tabernacle of worship had been a tent in the wilderness. Now it was time to build a temple of permanence in their capital city.

And so King Solomon set about the job. You can read about it in the second book of Chronicles. In the second chapter of that book, we read how, having gotten his kingdom well established, Solomon made the preparation for building the temple. 70,000 men were organized as burden-bearers; and 80,000 were set to quarrying materials in the hill country. 3,600 men were appointed as overseers. Not only stone would be needed, but really durable timbers. So Solomon sent over to the King of Tyre to arrange for cedar trees. King David had procured some cedar logs there. Now Solomon wanted many more. He also arranged for metal workers and other skilled craftsmen. In exchange for what he desired of the king of Tyre, King Solomon was to send wheat and barley and oil and wine for payment. A lot of advance planning went into the new temple!

Then there came the time of building upon Mount Moriah in the city of Jerusalem. Solomon gave instructions as to the length and breadth and height of the edifice. He specified where fir was to be used, and cedar; and gold overlaying, and settings of precious stones. He set carvers to work, specified the size of statues, chose colors of the fabrics, and even named the pillars, Jachin and Boaz. [II Chronicles 3]. Plans were made for the great brass altar. There would be places for the washing of the sacrifices; there would be ten tables; there would be gold candlesticks. Vessels and tools of many kinds would be fashioned. Golden flowers would be fashioned. Countless other articles of decoration and serving were planned. [II Chronicles 4]

And the Ark was to be brought in. This ark was not al all the ship by which Noah and his family and the animals had survived the great flood. This ark of the temple was the container for the most sacred emblems in their religious rites. Yes, indeed, the ark was to be brought into the new temple where Holy is the name of God. You can read of all this in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th chapters of II Chronicles.

Abraham had gone out by faith and had looked for a city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. Perhaps he was looking for a kind of spiritual city -- for living that is well founded upon the ways and the will of God. Generations later, King Solomon resolved to build a physical temple wherein the worshippers could be reminded of the designs for living which God wills for mankind. The designing and building of that magnificent temple could be a vivid reminder of the vastly greater designs of God, the supreme planner of the Universe, and of the life that can be lived in it.

(Much of the work of the Masonic craft is as carefully guarded as are the secret skills of the master craftsman. But it is no secret that Masonry teaches principles of building in the lives of its members, as is implied by the very name and symbols of the order.)

Now we people of this particular household of faith, the First Congregational Church of Wisconsin Rapids, United Church of Christ, are about to embark on some significant building. This is nothing new under the sun. Other congregations, many of them right here in this community, have done likewise. And this is not the first time this church has erected a new edifice. In fact it is the fourth time that the congregation has planned the erection of a house of worship and a place of fellowship. Each of the first three edifices still stands. Each was outgrown or outworn by the church. Each is honored as a home for part of our history.

We have been planning, intensively, for a couple of years; we were dreaming and seeing visions before that. And now we are ready for foundations and the laying of stones. And we shall dedicate our efforts to the glory of God. Like every religious congregation, we remind ourselves that what we are about to build is a house. We hope that it will be fine to behold and excellent in its usefulness. But it is not the church.

The church is people. It is people who have given themselves to the will of God in the spirit of Christ. It is people who gather for worship within walls that may seem empty until the people find a great presence among them there. It is people who make covenant with each other and with God. It is people who, having found the Great Presence in the temple, go out to serve and share in the burdens and hopes of other people. It is people who seek light and then share that light in the teaching of precept and example. And so, important as it is to build the house for worship and fellowship and learning, the more important building is in the lives of the people who are to make that house a home.

We propose, instead of having a ground-breaking ceremony, to have a corner-stone laying before long, early in the start of the first unit of our house. This will not involve the “date stone” which will later be made a part of the building of our sanctuary and in which will be deposited evidences of our contemporary life. But this “corner-stone” will be reminiscent of an earlier practice in architecture and construction. It will be the laying of a stone that truly represents the corner of a new building, upon which other stones will be laid until the proper height is attained, from which the walls will take their direction, truly and faithfully built from that corner.

More than the cornerstone of that building, however, is the cornerstone of good character in every life that is being built in our families, our churches, our community. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “You are God’s building.” [I Corinthians 3: 9]. Therefore let the church be built, constantly, in human lives.

It is a good idea to do some planning. When Luke was writing what appears in the New Testament as the third gospel, he recorded one of the sayings of Jesus as this: “Which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it.” [Luke 14: 28]. Jesus knew the carpenter’s trade and skills very well. But the great force of his teaching had to do with life, rather than the erection of wood or stone edifice. He drew upon construction practices for illustration. He was teaching in a day of unfinished towers. Governor Herod was a reckless builder. Along with many other rulers of his day, Herod seemed to think that glory comes from palaces. It is just possible that Jesus was leading the laughter against the foolishness of men like Herod who begin to build with such lavishness that they can not finish.

Some students of the New Testament comment that it may be that Jesus justified his own caution, for he could not afford to choose men who would not be loyal. It seems more likely that he was speaking more broadly in bidding his hearers, and his followers --- us --- to count the cost of discipleship. His saying was no appeal to fear of failure; Jesus dealt tenderly with failure. And it was no poor caution: he never taught that you or I had better be content with a low achievement if we think we can not build a better-than-average tower. But there is sharp warning against jaunty discipleship and temporary, impulsive loyalty. Better do some figuring and planning, else one can become a frustrated failure. There is some cost to pay for building life upon the ten commandments enunciated by Moses. There is a price to consider for the blessing and satisfaction of living by the beatitudes. And it will take some planning to see it through.

The Bible may not be a “set of specifications.” But there is enough guidance there for planning a life to make it well worth our while to read it and study its meaning as a guide to our building. If one finds it hard reading, get hold of various translations that may clarify the meaning. A couple of weeks ago the people of this congregation heard the Rev. Clarence McCall commend a wider use of the New English translation of the Bible.

1. We had better do some planning, then. And we work in the expectation of carrying through.

2. We need to build with a sense of proportion. And this is a man-sized job. Jesus had some hecklers who wanted to discredit him. One day some Pharisees and Sadducees demanded that he try to show them some special sign from heaven. He refused, saying that they were wicked and perverse in wanting to see some miracle. “You can discern the aspects of the weather; why can’t you see the signs of the times?” [Matthew 16: 1-3]. He might well be saying to us: “You scan the face of the sky; you send men aloft to circle the earth; why can’t you discern the meaning of the era in which you live?” We easily get our proportions mixed. Some minor detail is exaggerated and some great principle is neglected.

Here is a fellow who is building, not only a business on his vocational livelihood, but a home where fine family life can be a result of what his vocation makes possible. He comes home from work exhausted and self-centered. He fancies that he is the only one who is tired. And he finds a bicycle left in the driveway. What does he do? He storms into the house demanding to know who left that blankety-blank cycle in the way of his imperial chariot! When any of us behaves like that, we have gotten our proportions mixed. We set barriers between parent and child. There are better ways of handling a bicycle in the driveway, a broken plate in the kitchen, or a poor grade from the teacher, than to lose one’s temper over it.

The man who lets the care of his yard, the state of his golf game, the condition of his skis or boat or trailer overshadow his care for his children, his marriage, his church, needs to reevaluate his sense of proportion. The woman to whom the care of the house, the condition of her clothes, and the grooming of her person becomes more important than family, friendship, marriage or motherhood needs to get things in proportion. Some things, though good, are of much lesser importance than other things.

Our world is full of need for good building, and rebuilding. There is never-ceasing necessity for lives built on personal integrity. There is need for families built on love and understanding and confidence in one another. Good community life does not just happen; it is built. The moral strength of the nation has to be built and kept in repair. The peace of the world is not just absence of war; it is something that has to be built.

When we work as builders, we work not alone but with God. For God works even now. Jesus once said: “My Father works even until now, and I work.” [John 5: 17]. One of the Bible translations, that of Dr. Goodspeed, makes this saying read: “My Father is still at work, and I work too.” Truly, we serve no God whose work is done. We can count upon the Divine Presence being still on the job where we are called to work.

Creation is a continual process of building. To be religiously dedicated people, we must become workers with God. We must talk less about Christian faith as armchair philosophers, and must work more with God for better race relations, better schools, more earnest churches, the harnessing of atomic power to peaceful pursuits, the sharing of abundance. And in all this, “God” as Henry Van Dusen has said, “is not a problem to be solved, but a worker to be joined.”

He is a worker who meets with resistance. However we explain it, evil is here. We see it all around us, and we find ourselves enmeshed in it. We can speculate upon the origin of evil and we can lay blame on everyone else from Adam and Eve on down to our time. But we are called to action to eliminate it and to build what is good. Every person is called to be a builder, making his life and work a proclamation of God’s good design. God calls plumbers as well as preachers, mothers as well as missionaries, entertainers as well as evangelists. Every person’s work is a ministry of service in the spirit of the divine. Every profession, every job, must have in it dedicated people who, through that vocation, are seeking the kingdom of God. How else will the prayer, “Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth” be answered?

G. K. Chesterton has told of an artist who walked every day past an ugly building on his way to work at his studio. The sight of it jarred him constantly. The artist finally solved the problem by buying the house, moving in, and redecorating it.

We ourselves are, within the limits of reason, called to do a lot of rebuilding and new building of life. Let it be well-planned and carefully executed. Let us move resolutely into our politics, our economics, our education, our science, to build and rebuild under the guidance of the Great Architect, as fellow workers with the Master Builder.

Amen.

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Delivered in Wisconsin Rapids, October 11, 1964 (Masons attending).