-1- Sermon (8/26/18, I Kings 8:1,6,10-11,22-30,41-43): Looking back, if I were to name a most challenging time in my ministry, the building project

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Neal Anderson
5 years ago
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1 -1- Sermon (8/26/18, I Kings 8:1,6,10-11,22-30,41-43): Looking back, if I were to name a most challenging time in my ministry, the building project we undertook at my previous church would have to top the list. Given the very tiny edifice we were using at the time, we were left with little choice other than to take on this project, which was no small thing. It included the building of a whole new sanctuary along with the expansion and reconfiguration of the existing building. The daily stress and strain of this project was monumental on many levels. Zantac was my friend. First, there was the challenge of raising funds. Second, there was the challenge of what the new facility would look like. Of course, there was no shortage of ideas, many of them conflicting creating a source of significant tension. Many questions needed answering. What was theologically appropriate? What current needs had to be addressed? Where could we minimize costs given the tight budget we were on? How could we balance old traditions with new needs and desires? Third, there was the actual construction of the facility which created an endless supply of unexpected challenges. Being that we lived in the backyard of the church, there were few moments when the demanding voice of this building project did not beckon. I remember one particular moment when a windy storm caused some newly constructed walls, with temporary supports, to buckle. As we drove into the parking lot after going out to dinner, I noticed a bulge in the walls. I said to my spouse, Hmm that doesn t seem right does it? She looked and confirmed that something was definitely wrong. Immediately, I was on the phone making panicked calls to anyone I could think of, screaming, The walls are buckling! The walls are buckling. Luckily, unlike

2 -2- chicken little, they took me seriously and we ended up working late into the night, in the wind and rain, trying valiantly to keep the walls from falling. We succeeded but it was awful. Perhaps, the biggest challenge was trying to hold the congregation together. Building projects always cause a great deal of stress in congregations, especially big projects such as this was. Disagreements and arguments were many. Some were all for the project while others weren t. Financial strains were constant. Seeking help from volunteers soon grew old. It was one of the most challenging moments in my ministry. When construction was completed, our new church home was appropriately celebrated. Many rough waters had been navigated and now it was time to settle in, give thanks, and utilize the gift we now had, appropriately and faithfully. We began a pre-school in a new section of the building. We felt the freedom of being able to do new things while continuing old traditions in the expanded worship space we had. Our new kitchen and fellowship area allowed us more opportunities for community building. Our new classrooms allowed us more space for growing and learning. We settled in. We considered how God was present in this sacred space and how we might best honor that presence. Last week we considered the transition that had taken place as Solomon assumed the throne of his father, King David. As part of that moment, we listened carefully to Solomon s prayer as he responded to God s question asking, What I should give you? After a time of settling in, today we witness another significant moment in Israel s history as the Ark of God is moved from the tent that it had been under since David brought it to Jerusalem, to the newly built Temple that Solomon had now

3 -3- completed. As you might remember, David initially wanted to build a Temple for the Ark, but God quickly nixed that idea, saying there were important things for David to do. God then promised David the Temple would one day be built but it would be done by his successor. That promise now comes to fruition in today s passage. It has taken seven years and thousands of forced labor hours for the Temple to be built which Solomon conveniently neglects to note here. (Spoiler alert-eventually Solomon s use of forced labor for his many building projects would come back to haunt him.) The journey the Ark will make from tent to Temple constitutes a few hundred feet, but it is done with great care and wisdom. Solomon did not want to repeat the debacle that occurred when his father first attempted to transport the Ark to Jerusalem. First, Solomon assembles all the Elders and the heads of the tribes of Israel for this event. As instructed in Deuteronomy, the priests carry the Ark from the Tent to the Temple using the poles that were built into the Ark. Solomon precedes that journey with worship in the form of offering sacrifices. Carefully, the Ark is then moved to the center of the Temple known as the Holy of Holies. Once placed in its new home, the Temple fills with a cloud so thick that the priests could not continue their ministerial efforts. It is a confirmation of God s presence. It is also a confirmation of Solomon s reign. The cloud was called glory. A fitting description for such a cloud being that it could not be handled, controlled, or even easily defined much like the very nature of God. The Temple Solomon built was beautiful, majestic in size and

4 -4- design. A work of art meant to communicate the magnificence of God. The thought triggers remembrances of similar places I have been fortunate enough to visit. St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York City, for one. To step into its cavernous space feels like entering glory. One needs not be asked to whisper it comes naturally as reverent respect for the holiness that is sensed. The danger with such grand spaces, is that they can easily move from places where we sense divine glory to objects of worship in and of themselves. It s a danger that Solomon seems to immediately sense stating that not even the universe, let alone this new Temple, could contain God. Instead, the Temple would be a place where God s name was present. A place where the eyes of God would never tire of being on the look-out. A place where God s ears would always be attentive to the prayers and pleas of his people When I was in Seminary, I earned a little extra money by working in the maintenance department. As with most buildings, maintenance of the Seminary facilities was a never-ending constant. From plumbing, to painting, to stripping and redoing wooden floors, I learned quite a bit from this job. Years later, I returned to tell the person in charge of the maintenance department that I had come to realize that what he taught me was every bit as important as what I learned in a classroom! Church Buildings and facilities are very needy. Over the years I have spent untold hours wrestling with building issues learning things and doing things far beyond my expertise and comfort level. I have dealt with broken boilers, cold sanctuaries, hot sanctuaries, broken pipes, asbestos, flooded basements, leaky roofs, (did I

5 -5- mention asbestos?) the list is very long. There have been times, in the midst of this, when I have wondered if the early Christians had it right when they met in people s homes. Admittedly, though, buildings are necessary. We need a place to meet, to be the church, to build community. We need classrooms where our continuing growth in faith can take place. We need inspiring venues that help us move from the grind of daily living to a sense of God s nearness. We need a place that is conducive to the worship that God s love for us and our love for God evokes. Church facilities are also places that significantly support the communities within which they reside. For us, our facilities have long housed a daycare which provides a safe space for young children to learn and be cared for while parents work. I think we too often minimize the significance of this ministry especially now that the Pre-school includes a component that nurtures children s faith by way of our Children and Worship program. Over the years, how many parents have benefited from knowing their children were safe while they were at work? It has not been easy for us to maintain this program but, today, it is probably stronger than it has been in a long time and we should take great joy in that. We also have community groups that meet here including Alcoholic Anonymous, a chess club, and various other organizations. Without these facilities that often demand much from us, our community s well-being would be sorely diminished. As God settled into the Temple, there was much for Solomon and the people to consider as they reflected on what the Temple would be and, just as importantly, what it wouldn t be. For one, Solomon reminds them that it would not be a place that would

6 -6- contain God, but it would be a place of prayer. That would be its primary mission. A mission that had been greatly diminished by Jesus time which provoked Jesus outrage during the last days of his ministry. Solomon made it clear that the Temple would be a place where the ears of God would be attentive to the needs of his people. A place where repentant hearts would be forgiven and where pleas for help would be heard and responded to. A place where even the foreigner, the outsider, could come to pray knowing that their prayers would be heard and honored. Solomon s hope for the Temple was that it would not only be a place for the Hebrew people but an international place of worship and prayer. A place open and welcoming to all. Solomon s words are good ones for us to remember even as we settle into the buildings we use as tools for ministry. To be sure, they come with their trials and demands but they are also gift. (It s something I sometimes have to work hard at remembering, especially when mopping up a mess from a toilet that has overflowed!) Buildings such as Solomon s Temple and churches are gifts meant to be respected but not worshiped. Gifts meant to be used and utilized not closed and hidden. Gifts that house memories and traditions of the past that need honoring but also gifts needing to stand ready to meet the demands and needs of ministry in the present. Gifts with doors that are open and welcoming, even to the foreigner and outsider, not closed and locked in fear or reserved for our own self-centered use. Gifts where community and communion are strengthened, prayers are said and received, hopes find a foundation to build upon, names are learned and treasured, minds are stretched and challenged, faith is celebrated and

7 -7- embraced in the name of the God whose ears are always ready to listen, whose words are always ready to respond, and whose eyes are always filled with the loving promise of renewing grace. May even this place, gifted to us from the past, preserved by the present, and readied for the future always be just such a place. To God alone be all the glory! Amen.

8 -8- Congregational Prayers and Lord s Prayer: Leader: The Lord be with you. People: And also with you. Leader: Let us pray Gracious God, for this place in which we gather to worship and honor your name, we give you thanks. We give you thanks for the honor and privilege to worship you, for the community it builds among us, and for the uniqueness of what we are and what we are becoming. Loving God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Gracious God, we pray that we might never lose perspective of what this place is meant to be. Save us, we ask, when we are tempted make it an object of worship instead of a tool for ministry. Save us when fear causes us to focus our energies inwardly. Save us when we do not open our doors wide enough and when our focus is too much on our own needs and wants. Loving God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Gracious God, we pray that we might never lose perspective of your divine glory. We pray that we might be attentive to the fact that you are always bigger than our grandest thought and greater than our best creation. As such, make us humble in heart, always willing and ready to be stretched and shaped by the ministries you call us to. Loving God, in your mercy, hear our prayer. Gracious God, we think of and pray for those without shelter and for those who do not have a spiritual home. May we never tire of reaching out to all, reminding them that in your eyes they always have been and always will be the Beloved. Loving God, in our mercy, hear our

9 -9- prayer. Gracious God, we are mindful of the prayers being said at this very moment in this sacred space. The prayers of those who are sorrowful, hurting, and frightened. The prayers of those who are frail, lonely, and frustrated. The prayers of those who are angry and who hunger for justice. The prayers of those who are poor in basic needs and in spirit. Loving God, we especially ask you to hear these prayers we now boldly share in our silence or aloud All: We ask this in Jesus name who taught us to pray Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.

-1- Sermon (05/26/13, Proverbs 8: 1-4, 22-31): In the opening scene of the movie Tap, the main Character, Max Washington, played by Gregory Hines, is

-1- Sermon (05/26/13, Proverbs 8: 1-4, 22-31): In the opening scene of the movie Tap, the main Character, Max Washington, played by Gregory Hines, is lying on a bed in his prison cell. He is wringing his