|
|
|
|
Founded
Upon
A Rock
By Philip D. Ropp
June
1, 2008
Ninth Sunday of Ordinary Time
|
In the
dictionary,
“rock” is described as a “naturally occurring hard substance.” In
this jail, a “rock” is an “unnaturally
occurring hard place.” It is a place in which time is served. And
time is an unrelenting master. Time moves slowly and
methodically, with a
history that stretches back to an ageless beginning and at the same
time looks
forward to a timeless eternity. As we
pass this time, we learn that “rock” is, in reality, an excellent
symbol for
that which endures, for in this life, there is not much that
does.
And as we grow older with the passage of
time, we learn that life actually passes more quickly than we could
have
imagined when we were younger, and suddenly we are confronted with the
fact
that we have chosen the kind of rock upon which we have placed the
foundation
of our lives.
What we call “rock”
around here is actually
concrete. It is sand bound together with
a few chemical agents in the correct proportions to achieve an
unnatural
hardness. And so it creates the illusion
that it is something much stronger and enduring than it really
is.
It is manmade rock formed by violence and
hatred and corruption and shaped into a place that is hard and
cold.
And its purpose is to break men down and
destroy that God given gift of life that each of us was born
with.
And the concrete reality of this place is
that what actually binds this sand together into this rock that seems
to endure
is the laziness and stupidity and degradation of the human spirit that
holds
together this jailhouse and all the jails and prisons of the
world.
We know in our hearts that with the passage
of time that will ultimately bring us into the world to come, there
will be no
camps, nor jails, nor prisons, for Christ Jesus himself will rule, and
all of
these institutions of human bondage and misery will be reduced to the
substance
from which they were constructed: sand.
And as he promises in today’s Scripture, this sand will be washed away
with the floods and the winds and the fury that will usher in the
coming Kingdom of God where peace and justice and mercy
will prevail forever. Amen!
The words of Jesus that we have heard today
are hard
words. And he is speaking to those that
the world holds to be Godly men. And
what he is telling them is that it is not enough to call upon the name
of the
Lord, or prophecy in the name of the Lord or even cast out the demons
and
devils of hell itself in the name of the Lord.
There are no mighty deeds done with even the best of intentions that
can
save us if we do not do the will of our Father in heaven. And so
you may well ask, “Then brother what
is it that we must do to be saved?” The
answer is, “the will of the Father,” and it is summed up sweetly and
succinctly
when, in Matthew 22, Jesus tells us to, “Love God with all of your
heart, all
of your soul and all of your mind and love your neighbor as
yourself.”
This is the law and the prophets. This is the gospel of Jesus
Christ. This is the will of our Father in heaven.
The words of Jesus that we have heard
today are
particularly hard words for us; because the fact and reality of
incarceration
is that our presence here within these walls is proof that we have lost
the
gospel of Jesus Christ as the foundation stone upon which our lives
rest. Instead, we find our lives now sitting upon
this most insecure foundation of cold concrete, and we know that this
concrete
is merely that sand that Jesus warns about, hardened by sin and binding
us to
the earth just as Satan himself is bound.
And that is why Satan is here: staring at you out the darkness, leering
at you with contempt, and luring you into sharing his chains, which are
the
very chains that have him bound away from the saving grace of God
forever. When you enter in and take up residence
within these walls, you have stepped into the very gates of hell.
This isn’t fun and this isn’t a game. This is serious
business.
This is the last warning you’re going to get
before it becomes too late forever and you find yourself shackled to
Satan not
for a life sentence, but for a death sentence that lasts for all
eternity. You don’t do time in hell, you live it.
Endlessly.
Forever and ever, separated from the God who loves you like the son to
him you are, and who proved this to you in no uncertain terms when he
gave
himself up on the cross for you. Doing
this so that you would never have to find yourself subjected to that
which you
are now experiencing: Incarceration on
earth, which leads to nowhere but incarceration in hell; the ultimate
prison
experience.
The words of Jesus that we have heard today
are
particularly hard words for us; because the fact and reality of
incarceration
is that our presence here within these walls is proof that we have lost
the
gospel of Jesus Christ as the foundation stone upon which our lives
rest. Instead, we find our lives now sitting upon
this most insecure foundation of cold concrete, and we know that this
concrete
is merely that sand that Jesus warns about, hardened by sin and binding
us to
the earth just as Satan himself is bound.
And that is why Satan is here: staring at you out the darkness, leering
at you with contempt, and luring you into sharing his chains, which are
the
very chains that have him bound away from the saving grace of God
forever. When you enter in and take up residence
within these walls, you have stepped into the very gates of hell.
This isn’t fun and this isn’t a game. This is serious
business.
This is the last warning you’re going to get
before it becomes too late forever and you find yourself shackled to
Satan not
for a life sentence, but for a death sentence that lasts for all
eternity. You don’t do time in hell, you live it.
Endlessly.
Forever and ever, separated from the God who loves you like the son to
him you are, and who proved this to you in no uncertain terms when he
gave
himself up on the cross for you. Doing
this so that you would never have to find yourself subjected to that
which you
are now experiencing: Incarceration on
earth, which leads to nowhere but incarceration in hell; the ultimate
prison
experience.
There is an ancient Christian tradition
going all the way
back to the days of the Early Church that is called the
“Harrowing of Hell.” It is the story of
Christ’s triumphant descent into hell during the time between his
crucifixion
and resurrection. According to this tradition,
Jesus led all of the righteous souls captive in hell out of their
bondage and
brought eternal salvation to those that had been bound by death since
the
foundation of the world. We in this
environment know that this tradition is no mere legend but saving
truth, for
our Lord Jesus Christ enters in with us behind these walls everyday for
the
purpose of leading those who are called to be his own towards the light
of
freedom: Not merely the freedom of life
on the outside beyond these walls of concrete, but life forever in
heaven
beyond these walls of flesh. And so
today he has come to be with us and stands in our midst and harrows
this hell
of the Saginaw County Jail, that we may find a life of freedom with him
forever
in heaven, and so escape eternal incarceration in hell.
Today, Jesus offers the
opportunity to reestablish the
house of your life upon the true foundation stone that lasts
forever. Today, he invites you to build upon the solid
rock of faith that truly endures all hardships, overcomes all iniquity,
and
leads to the joy that is found only in him.
Today he asks you to answer the call to freedom and set out with him on
the road that leads towards home: Home
with loved ones on the outside, and home to be with God forever when at
last
the burdens of this life are laid down.
And today, for those that have given their lives to him, he offers the
gentle comfort of knowing that the march to this glorious freedom has
begun,
and he offers the reassurance that his yoke is easy indeed, and his
burden is indeed light.
Now we know that
as hard as this rock appears to be, it
is merely sand. We know that it is not
the hardness of concrete that binds us, but the hardness of our own
sin, and we
know that the bonds of this human iniquity can be broken with seven
little
words cried out in earnest from this hell of our own making, “Lord be
merciful
to me, a sinner.” The sand that makes up
the Saginaw County Jail and all the prisons of earth will one day be
washed
away into the ultimate prison of hell.
Whether or not to be washed away with it is the most important decision
that you will ever make.
|
June 1, 2008
Dt
11:18, 26-28, 32
Moses told the people,
“Take these words of mine into your heart and soul.
Bind them at your wrist as a sign,
and let them be a pendant on your forehead.
“I set before you here, this day, a blessing and a curse:
a blessing for obeying the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today;
a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
but turn aside from the way I ordain for you today,
to follow other gods, whom you have not known.”
Ps
31:2-3, 3-4, 17, 25
R. (3b) Lord, be my rock of safety.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me,
incline your ear to me,
make haste to deliver me!
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me.
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stouthearted,
all you who hope in the LORD.
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.
Rom
3:21-25, 28
Brothers and sisters,
Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
though testified to by the law and the prophets,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ
for all who believe.
For there is no distinction;
all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.
They are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth as an expiation,
through faith, by his blood.
For we consider that a person is justified by faith apart from works of
the law.
Mt
7:21-27
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
|
|
|
