Pentecost II, Cycle A

June 2, 2002

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Lessons:  Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28;  Ps. 31:1-5, 19-24;  Romans 1:16-17, 3:22b-28;  Matthew 7:21-29

     The Psalmist writes in our psalm for today, “Be my strong rock, a castle to keep me safe.”  I keep on the wall of my office, this picture that I took of the Wartburg Castle in Germany when I was there in 1979.  A picture that’s always made me think of the great Luther hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God”, because the Wartburg Castle, if you’ve ever seen it, it is the epitome of a mighty fortress, set high on a solid rock mountain that appears indestructible, unassailable, and ever-lasting, if any earthly structure can be that.  You can’t really see it in this photo, but the Wartburg Castle, where Luther was held for safe-keeping after the diet at Worms in 1521, is the ultimate stronghold, founded upon a strong rock, that calls to us, in the midst of the storms of life;  in the midst of fear of renewed and continuing terrorism;  when beset by illness and trials and persecution in life, this fortress bids us come, find a home, find a shelter, find rest, in our God, who is a mighty fortress, indeed.  There are times, in life, when most of us would like to be able to retreat to a strong castle to be kept safe.  There are times in life when we’d like to close the gate, raise drawbridge, and live our lives secure from the tempests and turmoil of life.  To be sure, we feel that way when we hear the ongoing warnings of terrorist acts which may come at any time, at any place, victimizing anyone.  We feel that way when we’re out of work, and get behind in our bills, and tire of creditors calling and calling and calling.  We feel that way when we worry about the temptations that lure our children and youth away from the faith, away from the family, into the darkness and deception of drug and alcohol abuse.  In these times, we wish we could pack everything up, load it into a U-Haul and drive, lock, stock and barrel into a mighty fortress, built on solid rock, where the temptations and terrorism of the world can’t touch us, and we can life, in God’s presence, protected and defended against our enemies.  I look at the world, and then I look at the Wartburg Castle, and I can almost understand the desire to retire and retreat from the world altogether, into a secure haven where we no longer have to worry about the world and it’s dangerous, self-destructive ways.  I can almost understand.  Except that in my mind, I know that’s not really possible.  I know that the psalm is not saying that God is a fortress with four walls, and battlements, surrounded by a moat.  Nor is Jesus, in our gospel lessons talking to us about real estate, giving us blue-prints for a literal house built on the rock, although that would be good advice, too.  The Scriptures are not encouraging us to withdraw from the world, and to retreat into a castle for the rest of our lives.  What the Scriptures are saying to us, is that in the midst of life—smack dab in the middle of the world where we must live and move and serve as God’s children—we can find safety and security, as sound and dependable AS a castle fortress, a house built on solid rock—so that in the midst of life, in the middle of the whirling, crashing storms of life, we can find peace and solace and strength, in God, who is Himself, like a veritable fortress!  The message is that we don’t need to escape the world, and life, to hide behind four-foot thick stone walls, when we have God as our foundation and our defender.  Because building our lives on God, no matter where we are or what we face in life, gives us a strength and a courage that no human-made structure could ever provide.  The attacks on the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon have proven that with all their deep foundations and trustworthy defenses, there are ways to reach them.  And if we’ve learned anything, we ought to have learned that no human defense is enough.  That no human structure can survive.  That the only foundation that will truly stand, and hold, is the foundation that comes from building our lives on God, in Jesus Christ.  The only mighty fortress that is truly, a mighty—fortress, is God.  God, who is our fortress, wherever we go in life.  God, who is our defender no matter what cancer or illness or surgery we face.  God, who is with us always, to keep us safe and lead us and guide us.  This, the Scriptures are telling us, this is the kind of Fortress and Foundation our God is for us.  A fortress and foundation that goes with us to work;  a fortress and foundation that goes with us out into our neighborhoods and communities;  a fortress and foundation that goes with us to school—and to the gym, and to the counseling room and the hospital room, and to the graveside.  Our God is a strong rock, and a castle—that surrounds us and enfolds us and protects us, wherever we go and whatever we do.  And our God is so solid and dependable and trustworthy, that nothing can shake Him or sway Him—nothing can defeat Him or destroy Him.  And when we live in God;  when we build our lives on His Word and His presence—we may be shaken or swayed, but we can not be defeated or destroyed, ultimately.  So, how do we build our lives on Him?  How do we build on the solid foundation that is God, that will uphold us and protect us come hell or high water?

     Moses said, “You shall put these words of the Lord in your heart and soul, and you shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and fix them as an emblem on your forehead.  You shall teach them to your children, talking about them when you are at home, and are away, when you lie down and when you rise up.  Write them on your doorposts and on your gates, so that you will remember, and obey the commandments of the Lord.”  Jesus says, “Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man or woman who builds their house on solid rock.  For 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.”

     We build our lives on the foundation which is God, when we hear the Word of God, and respond by striving to do it.  We find security and strength and courage in God, when we hear His commandments and, empowered by His presence, seek to obey them.  God is our mighty fortress, a bulwark never failing, when we stop trying to build castles and monuments for ourselves, and yield to Him, and acknowledge Him as God;  when we place our faith and trust, not in ourselves, but in Him, and in His will, and in His way.  Then, God is our God, and He becomes our strength and our salvation.  Then, God is our God, and He becomes our strong rock, our tower of strength, our crag and our stronghold.  A mighty fortress, not on a mountain-top in Germany, but wherever we go, whatever we do, no matter what we face in life.  That’s the mighty fortress our God is—and the mighty fortress we need, and hopefully, the mighty fortress we want for life!  Amen.