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Sermon - Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (B) - 19th July 2009
St Aidan's Anglican Church West Epping
Reading: 2 Samuel 7:1-14; Psalm 89; Ephesians 2:11-22; Mark 6:30-34,53-56
It seemed like a good idea at the time! We’ve all heard that explanation when things have gone wrong.
This idea was King David’s. He was established in Jerusalem: his palace was built, he was secure against Israel’s enemies, and the ark of the covenant, the symbol of God’s presence, was in Jerusalem. What next?
It seemed obvious, and so he called the prophet Nathan.
“I live in a palace of cedar, but the ark of God is located in a tent.” Nathan immediately saw what was in David’s mind. How could God be honoured by a setup like that? Of course David ought to build a great house for God. It seemed obvious to Nathan too. And so Nathan said: “Go for it. The Lord is with you.”
But that night, we are told, God spoke to Nathan, and sent him back to David with a new message. David’s idea might have been a good one, but it wasn’t the right one. And the Lord would not have him build a temple.
Nathan’s message had two sides. Firstly David needed to know that God didn’t need a house. For centuries God had been on the move with his people. The ark of the covenant, which symbolized God’s presence, was housed in a tent which could be moved wherever the people went. God wasn’t tied down to one location. The Lord was aware that a temple would be misunderstood and abused. It would become an object of superstition. People would think that they had no contact with the Lord except at Jerusalem. People would think that God would always keep Jerusalem safe from enemies because his temple was there.
Even today, people can have almost superstitious attitudes towards church buildings. In fact, I avoid using the term “house of God” to describe a church building, because it can be so misleading. Of course, everything, every building, belongs to God! But God is not located in buildings, no matter how grand or beautiful or historic or important. Churches are there to provide a place for God’s people to gather for worship and prayer and spiritual growth and fellowship. They may point to the grandeur and greatness and beauty and wonder of God. They may provide a setting which helps people to focus on the reality and presence of God. But the building is for us , much more than for God!
Certainly church buildings have great value, and I have seen and worshipped in some wonderful churches and cathedrals. Though some of them have caused me to wonder whether they were built for the right reason, and whether the amount spent should have been used in other ways. Buildings are ultimately secondary, but they have their uses. And I am certainly glad to have St.Aidan’s here for our congregation!
Having indicated his misgivings about a temple, the Lord also let David know that a temple would be built: but David would not be the builder. It would actually be his son, Solomon. And we might remember how Solomon at the dedication of the temple acknowledged that there was no way that the Lord could ever be contained in it, or restricted to any particular location on earth.
But there was a second part to Nathan’s message to David, He wasn’t going to build a house for God, but God would build him a house. Not a palace of course, but a household, a family. In fact David would found a great dynasty. Saul, the first king, had failed to be a king who truly submitted to God as the real king of Israel. He had been rejected, and replaced by David. But David’s family would continue to reign for generation after generation.
The dynasty lasted in fact about four centuries. But then, due to continued disobedience, enemies invaded, the temple was destroyed, the dynasty collapsed. But even that was not the end.
For 1000 years later a descendant of that same kingly line was born in David’s town of Bethlehem. He was Jesus, the Messiah, who will reign for ever and ever, fulfilling in an extraordinary way the prophecy of Nathan ten centuries before.
To those who understood, Jesus spoke of a greater temple than the grand temple which existed at that time in Jerusalem. It was the temple of his body. “Destroy this temple”, Jesus said, “and I will raise it up again in three days.” And of course when you saw Jesus, you were seeing bodily the man who was God. His body which hung on the cross was raised, as he himself had prophesied to those who questioned his claims.
But there is another temple which is referred to by Paul in this morning’s reading from Ephesians. We are currently reading through Ephesians, which speaks of God’s great purposes, which are bound up with the Lord Jesus: but they are also bound up with the church. I spoke about Ephesians last week at St.Alban’s, making some general comments on its background and its message, and if any of you would like to see what I said, my sermon can be found on the Parish web site.
Paul is writing to Christian people about God’s great plan to break down barriers. In the first part of Chapter 2, he speaks of God’s wonderful love in Christ through whom we find forgiveness and reconciliation: it is where you find those famous words, “by grace you have been saved through faith: and this is not your own doing: it is the gift of God”. In the second half of the chapter, which we read this morning, Paul brings out how this salvation is for Jew and Gentile alike. As a faithful Jew, Paul had always believed himself to be one of God’s people. But through Christ he discovered that God’s love reaches out to all people, and that through Christ, people of all races and backgrounds can become God’s people. God was bringing people to himself, but he was also bringing them towards each other, through the death of Christ, who reconciles us to himself and to each other. Through Christ, we have peace with God and peace with each other.
Paul tells us that God is building his temple, and that temple is the church, the community of all believers, the household of faith. We here today are in a real sense part of the temple ourselves, gathered in the presence of God.
Paul describes this temple. It is founded on the apostles and prophets : its message is the message of the scriptures. Its cornerstone is Jesus himself : in relation to him we find our place, our significance, our purpose, our role. The structure is joined together , it is a community, and so we as Christ’s followers have a commitment to one another as part of our commitment to him. The temple is still growing , and therefore it is open for people to join and find their place; so we are challenged to invite others to become part of Christ’s family and to make people welcome as they join us, whoever they are, however different they may be. And the temple is spiritual : indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who leads us together along the pathway as we follow Christ.
Buildings have their place and usefulness. But the true temple in the purposes of God is the body of the church: we find that temple, that body, wherever people gather in the name of Jesus. There are different places, different backgrounds, different styles and traditions: but in our different ways we all express what it means to be the body of Christ.
What a tragedy that our differences become a reason for suspicion, for exclusion, for division, for condemnation of those who are different. Surely Christ’s way is for churches to value each other, to acknowledge each other, to look for ways to work together, and to learn from each other. And where we discern irreconcilable points of difference let us acknowledge them in humility, keep them in perspective, and seek to understand better before we condemn or accuse. People will believe that the Gospel works where they see unity and love at work in our lives.
Church then is not an optional extra for the Christian: to follow Christ is to be part of his family, to be a stone in his temple. It is one way we express who we are as Christians. Together we express God’s presence in this world that he loves. And together we are called to express the reconciliation for which the cross stands.
The Lord is with us. The peace of the Lord is with us. Let us share with one another in love as members together of God’s family, and bear witness to the world which needs to know that love by our unity, our gracious deeds, and our words and acts of witness. Amen.
Paul Weaver