Pentecost 2 (Proper 5B) Sermon - Dedication of the Sanctuary

A House Not Made with Hands

2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1

2^nd Sunday after Pentecost, B 2012

Dedication of the Sanctuary of Zion Lutheran Church

Mount Pleasant, Michigan

Pastor Jonathon Bakker

            Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.  The Holy Scripture for our consideration comes from 2^nd Corinthians, the Epistle lesson.

And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, ‘I believed and therefore I spoke,’ we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

            Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the appointed Epistle reading from 2^nd Corinthians could not be more appropriate for what is taking place today at Zion Lutheran Church.  St. Paul speaks of faith, hope, and thanksgiving.  He speaks of the struggle with the Old Adam, and the perseverance of the New Man.  He speaks of affliction and suffering, and of the glory that is to come.  He turns your focus away from the temporal, the things of this world, to that which is eternal, in heaven.

            Time is a funny thing.  It was just over four years ago today that Zion gathered to solemnly and tearfully bid farewell to the edifice that served this congregation so faithfully for a century on Maple St.  You sang hymns, prayed, and received the wonderful gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation from the Lord one last time in that building.  The text for that Sunday, also most appropriate for the Disposition of Zion’s former building, was from Matthew 7.  Jesus spoke about two men who built houses; a wise man who built on a rock and a foolish man who built on sand.  Both homes were fine at first, but when the rain descended, when the floods came, and when the wind beat against those homes, only one was left standing – the house built on the rock.

            Time is a funny thing.  When gathered again for such an event as a dedication, as you are today, and having just sung, ‘Built on the Rock, the Church shall stand,’ there is a vain temptation to wonder about the same questions that rose four years ago.  Was the Lord speaking of the old facility or the new facility as being built on the rock?  Was this marvelous sanctuary what the Lord had in mind when he spoke?  Confidence is high that this building is built the right way, upon the rock, and that it will stand the test of time and the worst that the Michigan weather is likely to throw at it.  But such vanity is not what the Lord meant with those words; in fact he had no earthly building in mind.

            Just under four years ago – and time is a funny thing – it was three weeks after the Disposition, and you gathered for a service of Dedication here for this building.  You dedicated what was built to that point and reaffirmed not only your commitment to seeing this sanctuary built, but more importantly, to the Christian faith you confess.  It was like confirmation all over again.  Do you acknowledge the gifts God gave you in your Baptism?  Do you renounce the devil, his works, and his ways? Do you believe in God; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit?  Will you be faithful; is it your intent to remain steadfast in this confession and church, and suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from it?  You said yes, you believe.  You said said, yes, by the grace of God.  You made the good confession before God and the world and were I to have you stand up again today, you would surely repeat it, loud and clear.

            It would be the same, but really, it really is not the same anywhere.  Things change over time.  This is still Zion Lutheran church, it’s the same pulpit, the same crucifix, the same pastors, the same font, the same altar, but you have changed over these years.  Some are among you in this church who were not here years ago.  Some have moved into the area, some have come back after being away for a while, and some have simply been born.  At the same time, there are those who were with us years ago who are not here today.  Some have moved away, some have stopped coming, some are no longer able to come, and some have been taken away from us by the Lord.

            This is life in Christ’s church; and the rising and falling of buildings has little to do with it.  Buildings are special gifts from God, but like any other building, it is not the structure outside that defines it, but the contents within.  This is even more so in the church.  Take note of the things that moved with you from Maple St to River Rd., and from the temporary sanctuary to here.  Many things, large and small, made those moves.  Things you’re sitting in, looking at, hearing, and holding in your hands.  All of them made the moves, but take them all away, and you still have Christ’s Church in this place.  This building is the location where you meet, but the Church here is you, God’s people.  God, who has given you the faith that makes you the body of Christ; builds his church not with bricks and mortar but out of flesh and blood; flesh and blood that believes, and as it believes, so also it speaks.

            The Corinthians heard this same preaching from Paul so that their focus would remain on Christ and his promises, and not upon the things of this world.  Zion Lutheran Church has the same spirit of faith, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise you also with Jesus and bring you into his presence.  This is why Zion exists, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase true thanksgiving, all to the glory of God. 

            You have a building that stands here in Mt. Pleasant not for its own glory, and certainly not for your glory, but as a testimony of your faith in Christ’s promises.  You have given, you have volunteered, you have shared ideas, and you have made the sacrifices to come together as one people, as one congregation, to testify that there will be a place here where the Gospel is purely preached, and where the Sacraments are rightly administered.  Your prayer is that it will stand here and serve the body of Christ into the future. 

            This is what telling the next generation is all about, and why you put forth so much of yourselves not only toward the construction of this sanctuary, but toward everything Zion does.  Such Godly purposes, however, are just the place where the devil, the world, and your own flesh will work to cause you to doubt and disbelieve.  It is easy to be tempted by such things when it comes to the future of the church.  Religious statistics raise eyebrows – fewer children come to church than before; fewer are going into Church work as a vocation; and if the statistics are surprising, then the results of the religious surveys are downright alarming.  They show that the religion of most teenagers in America is identical, regardless of where they live or which church they attend.  Theologians call this religion, ‘Moralistic Therapeutic Deism,’ and it is little more than belief in generic creator who wants people to be happy, to be good to one another, and ultimately ensures that good people go to heaven when they die.  It is the same basic religion of those who claim to be ‘spiritual, but not religious.’

            The temptation is there to sound the alarms and raise a panic, but this is nothing new.  It is the natural religion of sinful man asserting itself against the work of Christ and his Church as it will do until the Lord’s return.  Interestingly enough, the survey also probed into the religious influences of American teenagers, and discovered that the single biggest factor was the religious beliefs and practices of their parents.  Teenagers will generally believe what their parents believe, and so while the temptation is there to be panicked and alarmed, remember that the most important thing you can do for the next generation is what was done for you by your parents and by generation upon generation that came before you.  As you believe, so you speak, and teach your children about God and humanity, about sin and death, about Christ and his resurrection, and about the mercy and grace of God.  Bring your children to the Divine Service every chance you get so that all of you receive his gifts in the Means of Grace, rejoice that your sins are forgiven, and look with hope to life everlasting.

            This beautiful, reverent sanctuary was built by the generations who are here, and some who have already gone before us into heaven, for you and the generations that will follow.  It is here to serve you as you teach and raise up the next generations of Christ’s church.  This sanctuary is a true gift from God for this congregation, but it will not remain forever.  In fact, it is just as temporary, albeit hopefully on much longer timescale, as the last one.

            This is from the rest of Paul’s words, and it is the strongest medicine for you.  It stings going down, but it also provides the true healing.  Do not lose heart.  Just as your body grows weaker and weaker as you age, so also this building will never be stronger or stand firmer than it does today.  Though your outer self is wasting away, your inner self is being renewed day by day.  Just as you live in your baptism day by day, drowning the Old Man that the new man might daily arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever, so also the real Church – you – are being renewed in your confession and hope for eternal life.  For this light momentary affliction – death from sin, both for your loved ones and for yourselves – is preparing you for an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

            Look not to the things that are seen with your eyes, but to that which you cannot see.  That which you can see will pass away – all of this will one day be gone – but the things that are unseen are eternal.  For you know, you believe, and you confess that if the tent that is your earthly home – whether it is a building or your very body – if that tent is destroyed, you still have a building from God.  A house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, and while this sanctuary built with hands is dedicated to God’s glory today, your true and everlasting home in heaven was dedicated for you the day you were baptized in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

            To Christ alone be all the glory, forever and ever, amen.

            The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus, our Lord, amen.