Cornerstone, the Sermon

Cornerstone

Matthew 21:33-46

Rev. Wilfredo J. Baez Ph.D.

10/5/14

The Three Jewels or Refuges

There is something in Buddhism called “the Three Jewels.”  When people become Buddhist they take refuge in the Buddha, in the Dharma and in the Sangha.  This means that they take refuge in the Teacher, in the Teaching and in the Community.  “The Three Jewels” of Christianity are Jesus, the Gospel and the Church.  When you were baptized you took refuge in Jesus, the Gospel and the Church or your parents placed you in that refuge.  Remember your baptism and be happy!

Jesus, Gospel and Church as Cornerstone

In terms of today’s scripture, Jesus and the Gospel of the Realm of God is the cornerstone of my life.  The Church is the faith community out of which I live my life.  My entire life is based upon and oriented around Jesus, the Gospel and the Church.  There is no avoiding Jesus, the Gospel and the Church in my life.  I was raised in a value system consistent with that of Jesus, the Gospel and the Church.  I came to know a way, a truth and life that was a godly way, truth and life and I grew to understand how to live in that way, truth and life.  There is no avoiding God, Truth and Justice in our lives.

The Elephant in the Living Room

What if there was an elephant in your living room?  Could you avoid it?  What if we painted the elephant with invisible paint?  Could you avoid it?  What if you washed it with scentless deodorant soap?  Could you avoid it?  What if you were deaf, blind and unable to feel?  Could you avoid it?   The elephant has an impact in your life.  You can walk into it, around it, under it or jump over it, but it has an impact upon your life.  Accept that it is there or ignore that it is there and you will realize, sometimes the hard way, the elephant is there.

The Negative Elephant

What is the elephant in the living room?  Usually when I hear about the elephant in the room, it’s about something negative.  It could be an alcohol or drug addiction, child abuse, bullying, elder abuse or spouse abuse.  It could Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.  It can be a mental or physical illness.  It can be homophobia, racism, sexism o religious intolerance.  If these ills are present in your life, in our communities and in our institutions, there is no avoiding them.  Facing them, knowing them and taking responsibility for them is always the best way forward.  Facing the disease can be a way of resolving the problems associated with the disease and reorienting life in a positive direction. 

The Positive Elephant

But the elephant in the living room doesn’t need to be something negative.  In fact, I quite like elephants.  The elephant in the living room can be God.  It can be Jesus.  It can be the Holy Spirit.  It can be the Gospel.  It can be the Church.  Pretending, even believing that these do not exist or are not important is not going to help.  It is going to cause problems.  But attending to them, heeding them and responding to them is going to help.  Taking responsibility for them will help us move forward in productive ways.

A God Who Can Do Anything

Here we have a scripture that describes a God that can perform miracles; a God that can do anything; a God that tells us that we can accomplish a lot with a little; a God that says that we can accomplish something that we say we are too young and inexperienced to do or that we are to old, tired and frail to do; a God that says that we can accomplish something that we do not have the number of people the resources, the time or the experience necessary to accomplish it.   What cannot God accomplish?  What can we not accomplish with God with us?

People Who Can Do Anything

“God believes in you more than you believe in yourself.”  “God believes in us more than we believe in ourselves.”  When Jesus calls us to do something or sends us to do something, we are capable of doing what he sends us to do.  He tells us not to bring stuff, but to count on God to equip us, not before we get there but when we get there.  We do not have to carry any equipment with us.  God provides it for us when we arrive where God sends us.

The Sacred Elephant

The sacred elephant in our living room is saying “touch me and feel me” and we ought to be saying “My Lord and my God!”  The sacred elephant in our living room is saying, “Look at me.  See me.  Listen to me.  Hear me” and we ought to be attuning ourselves to her. The sacred elephant in our living room is saying climb upon my back and ride me and I’ll take you to where we are going” and we ought to be saying, “Yes Lord, I’ll go where you send me.  Yes, Lord!  I’ll go where you send me!  Yes, Lord I’ll go where you need!”  The sacred elephant in our living room is saying, “Believe in God.  Believe in me also.  We have someplace to go and I’ll take you there.  Climb onboard.  I don’t want to leave you behind” and we ought to be saying, “Help me with our disbelief!” The sacred elephant in our living room is saying, “I am who I am?  Why do you keep asking my name?  I’m not going to answer.  Come aboard for the ride and you will realize who I am” and we ought to be saying “We will trust and obey.”  The sacred elephant in our living room is saying “You are killing me by denying me and hurting yourself in the process” and we ought to be saying “We love you Lord and yes. We will feed your sheep and your lambs!”

George Gordon and Jesus

My son’s varsity basketball coach would get exasperated with his team. “You are killing me” he would exclaim when they did not execute a play!  “You are killing me!”  The players cringed whenever he said it.  He expected a lot of them, a little more each season.  By my son’s fourth varsity season most of the squad consisted of seniors.  But the coach was still screaming, “You are killing me!”  These were players who were in the system since elementary school, first learning the basics and from middle school on, learning the system, first from the elementary school coaches, then the modified and junior varsity coaches and now finally with the varsity coach.  They had become increasing exposed to him, his style and his expectations.

That is what Jesus was experiencing with the people he came to lead.  “You are killing me.  You have been at this so long.  You have been waiting so long.  God sent the prophets to you.  You tuned them out.  And when you could not tune them out you argued with them.  And finally, you drove them away and killed them.  Now, I, the Son of God am here and you have rejected me and are plotting my death.  God is the same yesterday as it is today and will be tomorrow. The gospel is the same yesterday as it is today and will be the same tomorrow.”

Jesus as our Coach

Jesus is saying, “I have given you the game plan.  Execute it.  Practice it.  Make it part of your life.  Keep yourself in shape so that you can execute it.  Make the sacrifices you have to make off the court so that you can produce on the court.  Execute and you will accomplish our mission and goals.  You are the team representing this community. People are counting on you to show up ready to play.   People are counting on you to play right and play hard.  Do not be knuckleheads!   Your job is to execute the play book!  It’s not your job to rewrite the playbook!  Your job is to be ready to get onto the court and play!   God is counting on you!  You can win over this community by showing up and playing the game.”