Built on a Sure Foundation

At this season of the year, when the growing season comes to a close, and reminders of death are present all around, the Church universal celebrates the saints who have gone before us. In some traditions, the celebrations have been divided, November 1 devoted to “all saints,” especially holy people, and November 2 devoted to “all souls,” more ordinary Christians like me and you.At First Presbyterian, we often combine related events, like we’re doing this year. We remember our brothers and sisters in Christ who have died during the past year. We recognize new 50-year members, and celebrate the faithfulness of all those who have spent their lives with this congregation. We reinforce our union in Christ through the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, remembering that these ties are not limited by space or time. For many of us, the day provides a focused opportunity to grieve the loss of a particular family member or friend. When we pause for reflection, we realize that we are indebted to them in ways we can’t completely express, and may never completely comprehend. They, and those who came before them, have laid for us a foundation of faith, hope, and love that goes back through the generations to all the Christians who have ever been, back to Christ himself.The ways that some churches symbolize these connections is particularly moving and inspiring.This past summer, during our time in Berlin, Germany, I was able to briefly visit Reconciliation Church. Long ago, this is how it looked.During the Second World War, controversy was stirred by two of its pastors, who aligned themselves with the Confessing Church movement that opposed Nazi ideology and interference in church life. The members were divided between those who thought opposing Hitler was a good idea, and those who didn’t. After the war, the Russians began to exercise their influence.The church building was in the Soviet Sector, but the pavement in front of the church and most of its parishioners were in the French sector. This meant that when the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, the outer wall passed directly in front of the church and the inner wall passed directly behind it leaving the church blocked off to all but the border guards. The church building stood isolated in what came to be known as the ‘death zone,’ a no-man’s land separating freedom from oppression. After the fall of the Wall, their old building in ruins, the congregation considered how they might live out the promise of reconciliation that eluded them for decades.The congregation, led by the Spirit I believe, envisioned a new Chapel of Reconciliation to thank God for the reunification of their church and nation. They weren’t wealthy, so they aimed at making the chapel “as big as necessary, but as small as possible.”It feels connected to the earth, sustainable, easy to maintain. Says one pastor, when you worship there, “you are truly in touch with nature and you get a sense of the reconciliation that we are challenged to pursue”[1] with the world, and with each other.The inner structure is made of clay walls. Into the clay the builders mixed the broken stones of the old church.When it came time to lay the foundation for First Presbyterian’s new church building, the project team wasn’t too excited about my idea of grinding up old bricks to mix the foundation for the new. But we were given permission to make a symbolic contribution to the foundation.In the footings, and to hold up the steel reinforcing rods, an assortment of bricks from our old building form part of the foundation for the new.Later today, we’ll have another opportunity to participate in another ceremony with important symbolism. At 12:30 PM, we’ll gather at the new building at 3601 Ridge View Road to participate in a “floor-tagging activity,” writing on the cement floors our names and the names of beloved saints, over which additional flooring materials eventually will be laid. The names will remain a perpetual witness that our church is “built on a sure foundation” of saints and servants, apostles and prophets, all the way back to Jesus himself.This may seem an unusual thing, and you may question why we would spend time on an activity with a result no one ever will see. In answer, I’d like to point you to an inspirational video by Nicole Johnson.She compares the seemingly mundane work of life to the work of those who built the great cathedrals of Europe. If you read about these cathedrals, you will find the builders of the cathedrals often are described simply as “unknown.” Johnson tells the story of an artisan who was observed to be working a long time on a detail on a high wall that, without scaffolding, would never be examined again. He was asked, “Why are you spending so much time on something no one will ever see?” He replied with an answer Christians might remember when asked why we do what we do: “Because God sees.”Humble artisans whose names are unknown to us today gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. Day after day, they showed up day to do their part on a project that often took centuries to complete. They made sacrifices for a job they would never see finished for a building they would never spend time in. Nicole Johnson was so inspired by this revelation, she says, “It was as if I heard God say: ‘I see you. You are not invisible to me. No sacrifice is too small for me to notice .… I smile over every one’.”[2]In the spirit in which Johnson speaks, and as we honor the saints and inscribe their names today, may we hear the voice of God saying, “Remember you are building a great church. It never will be totally finished in your lifetime. You may not get to live there very long. But if you build it well, I will. I will live there, and make my home among its people.” Thanks be to God!NOTES[1] Henry G. Brinton, The Welcoming Congregation, Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012, pp. 76-77.[2] Nicole Johnson, “The Invisible Woman,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YU0aNAHXP0 accessed 9 November 2017.