In 1807 there was concern in Britain that Napolean might try to force Denmark to close the Baltic Sea to British ships. It was decided that the Royal Navy be sent to Copenhagen to persuade Denmark to give its navy to Britain. Although the British promised to return the Danish ships after the war was over, the Danes, as you might imagine, rejected Britain’s demands. After several failed attempt to persuade the Danes to surrender their ships, the British felt they had no choice but to bombard the city of Copenhagen into submission. For three days destruction rained down on the city. On the first night the British fired 5,000 rounds, on the second night 2,000 rounds were fired, and on the third night an oppressive 7,000 rounds were fired into Copenhagen. Hundreds if not thousands of citizens were killed and 30% of the city; over a thousand buildings were reduced to smoldering piles of rubble.
One of the smoldering piles of rubble was The Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen’s Lutheran cathedral. The Church of Our Lady was a magnificent structure. She was constructed of red brick and had ornate sandstone doorways that led people into a massive sanctuary that was capable of seating over 1100 worshipers. There were rows and rows of tall, rounded windows on either side and hand carved pulpit and altar in the front. The vaulted ceiling towered above, and a massive spire soared nearly 200 feet into the sky and housed 42 church bells the largest of which weighed over 6 tons. The Royal Navy gunners used the spire for range practice and, after 14,000 rounds of artillery had been fired at her, The Church of Our Lady lay in ruins.
The Church of Our Lady lay in ruins for the next 30 years. It was with this shattered shell of a structure in the background, that pastor Nicolai Grundtvig wrote, “Built on the rock the Church shall stand even when steeples are falling. Crumbled have spires in every land; bells still are chiming and calling, calling the young and old to rest, but above all the soul distressed, longing for rest everlasting.”
What do you think it was that caused pastor Grundtvig to be so boldly optimistic in the face of such utter devastation? I would like to know because the Church is once again in danger of destruction. This time, instead of the world aiming its artillery at our steeples, our doctrines are being bombarded by a barrage of bombs. Our children are mocked and ridiculed for believing that we have a God powerful enough to create the heavens and the earth by a word of His mouth. Our young people are being pressured to accept homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle. We are being invited to question the reliability and relevance of the word of God. And those are just some of the big bombs dropped upon us. There are hundreds of smaller rounds fired at us every day. Our morality, integrity and virtue are constantly in the cross hairs as we decide whether or not to cheat on a test (it is incredibly easy to do in a virtual classroom), or whether or not we give our employer an honest day’s labor (also easy to make that compromise in a virtual office), or whether or not we take the words and actions of our neighbors in the kindest possible way (something that has become increasingly difficult with the advent of Facebook and the like). And those are the shots that most of us see coming. Don’t forget that there is that satanic sniper hiding in the shadows trying to pick us off with one precisely placed temptation at a time. It seems now more than ever our steeples are in danger of falling and our spires are sure to crumble.
In order to figure out what made pastor Grundtvig so boldly confident about the resiliency of the Church, let’s take a look at Hebrews 3:1-6. There we are reminded that “We Are God’s House” and we are reassured that Jesus is both maker and master of that house.
Perhaps, however, we should start by defining what God’s House is. Often, we think of God’s house as it is depicted in the book of Revelation. There we are invited to imagine God’s House as a palace where the King of kings reigns. In the book of Revelation, it is described as a jewel encrusted place surrounded by golden streets and secured by pearly gates. But God’s house is not confined to the heavenly realms. God is the ruler of heaven and earth. That is why at other times God’s house is depicted as a church, but not one made of brick and mortar. In 1 Peter 2:5 we read, “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house.” God’s House is not a specific place, but rather, God’s House is a specific people. God’s House is all believers everywhere be they gathered around the throne in heaven or assembled in a church like this. That is why in verse 6 of our text the writer of the letter to the Hebrews says, “We are His [God’s] House”.
Now that we have defined our term, let’s talk about how Jesus is the maker of God’s House. In 3-4 we read, “3 Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. 4 For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” It ought not surprise us that Jesus is the builder of God’s house. Indeed, He is the only one who could do it. It is not as if the project could be left to the likes of us. I have built a brick-and-mortar church before. I know how the building process can test the relationships of the finest of Christians. I can only imagine what would have happened if God had left the building of His House to the crudest of sinners.
C.S. Lewis once described hell as a place of separation. His idea was that souls absorbed with sin would be so hateful and hostile that they could not coexist. Lewis imagined that the mild sinners were able to live in clusters of perpetually warring factions, but the really bad sinners had to live far away from everyone else; they had to live in complete isolation because they were so hateful so hostile that all they did was hurt and harm the people around them. In Romans 8 saint Paul tells us that by nature, that is before faith was created in our hearts, our minds were set on sinful desires, our minds sought death, saint Paul writes that our minds were hostile to God; they did not, could not, would not submit to God’s law.[1] Romans 8 tells us, by nature, all we wanted to do was tear down God’s House. In view of Romans 8, how far away do you imagine C.S. Lewis would say we have to live from each other? It comes as absolutely no surprise to any of us that unbelievers were incapable of coming together to build God’s House.
Of course, God’s House needs to be built by Jesus. By nature, we wanted nothing to do with God’s house; we wanted to be as far away from the gathering of believers as we could get. But, through the means of grace, Jesus called to you from a distance. He had you brought to the baptismal font where He connected the power of His word with ordinary water to cleanse you from your sin so that you could become a member of God’s House. Weekly He solidifies your place in God’s House as you listen to the Word of God being preached from the pulpit or taught in the classroom. Often, He invites you to partake of His supper where his broken body and shed blood are miraculously connected with bread and wine and are giving to ensure you that as a forgiven sinner you will never be banished from God’s House. Though by nature you wanted nothing to do with God’s house and wanted to be as far away from the gathering of believers as you could get, Jesus through the means of grace made you a part of God’s house.
In verses 3-4 we are reassured that Jesus is the maker of God’s House. Now in verses 5-6 we find further reassurance in the knowledge that Jesus is also the master over God’s House. We read, “5 Moses was faithful as a servant in all God’s house, testifying to what would be said in the future. 6 But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house.” Moses was a big deal. He led God’s House out of slavery in Egypt and brought them safely through the Red Sea. Moses guided God’s House through the wilderness and gave them the 10 commandments. Mosses brought God’s House to the promised land. Moses did some great things as a servant in God’s House. Should we not expect even greater things from Jesus who is the Son over God’s House?
As the master of God’s House, Jesus has a vested interest in the welfare of the inhabitants of His House. That means, not only has Jesus brought you into God’s House through the means of grace but as a member of God’s House Jesus continues to provide for you and protect you.
As master over God’s House Jesus provides for your spiritual needs. Jesus invites you to come to Him when you are weary and burdened[2], that is when your faith is flickering and your cross is slipping; when you find yourself struggling to know and do the right thing, Jesus says come to me and I will give you rest; My word will fan the flame of your faith and give you strength to stand up under your cross.
As Master over God’s House Jesus provides for your physical needs. Jesus invites you to look out the window of God’s House and see the birds of the air and the flowers in the fields. You see how generously Jesus feeds the birds of the air and how beautifully He dresses the flowers of the field and then Jesus says to you, “are you not much more valuable than they”[3], there is no reason for you to worry about what you will eat or drink or about your body or what you will wear. Either through miraculous or natural means, I am going to make sure that you, as a member of My House, have everything that you need.
As master over God’s house Jesus protects the inhabitants of His House from harm and danger. The first thing that Jesus does is ensure that the inhabitants of His House are fit for battle. First and foremost, Jesus dresses you in a robe of His righteousness. Then He buckles the belt of truth around your waist and fastens the breastplate of righteousness to your chest. He places the shield of faith in one hand and the sword of the Spirit in the other. Lastly, He places the helmet of salvation on your head. Then, when you are fitted for battle, Jesus commands His army of angels, some 10,000 times 10,000 heavenly hosts to stand around the perimeter of God’s House in order to guard you in all our ways. Then finally, Jesus, who has already defeated both death and devil stands at the door of God’s House and defiantly declares that the very hordes of hell will not be able to overcome. Brick and mortar may crumble, steeple and spires may tumble, but as long as Jesus remains master over God’s House it cannot and will not fall.
As pastor Grundtvig looked upon the ruins of the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen he remained boldly optimistic about the resiliency of the Church because He saw more than a bombed-out building. He saw God’s House, of which Jesus is both maker and master. As the world bombards our doctrines, and our morality, integrity and virtue are daily placed in the cross hairs, and the satanic sniper tries to pick us of one temptation at a time, it is easy for us to get discouraged. But we can share pastor Grundtvig’s bold optimism about the resiliency of the Church because we are God’s House of which Jesus is both maker and master. Amen
[1] Romans 8:5-8
[2] Matthew 11:28
[3] Matthew 6:26