The Foundation of The Temple

Text: 1 Corinthians 3:10-11
Theme: “The Foundation of The Temple”
Seventh Sunday After the Epiphany
February 20, 2011
First Presbyterian Church
Denton, Texas
Rev. Paul R. Dunklau

IN THE NAME OF JESUS

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Five years ago, at about this time of the year, I began attending a men’s breakfast and Bible study in the Fellowship Hall of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church. The Associate Pastor, James Byers, was leading a class on “The Life and Letters of St. Paul”. There are twenty seven books in the New Testament. Nearly half of them – thirteen in total – were written by the apostle Paul. The Book of Acts, written by Paul’s travel companion, Luke, devotes a great portion of its story to the life and travels of Paul.

“St. Paul” – or “the Apostle Paul”, as he is called – was born in Tarsus (in modern-day Turkey). He was Jewish – although he did have citizenship in the Roman empire. A proud Pharisee, he studied at the feet of one of the most revered Jewish rabbis of the day: Gamaliel. At first, he was violently opposed to Christianity and even stood close by at the stoning of Stephen who history records as the first Christian martyr. Shortly after that event, on a trip to arrest and detain Christians, Saul was intervened upon. As the New Testament book of Acts records it, Saul was struck down by a blinding light, and he heard a voice which said: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “Who are you, Lord?” asked Saul in reply. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” the voice replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

The remainder of the book of Acts is, in essence, the story of Saul (whose name was changed to Paul) carrying the good news of Jesus Christ to the world. As the book of Acts plays itself out, we note that Paul took three different missionary journeys after his conversion to Christ. That last chapter tells of his final arrival in the capital city of the world at that time: Rome, Italy. Under arrest and accompanied by a Roman guard, Paul and the company with him sailed west across the Mediterranean Sea. They experienced a shipwreck at the island of Malta where Churchill and Roosevelt met during World War II centuries later. They sailed around Sicily and came to the southernmost tip, the boot, of Italy. They ventured north on the Tyrrhenian Sea along the western seaboard. They arrived on dry land at a town called Puteoli and then headed north to Rome. St. Luke, who obviously was taking notes, wrote this in the book of Acts: “We reached Puteoli. There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged. When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.”

Paul made it to Rome in roughly the year 60 AD. The Book of Acts concludes with this arrival. There is good reason to believe, based on later accounts of the history of early Christianity, that Paul was acquitted of his crime and continued his missionary travels. But then, some six to seven years after arriving in Rome, a new Roman emperor arrived on the scene by the name of Nero. He was not kindly disposed toward Christians. During Nero’s reign, Paul was arrested and beheaded, not far from the southeast section of the city where he first arrived, at a place called Tres Fontane. His friends buried his body two to three miles away and closer to the city.

Above that burial site – or sarcophagus, as it is called – stands and altar today. Around that altar is built one of the four basilicas, besides St. Peter’s basilica, that is owned by the Vatican. It is the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Wall. Two years ago, in June, Pope Benedict XVI announced the results of excavations inside that basilica. The sarcophagus under the altar was not opened, but a probe was inserted. It revealed pieces of incense and purple and blue linen. Bone fragments were found, and a radiocarbon test dated them to the first and second century. That is as far as history and science can go, but the Vatican is convinced that this, indeed, is the burial place of St. Paul.

A week ago last Friday, at sunset, I stood at the foot of the steps leading down to the sarcophagus. For a few moments, time seemed to stand still and I was overwhelmed; I felt my eyes begin to well up. My bucket list had grown shorter. My studies for that class on St. Paul three years ago had taught me about the place where I was standing. I hoped to visit it one day, but I thought it likely wouldn’t happen. One of the reasons for this is that I tend to be reactive and not proactive. Thus, when a good opportunity presents itself, I tend to balk and not consider the possibilities. But then, only a few short months after I was ordained, an opportunity presented itself to go to Italy. And I thank God for my wife and my sister-in-law and my brother-in-law who basically arranged our trip. Diana and I thought about all the reasons not to go on the trip, but we decided to go anyway. Our vacation was grand and good fun; it included wonderful visits to Milan and Venice. But for me, that trip to the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Wall -- without me even knowing it -- became something of a pilgrimage. And I didn’t’ even think we could visit it. My navigational skills are not exactly the best, and, by my reckoning, a visit would take too much time because the location was too far away. But then, on the Roman metro line, I noticed a stop called San Paolo, and it became clear that we weren’t that far away from the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Wall than any of us thought. Besides my wife and family and besides all of you, my dear brothers and sisters here at FPC, I can’t think of a more powerful confirmation of my life’s work than the privilege of standing there in that church by that grave.

In today’s New Testament Reading, we hear the words of St. Paul himself. He wrote a letter to a congregation not in Rome but in Corinth. This church had its problems and some of them pertained to leadership. Little factions and “cliques” had emerged, and Paul – the good pastor that he was – shepherded them through the problems with the love of Christ. He says: “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

While in Rome, we saw churches and temples and cathedrals and basilicas galore. There was one on every corner. We marveled at the majestic artwork that adorned them all. Every one of those buildings – some of them still in the process of being built – began with a foundation. It went from the ground up.

St. Paul describes the church – which you and I are a part of – as a building, a temple, with a foundation. It starts from the ground up, and Jesus Christ occupies the ground, the terra firma. Christ alone is the foundation. We sing about that in one of the classic hymns:

The church’s one foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord.
She is His new creation by water and the Word.
From heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride.
With His own blood He bought her, and for her life He died.

Whether we’re in Rome, Italy or Denton, Texas, USA, Jesus Christ is the foundation. Our honor and privilege is to build on it in our own time and place. Christianity is not a museum piece. It is not a relic of a bygone era that tourists flock to see. It is a way of life. It IS life.

Since Christ is the foundation, every one of us can rejoice. Since Christ is the foundation, our past – with its record of wrongs – is forgiven. Since
Christ is the foundation, our present is given strength. Since Christ is the foundation, our future is filled with hope.

Amen.