And They All Fall Down

Matthew 7: 24 - 27-- “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”

It makes so much sense, of course. Many times children make these castles in the sand and along comes the next high tide and all signs and remains are gone.

Many years ago a very good friend of mine introduced be to a short little poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay. It comes from her collection A Few Figs From Thistles. It is entitled simply "Second Fig":

Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand:
Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand!

To Donald the meaning was clear- "Don't build up there where it's safe. Come on down here to the beauty of the sand. Live a risky life, a life on the edge. Take chances." Without getting into the details, his life was more like what Jesus warned of. Great was the fall.

The mistaken understanding in the poem is striking as I look back on it from this place and age. Why do the houses up there on the safe and solid rick have to be ugly? I never thought of that until writing this post. Take a look at what Jesus said and you see that he doesn't mention anything about the style of the house that was built on the rock or the one built on the shifting sands.

Is it a question that we think if we follow the tried and true or the basic foundations around us that we will, by nature be ugly? Is it that we don't think that anything new and beautiful can be built on such a foundation?

When in the end everything that is built will fall down. We humans do not build anything of eternal ability to remain standing. Not with anything but being something of historic significance. We all fall down. Eventually. So, as Donald might ask, why then build on that ugly old solid rock?

Because it doesn't have to be ugly. It probably won't even be dull and boring. But keeping it tied to a solid foundation is important, at least in my mind. A solid foundation like Jesus is talking about is God. However we may define "God" we need to have that foundation. That solid spirit. Yes, I know that is a paradoxical statement. But that is part of the joy and wonder and beauty of God.

It doesn't have to make logical sense, it just have to be true. So when we end up falling down the basics will be there, in this life, and as we Christians believe in the next as well.