Rev. Sandy Lacey
May 03, 2026
I am generally not fond of construction zones. Are you? A lot of the time traffic has to be rerouted around them and you have to watch out for people not paying attention to the road because they are looking elsewhere to see what is going on. Accidents seem to happen around construction zones. And if it is road construction, you have to watch out for tar, big vehicles, lots of orange cones, and those large steel plates lying down on the road over holes. There are a lot of potential hazards in construction zones.
Home construction is even more fun. There are always delays and problems to be worked out, and of course, unexpected expenses. There are different workers traipsing through your house, some of whom like to track mud and cigarette smoke everywhere they go. And the music, of course, must be turned up to a volume that can be heard over a jack hammer being used in the next county. Since Mike and I have been married we have had the privilege of having two homes built, one of which was near completion when we purchased it in Dothan, AL and the other that we oversaw from the beginning in Silverhill, AL. I’ve got to say that the experience is not fun and we are probably fortunate to still be married.
The Epistle writer today suggests that we are a construction zone and by extension, so is the church. The writer uses two wonderful images: he describes us as newborn infants in need of spiritual milk to grow us into our salvation and he describes us as living stones waiting to be put together into a spiritual house with Jesus as the cornerstone. (Last week we were sheep looking for a leader in the Gospel of John. This week we are the building blocks, the stones, just waiting to be built into a spiritual house.) The interesting thing is that apparently we have some say in the construction of the house – we have to let ourselves be built.
I know we have heard mixed messages over the years – some denominations/some churches say there are certain things we must do or say in order for God to offer salvation to us (to let us be part of his house) – we must change our ways; we must say a particular phrase; we must follow the right prescription. We have to do something; we have to say something. It is as if we are the ones doing the building and not God. And then we have heard the opposite extreme – God loved us from the beginning and chose to save us, expecting nothing in return. In other words, God does all the work and we are simply along for the ride. This Epistle passage suggests that neither of those approaches is correct – God does the building and we must be willing participants.
Our Reformed tradition emphasizes God doing the initiation and the building. That is why we baptize infants – it is the clearest expression that there is nothing we can do to ever earn God’s favor and love. God loved us first and God does the building. God brings us into God’s house. And something is expected of us – we are being built for a purpose. The grace that is given to us is not cheap, not easy grace with no expectations. We are blessed so that we might be a blessing to others, as the Hebrew Scriptures say over and over again. Grace asks/ demands a response from us – we are to let ourselves be built into a spiritual house. God may do the initiation and we may be baptized as screaming infants; however, we are expected to participate in the journey of salvation. We know it is a journey; why else would we ask you, the congregation to make promises to children (and adults) when they are baptized? You promise to nurture them in the faith, to help them in their journey as they are being built into a spiritual house, a royal priesthood, a holy nation. We are to take those promises seriously because a promise is a promise after all. That is why I, as your pastor ask some questions when someone wants a baby baptized here and the child and parents live out of the area and do not regularly attend. How are we to live up to our promise if the child and the parents are never here for us to support and nurture in the faith? I have wanted to know if the family has a church home near where they live, and that they will make an effort to not only attend that church, but participate in its life and worship – for how else can we be nurtured in the faith without the support of our faith community? We are under construction; we have not arrived yet; we are being built by God and this construction process is a journey.
As a house, we are always under construction. The Epistle writer calls us stones, a kind of building block. A few of us are stones with a lot of rough edges. We may be argumentative. We may insist on doing things our way. Some of us, however, have smooth edges and are easy to get along with – so easy that we may do anything someone tells us to do, even to the point of our exhaustion. And others of us have some really sharp edges that could use a bit of sanding . . . but the point is that we are a work in progress. God’s salvation is a journey, a process – we are growing into salvation (sanctification) as the Epistle writer tells it. We are under construction as individuals and as a church. It may be that we each should have to wear a sign around our neck that says, “Caution – Under Construction” and a big sign right out front of every church building saying the same thing! Maybe then we would stop expecting the perfect person, the perfect church, and realize we are all a work in progress!
Well, how do we let ourselves be built, you might ask. A house is not built in a day so let’s not expect perfection right away, o.k.? One thing we can do is simply show up. Be here, develop a habit of worship. Worship reminds us that life is about more than our wants/our needs – life is about living a life in gratitude to God in whatever circumstance we might find ourselves. So, be present and interact in your faith community.
Another way to let ourselves be built is to learn more about this journey – join a Bible study, a group study of some sort. Go on a retreat. If there is not something that you can find that sparks your interest, suggest something; help start it. So, just show up, engage in learning more, and also serve others. Move outside of yourself – enlarge your perspective. Volunteer at a shelter, at the Soup Kitchen, or be a reader at an elementary school. Volunteer at the hospital or with a hospice. Do some clean-up for your elderly neighbors. Get to know the neighborhood kids and make them cookies occasionally. Ask me about some of our homebound members who need visits and who may need a little help every now and then. Move outside of yourself and your particular worries.
Another way you can let yourselves be built into a spiritual house is to begin to take a few minutes of quiet time each day to reflect and pray. Listen for God’s voice. And lastly, I would say that to help you in your construction project, learn to not allow money to control your life – tithe it to God and gain a spirit of gratitude and generosity.
As I think about a house being constructed, I cannot help but think about structural integrity. What makes some buildings stronger and able to withstand high winds, water, and shifting earth? Is it the kind of materials used? Are some materials better than other materials? And would it make a difference if a key piece, like a cornerstone is missing or even of a different material? I think so. Who or what is your cornerstone? What is anchoring your house right now? Is it strong enough to withstand any storm . . . because you know storms will come.
I have been wondering these things as I hear stories from family members and friends about the devastating effects of floods and the chaos of tornadoes, and the sheer terror of hurricanes. I hear from my Architect friends that those in the building industry try to learn from these horrible events and then they alter building codes to fit the new information gleaned.
It is not so different with us. In our individual and corporate lives, we make mistakes. We take matters into our own hands and forget who the builder is. We panic at signs of trouble or difficulty and some of us have even given up on the whole project. The good news is that in this building project – you – God even uses the mistakes to make the construction stronger.
As we think about building structure, let us remember where to place our trust. Martin Luther calls God “A Mighty Fortress,” a dwelling place that withstands any storm, any evil, any circumstance – even our mistakes. Thanks be to God! AMEN.