Two Types of People

Grace Episcopal Church, Madison NJ
Year A: The Third Sunday after Pentecost – Proper 4
June 1, 2008

Genesis 6:9-22; 7:24; 8:14-19
Psalm 46
(Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-31)
Matthew 7:21-29

Two Types of People

Have you ever heard people say “There are two types of people in the world?” Usually it’s said in kind of a joking way such as, “There are two types of people – people who like to drink Pepsi and people who like to drink Coke.” Or, “There are two types of people – people who give gray hair and people who get gray hair.” Or, “There are two types of people – people who see the glass as half full and people who see the glass as half empty.”

Well, in today’s lesson from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is not joking when he says there are two types of people. There are the people who hear the words of Jesus and act on them – they are like the man who built his house on a rock. They will be able to withstand the inevitable challenges and struggles of life. And then there are the people who hear the words of Jesus but do not act on them – they are like the man who built his house on sand. They will not be able to withstand the inevitable struggles and challenges of life.

And so today, just like Jesus’ first listeners, we’re faced with the crucial question – which type of person are we? Week after week we come to church and we hear the words of Jesus. How do we respond? Do the words of Jesus, do the teachings of Jesus, make any difference in our lives? Which type of person are we?

The lesson we just heard is taken from a pivotal part of Matthew’s gospel. Actually, it comes right at the end of the Sermon on the Mount – the long section of the gospel where Jesus lays out the heart of his teaching. The Sermon on the Mount is so rich and challenging, it’s difficult to summarize. But the pieces of the sermon are familiar to many of us. There are the Beatitudes - where Jesus offers a vision of life in the kingdom of God – a kingdom that has drawn near in Jesus himself.

The Beatitudes are so familiar we may miss just how radical, how unlikely and challenging, they are. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” And then Jesus looks at us and asks, well, what type of person are you? How do you respond to all this? Does it make any difference? Which type of person are you?

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus talks a lot about the law – and reminds us that he expects and demands better of us than just obeying the letter of the law. We are told we must reconcile with one another; we must love our enemies and those who persecute us; we must not resist evildoers; and we must give to everyone who begs from us.

This is tough stuff. And then Jesus looks at us and asks, well, which type of person are you? How do you respond to all of this? Does it make any difference? Which type of person are you?

Also in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches us how to pray. Jesus instructs us to say to God, “your will be done. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” Does it make any difference? Which type of person are you?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged.”

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.”

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus says all this and much more – and then he looks at his audience – looks at us - and asks – so which is it going to be? There are two types of people in the world. Which type of person are you? You’ve heard what I’ve had to say – will you change your life? Or will things continue - business as usual? And Jesus issues a warning that the type of person we choose to be will have important and lasting consequences.

After Jesus issues this challenge and warning, Matthew devotes the next section of his gospel to describing the various miracles performed by Jesus. This is certainly done on purpose. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has taught with words and now in his miracles and healings, Jesus teaches through actions. All of Jesus’ teaching and healing is to help us decide which type of person we are going to be.

Something else that helps us decide which type of person we are going to be is the example of others who have gone before us – people who are role models of faith. We learn about some of those people in the Bible, we learn about others in history and still others we discover in our own lives.

In today’s Old Testament lesson, we heard the very familiar story of Noah, the ark and the flood. It’s odd that so often we think of this as a children’s story. It’s a really disturbing story isn’t it? The idea of God getting so fed up with humanity that God decides to flood the whole world is pretty terrifying. And in recent years – and even just the past couple of weeks - we’ve been very powerfully and horribly reminded of the destructive power of a great flood.

In a lot of ways, though, the story of the Flood fits in very nicely with Jesus’ challenge to us in the Gospel: which type of person are you going to be?

The whole theme of the early chapters of the Book of Genesis is that God made a good creation and created human beings in God’s image and likeness. Unfortunately – and maybe inevitably – things went terribly wrong as human beings misused their freedom and chose to be the wrong type of people. Human beings chose to rebel against God and tried to run away from God. And human beings became violent with one another.

It’s a long way from God proclaiming the creation good to the line from today’s reading, “Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, and the earth was filled with violence.” And so in the story God decides to try again and unleashes this terrible flood.

If on the one hand, the story of the flood is terrible and terrifying, on the other hand it’s also a story of a good man – a righteous man – the type of person who does the will of God. Yes, the flood is the story of God’s anger, but it’s also the story of Noah – the righteous man who walked with God. It’s the story of Noah – the type of person we can choose to be.

I love that phrase from today’s lesson, “Noah walked with God.” Noah walked with God by responding to God’s call and doing the will of God – in his case it was the unlikely and challenging task of building the ark and saving the earth’s creatures. It’s important to point out that just because Noah was righteous didn’t mean that he didn’t have trouble and grief in his life – even after the flood. God never promises a trouble-free life. As Jesus says the storms of life eventually come for all of us. But God does promise to be with us and strengthen us during the inevitable troubles and challenges of life.

So, what would it mean for us here today to “walk with God?” In one way, each of us has to figure out – has to discern – what it means for us to walk with God. In our own lives each of us has to figure out what it means for us to walk with God. The details will be different for each of us. But the bottom line is that for all of us walking with God means choosing to be the type of person who hears the words of Jesus - and acts on them.

Now, God is probably not going to give us a task as unlikely or as challenging as building an ark and saving the creatures of the earth. Then again, plenty of world’s creatures in danger today. You know, maybe God is calling us all to be a little bit like Noah.

And, speaking of unlikely and challenging tasks is there anything more unlikely or challenging than what Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount? Is there anything more unlikely and challenging than being asked to love our enemies, to pray for those who persecute us, to turn the other cheek, to do to others as you would have them to do to you? All pretty unlikely.

And, speaking of unlikely and challenging - is there anything more unlikely or challenging than… blessed are the poor and spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

All very unlikely and very challenging. But this is the teaching offered by Jesus. We are free to accept it or reject it.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us how to walk with God. And then, once he’s done with his teaching, he looks at us and asks, so which type of person are you. There are two types of people in the world. There are the people who hear Jesus’ words and act on them and there are the people who hear Jesus’ words and do nothing.

There are two types of people in the world. If we haven’t already, it’s time for us to decide which type we are.