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August 12, 2008

The stuff God is putting together

A monthly column for the church by the stated clerk

by the Rev. Gradye Parsons
Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

LOUISVILLE — One of my favorite books is How Buildings Learn, by Stewart Brand. It is a book about what happens to buildings after they are built.

We tend to look at buildings as static objects with a utilitarian future. Brand argues that good buildings are those that adapt to new uses, different inhabitants, and changing customs. Buildings that can adapt and are indigenous to the local culture usually survive and thrive.

Brand gives particular praise to structures built during the 1930s by the New Deal programs — Civilian Conservation Corps, Public Works Administration, and Works Project Agency. These programs provided work for millions of people who had lost their income during the Depression. They found help and hope while constructing some of our favorite structures.

In Ephesians 2, Paul uses a building metaphor to describe the way God is constructing the church. It is built on a foundation of the saints and apostles, with Christ as the cornerstone.

This construction of God’s has two great goals. One is to transform you and me from strangers and aliens into members of God’s household. The second is for the whole structure to grow together into a holy temple in the Lord, a dwelling place for God.

The church that God is building is not a specific structure. Most of the time it is not even visible. Sometimes we get a glimpse when we see bread broken, a cup of water offered, or an eight- or eighty-year-old face light up. But, seen or unseen, we should never doubt that this church is being built and that we are the materials.

We are the stuff God is putting together to build God’s church.

The Book of Occasional Services [Geneva Press, 1999] includes liturgy for the groundbreaking of a church. One of the prayers offers this hope:

Eternal God, our days and years are in your hand. Our accomplishments are fleeting, and what we build is temporary. We pray that what we begin here today will rise to give you glory, standing firm on the foundations of apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ himself as the cornerstone.