Sunday, Dec. 19, 1999

SCRIPTURE  READINGS	 	2nd Sam. 7:1-11
				Luke 1:26-38
a communion message.

Where does God live? What does the house of God look like? Have you ever wondered? Max Lucado wrote this wonderful book entitled “The Great House of God”. In it, he suggests that God lives in a cozy, inviting house with many rooms, a throne office, and a great living-room with all our framed pictures covering the wall! It is a good illustration, along with a good study on the Lord’s prayer... but in my humble opinion, I disagree with Rev. Lucado.
When you imagine the Great House of God, I would suggest that you leave the cozy-country estate behind you, and picture in your mind an unbelievably rich palace.
I imagine that to get to this palace, you have to drive close to a mile from the front gate (which is made out of pure gold), through the perfectly kept green pastures and beside still waters. You see on your left, the tree of life overflowing with fruit. On your right, familiar Bible Stories carved on stones at the side of the road.
When you finally turn the last bend, you are in awe of the most beautiful palace you have ever seen. There are windows everywhere... too numerous to count. The columns beside the front doors extend almost to the heavens, and above the main arch you find an inscription in gold that reads “Emmanuel - God with us”. Suddenly you realize that you are not alone... several angels look at you through the windows, only to hide again as you look up.
As you step trough the front door, you realize that you have never seen such beauty! The red carpets are rich in color, and extremely plush. The chandeleers sparkle with the light around them, and the marble floors are like a mirror. You make your way through the reception area, take a right turn through the dinning room, past the grand piano, into the library, and out the back door into the garden.
O, you have never seen a garden like this. All of the flowers are blooming and all of the fruits are in season. Beneath your feet, you see a little pebble path that leads you past the fountain, and into a little forest of evergreens. And right there, something catches your eye. In between the first two trees. Small enough to go unnoticed, you see a rather old, and worn out camping tent.
“Well, who could this tent belong to? Who dares camp illegaly in the Great House of God?” Enraged you call Gabriel, the angel. “Hey! Gabriel! Do you see this? Who is desecrating the house of God? Who lives in this worn out tent?”
“O, this tent? Says Gabriel. You have it all wrong my friend. That great palace is not God’s house. God lives in this tent.”
You are speechless. God???? Living in a tent? Why? “Gabriel.... if God lives in that tent, then whose palace is that?”
Friend, don’t you remember the Scripture? “Moreover the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house” (2 Sam. 7:11). That palace is yours.
Doesn’t make sense, does it? It doesn’t make sense to us. Neither did it make sense to King David.
The newly annointed King of Israel wrestled with the same idea. “I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells in a tent”. It hardly seemed fair. David wanted so badly to build a temple for God.
You see, from the time of the Exodus, when Moses and his artisans build the golden ark of the covenant, God instructed them to put it inside a tabernacle. A large tent which they could travel with. As the cloud that covered Israel in the dessert moved, the people were supposed to pick up their stuff, take the tent and follow the cloud. God’s house has always been represented by such a tent.
Now, you can hardly blame David. After all, don’t we want to do what is best for God? Let’s build God a giant cathedral, or a palace. A place made out of carved stone, with a golden dome above it, marble floors, painted ceilings, golden altars and heavy crosses. We would all like to give God our very best for a house. But like David, we are missing the point.
Tell me, what is the difference between a beautifully made cathedral and a camping tent? Simple. Saint Peter’s Cathedral (Basilica) in Rome has been sitting there since 1784, and has not moved an inch. The camping tent in my backpack has moved with me EVERYWHERE I go!
God reminded David “I took you from being a shepherd, that you should be prince over my people in Israel’ and I have been with you wherever you went...” (2 Sam. 7:8-9 paraphrased).
What kind of God would you much rather have? The God who lives in this house; whom you come to visit every Sunday morning and say goodbye to as you sing the benediction? Or the kind of God whom you come to worship on Sundays, and who goes with you everywhere you go?
You see. Contrary to popular belief, God doesn’t live here inside these four walls. God has appointed this place as one where believers will gather to worship him. He is not confined to a Presbyterian Church, Catholic, Methodist, Lutheran, Basilica, Cathedral, etc.... But in God’s infinite grace, he has decided to dwell in a tent, and walk with us.
What kind of a tent is it? Those of you who have been camping - you associate a tent with fun and recreation- if the weather cooperates!.... but I would like to suggest that God’s tent is a different one. If you ever saw pictures of the refugees outside Kosovo, you realize now that they used to live in tents! After the major earthquake in Mexico, those who lost their homes, lived in tents.
God’s tent is similar. This kind of tenting is not really a holiday luxury, but a rugged way of life. Christ did not come into the world on a heavenly holiday, or to celebrate Christmas. But as John 1:14 says “The Word became flesh and (literally) (eskhnwsen ) pitched his tent among us...”
Mary heard that powerful news the very first Christmas. the angel appeared to her and said “The Lord is with you... the Holy Spirit will overshadow you and you will have a child. He will be called holy, the Son of God”.
Emmanuel... not God inside as church, but God with us.
God did and does live in a tent... what about the palace? Jesus went on ahead “to prepare a place for us”. Now I don’t know if you will really have a one mile long driveway into your mansion... but I do know that what the hymnwriter says is true. we’ve got a mansion... just over the hilltop.
Friends... the elements on this table are the only physical reminder of God’s presence with us, and the future heavenly glory. Jesus spoke of this bread and this cup and said “Do this in remembrance of me”. As you partake of the elements, remember the words of the Psalmist (34:8) “O taste and see that the Lord is good” . And know that Christ is with us ALWAYS... until the end of time.
AMEN.