June 18 - Good News from Fox Hill

A FIRM FOUNDATION

1 Peter 2: 2-10                                                                                                                   John 14: 1-14

Like newborn infants, long for the pure, spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow into salvation—if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good. Come to him, a living stone, though rejected by mortals yet chosen and precious in God’s sight, and like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in scripture:

 “See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious;

 and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe,

 “The stone that the builders rejected has become the very head of the corner,”

And “A stone that makes them stumble, and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

So, it is true that faith really matters here in Fox Hill, Wisconsin, my hometown, the gateway to central Wisconsin.  It was particularly quiet on Friday evening.  There was no traffic on Main Street, no parties going on in any of the homes, and The Bijou, our $5 movie theater, was practically vacant.  It was the night of the Fox Hill High School prom and all the Juniors and Seniors, their chaperones, teachers and school administrators were at the Sons of Lombardi lodge in Appleton for the big event. The prom had been postponed from early May to Mid-June because of the coronavirus and the Lombardi hall in Appleton was the only place they could find large enough to accommodate about 25 couples, all dancing six feet apart. To enforce the rule, the PTA has fashioned caps with three foot swim sausages extending from the back and sides to keep the couple apart. Many of the parents had asked for a sausage on the front also to keep the couples six feet apart, but six feet is way more than the catholic nuns insisted as six inches to allow room for the Holy Spirit.

                Vicar Lena of the Fox Hill Lutheran Church however didn’t think it was all that quiet.  Her phone at the apartment kept ringing off the hook all night long with anxious parents, usually a Mom, complaining that they shouldn’t have held the prom so far away from home.  “Surely the fire hall in Fox Hill would have worked just as well.  If they had come up with a prom theme like “Hot Time in the City,” why then even the fire trucks could have served as realistic decorations.  But Appleton!  How are we going to be able to spy on our daughters and sons and make sure they don’t get into any trouble if they’re so far away?”

                Vicar Lena would offer words of reassuring comfort to calm them down, “They’re your children.  You taught them well.  They’ll follow your example.”  She wondered whether she should have included that last line, knowing some of the parents she had spoken to.  Then the minute she would hang up, the phone would ring with another hysterical mom.

                But perhaps the loudest noise that evening may have come from the back porch of David and Judy Martin’s home.  David, you might remember, has been taking more time off now that the church had a student intern after his lengthy pastorate.  He had taken up a hobby in semi-retirement, much to his wife Judy’s chagrin, of collecting individually different beer cans.  He had already gathered 1,186 different cans; not that he had done all the drinking. He would dumpster dive at rest areas or parking lots or picnic areas or anywhere there were garbage cans. And his brother in Florida served as an East coast extension to his hobby. The walls of his home office were already covered with shelves of cans and he had just told Judy that he was going to have to put up more shelves to display more new cans on her dining room walls.

                That’s when Judy blew her top.  And I know for a fact from my parents who live next door to the Martins that when Judy began yelling at her husband’s hair-brained idea, their dog started barking and woke all of the other sleeping dogs who, with the kids all gone to Appleton, had nothing better to do than to form a chorus of howling throughout the town.  After Judy calmed down, she conceded that if her husband wanted to continue collecting more cans, he would have to put up a shed in the backyard to hold them all.

                “A shed!” thought Pastor Martin, “what a great idea.  I could build a shed.”  Well, no, he couldn’t.  David Martin has always been a hard worker, but he doesn’t know his way around a lumber yard and he’s never used a power tool in his life.  He’s only sawed wood, drilled screws and hammered nails by hand.  So he gave Karl Krankshaw a call to see if he could give him some help on Saturday.

                David had bought a “Do-It-Yourself” kit from The Shed Man, kind of like IKEA, but no good Norwegian would ever buy anything from a Swedish company, dontcha know.  Karl arrived at the Martin home at 9AM. And David was ready to tear into the box and get to work building a shed.

                “Whoa!  Hold on, David,” said Karl, “You can’t build the shed until we have a proper, level foundation to put it on.  The sure foundation is the most important part of the project.  Or else, your shed would be crooked, the doors won’t close together, and within a few years, all your work would be in vain.”

                So, the first four and a half hours of the morning were spent in building a level foundation.  They went to Mabey’s Lumber and Gravel to get wood and screws.  Karl did all the figuring and ordering with the owner, Lars Mabey, himself.  David’s only contribution was to ask if they offered a guarantee policy.  Lars just stared at him and finally said, “At Mabey’s Lumber and Gravel we stand behind our good name.  Is it the best quality wood?  Will we replace anything that might be defective?  Mabey – that’s my name and I’m proud of it.

                Lars looked at Karl quizzically and asked, “Is this guy helping you?”  Karl admitted, “It’s actually his shed.”  “Good luck with that,” quipped Lars.

                Then Karl and David got to work framing the foundation to the exact dimensions of the shed, leveling its placement, digging out a little on one side and filling in a little on the other side, finally getting it in place and then putting a covering of plywood over the top.  The foundation was finally done and it had taken all morning long.

                For lunch, Karl and David went to Dan’s Diner and ordered a burger and a Leinenkugel Beer – the beer with the name on it you can’t pronounce.  Karl said, “That may have taken a while, David, but in the end you’ll be glad we put so much time and energy into such a fine foundation.  And six hours later, a well-constructed shed was sitting upon a firm and level foundation.

                Now Vicar Lena had heard about her predecessor’s work project and stopped by in the evening for a look-see.  Plus, she always appreciated having the wizened pastor as a supervisor and mentor.  So she would often visit for consultation and advice.  Today, I guess they call it “spiritual direction.”  But David Martin just thought of it a good, common sense.

                “Nice shed,” she said, “Looks like you and Karl did a fine job on it.”  David admitted, “I couldn’t have done it without him.  How do you like the foundation?”  “The what?” she asked.  And then he realized that, with the shed in place, no one could actually see the foundation.  The most important part would go unseen.

                Vicar Lena changed subjects, “The church is declining.  I’m afraid Fox Hill Lutheran Church may have to close if present trends continue.  Even before the virus hit, there are fewer children in Sunday School.  Most of the regular members were attending once a month instead of every week.  We never knew who was going to show up for the choir anthem.  Church just doesn’t seem to be a priority in the lives of people anymore.”

                Pastor Martin didn’t know what to say, “I wish I knew how to help.  But it’s not you, Lena, or me for that matter.  You’re going to be a better pastor and a far better preacher than I ever was.  And it’s happening in every church and in every denomination.”  Then suddenly an inspiration hit him, “I think the problem is that families no longer have the time and energy and effort to provide a firm foundation of faith in Jesus Christ for themselves and for their children.  It’s like they spend all their time on the walls of a shed – good grades in school, participating in sports, engaging in the arts, being good citizens – but provide no foundation of faith to hold it level and firm.  And then they’re surprised and angry when the whole thing seems to fall apart.  It’s like the apostle wrote in 1 Peter: Christ is the cornerstone, chosen and precious, and all the faithful will not be put to shame.”

                Vicar Lena was quite impressed, ”OK, then help me with this one also.  I have a baptism at church tomorrow for a couple I’ve never heard of before.  They don’t even live around here.  They’re coming up from Milwaukee just to have their baby baptized at Fox Hill Lutheran Church.  I just don’t get it!”

                “Oh, I do,” said the old pastor, “I know them.  I baptized and confirmed the mother here at Fox Hill Lutheran many years ago.  And I went down to the city to marry the two of them.  They’re coming back to Fox Hill Lutheran Church because this is where her family put in the time and commitment to provide for her a firm foundation of faith in Jesus Christ.  And I’m confident that she’ll do the same for her child.”

                Vicar Lena returned to her apartment thinking, “I don’t know how he does it, but he always seems to say just the right thing.”  The light was flashing on her answering machine.  She pressed the button to hear the voice of one of the distressed mothers from Friday night, “I wanted to call to thank you, Vicar Lena, for your comforting words when I was freaking out about my daughter being so far away at the prom.  It seems I was upset over nothing.  She had a great time and everything went smoothly.  I guess you were right about trusting in the foundation of faith we provided for her.  Somehow you always seem to say the right thing.  Thanks again, and God bless you.”

                Well, the next time I go back home to Fox Hill, I’ll have to check out Pastor Martin’s shed, and his beer can collection, and thank God for my family and all the people of Fox Hill Lutheran Church who helped build for me a sure foundation of faith in Jesus Christ.

                And that’s the Good News from Fox Hill, where faith really matters for every single man, woman, and child; oh, and the married ones too. AMEN.

The Fifth Sunday of Easter

May 14, 2017