October 11, 2009
4901 South Tryon Street - 1 Chronicles 29:1-9
Pastor: Luke Maybry
DownloadI am a very proud alumnus of Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina. I know that you already know that, probably to your chagrin, but so much of my formation happened there. Wofford has changed quite a bit even since I was there in the mid 90s. They have added two new dormitories, a science building, and an athletic complex. I understand that some of you will have the privilege of being down there this week for a certain football game, which I regret that I won’t be able to attend. If you see nothing else, I do encourage you to stop by Old Main. Old Main is the heart of Wofford. Though it has been renovated since I was there, it looks the exact same as it has for over 150 years. Old Main was built by slave labor in 1854. When the war started, students from Wofford formed the Southern Guards Battalion to defend their home land, and they trained on the front lawn of Old Main. Most of them did not return. Every student who has ever attended Wofford has spent time in Old Main. Every student has attended class in Old Main. Every student has snuck into Old Main on a Friday or Saturday night when they weren’t supposed just to check it out when it’s empty. Presidents have spoken from the pulpit in Leonard Auditorium, the Sanctuary of Old Main. Every Sunday, Church is held in Old Main. If the new dormitories go away, if the state-of-the-art science building gets blown up from a chemistry experiment gone bad, even if Gibbs Stadium (the new football stadium that Appalachian State has come to dread so much) crumbles under the weight of all our rowdy fans who don’t quit tailgating until the middle of the 2nd quarter, the college would be fine. But if Old Main goes, so goes the soul of Wofford College.
Place is very important. You tell me of any formative experience if your life, and I’ll show you a place where it happened that was instrumental to that formation. Even though Old Main at Wofford is a good example of that, there is actually no better example in all the world than the Church. I don’t know if you have ever been to Europe and seen all those cathedrals over there, but they are spectacular. Those places (yes, I said places) move you. Even for the most adamant atheist, how can you go in St Paul’s Cathedral in London and not be moved by it? Whoever built that must have thoroughly believed in an awesome God who cares about every nook and crannie on the face of the earth. Or how can you go to Mooreville United Methodist Church in Mooreville, Texas, and see that beautiful old glass that looks like it’s about to crumble, and the simplicity and yet beauty of the white chapel there, all on the prettiest spot of land in Mooreville and not come away with a new appreciation of a God who scatters seed everywhere every spring, and harvests it in the fall?
And, lest we forget, I remember vividly the very first time that I came here. It was mid November of 2007, and I had just met with the Pastoral Nominating Committee. They grilled, I mean interviewed, me for two hours or so, and then took me on a tour. We were in the Emma B. Young Room at the time, so they showed what might be my new office one day, and they took me in the gym, and the new kitchen. And then they showed me the Fellowship Hall. And then they took me in the Education Wing, and they took me upstairs to the children’s Sunday school classes, and I saw how all those rooms had been painted. It was obvious then to me, just by being in that place, that somebody at Central Steel Creek cared very deeply about children. And then we came back downstairs and walked down that old carpet that had been there since Washington crossed the Potomac that has just been replaced. Then we walked in the Sanctuary. And I remember thinking that this place was absolutely beautiful. Just walking in this Sanctuary takes me to a higher place. It’s old. It needs some work done on it. It’s not at all “hip” by today’s standards, but let it be known that this is the house of Almighty God. It is not our house. It is not ordinary. It is holy.
King David promised God in 1 Samuel 16 that he would build him a house. David said that it wasn’t right that God had brought Israel all this way and there never was a house, a Temple, for God. There were worship spaces, but nothing permanent, even though David himself lived in a mansion. God told David, though, that God would build him a house, an eternal house. God made a covenant with David, and based off that covenant, David could then get around to his own promise. Except David didn’t live long enough. At this point, David’s life was about finished. His throne had already been passed down to his son, Solomon. As far as David saw it, the most important thing that Solomon could do was to build this Temple. David himself had provided for it, yet he knew that he would never even see it started, much less completed, much less in use. It was about more than David, you see. It was about God. It was God’s house, and David and all the people had the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to contribute to something so important.
In some ways, this is David’s system of tax collection. My wife is an accountant. As long as we have taxes to pay, we will have CPAs to help us find ways (hopefully legal) to get out of paying them. Nobody likes to pay taxes. Taxes are a burden on us, and they get bigger and bigger and consume more and more of our income every year. Imagine, though, if they were not a burden. Imagine if did we not dread paying our taxes, but we even celebrated paying our taxes. Imagine if we even started a holiday for paying our taxes. Imagine wishing somebody a happy tax day.
That’s what this was. “Then the people,” after they paid their taxes, “rejoiced because these had been given willingly, for with single mind they had offered freely to the Lord: King David also rejoiced greatly.” This particular Temple was built around 950 BC or so. It stood until 586 when the Babylonians destroyed it. Then from the ruins of that Temple, they built another Temple, and the Romans destroyed that one down or so years after Jesus. The people worshipped God in the Temple that David and Solomon and all the people built for a thousand years. In fact, they still worship on the ruins of the Old Temple. Think about all that happened in that Temple during that time. Think about all the lives that were changed. Think about all that God did through their work, specifically their physical work on that place, on the Temple. Even if the people that we read about in this passage were still alive today, three thousand years later, they still would not see all that God had done through the prayers of their hands.
Many of you have given generously of your time and your efforts and your money so that we can worship God together here. Yet, as we know it today, Central Steele Creek Presbyterian Church is the summary of the work of many people, most of whom are dead now. I was at Pleasant Hill Cemetery a couple of weeks ago and as I walked in there, I noticed that the very first grave on the right belongs to Rev. Raymond Young. It thought then that the placement of his grave could not possibly be more appropriate for both churches. He was the pastor here and at Pleasant Hill from 1932-1956. He did not live anywhere near long enough to see the fruits of his ministry. When I first got here, all I heard about was Dr. Young. To think that fifty years after he retired as pastor that people in this church are still talking about him and the impact of his ministry is nothing short of miraculous. To think that my daughters, the oldest of which was born fifty years after he retired, will know about the love and majesty of Almighty God partly because of a man named Raymond Alfred Young is incredible.
What more could you want out of your life? Today is a celebration. We are celebrating 125 years of being on this location at 9401 South Tryon Street in Charlotte, North Carolina. This place is a beautiful place. Goodness knows its surroundings have changed recently. Goodness knows that we live in some turbulent times for the church. And yet, for all that has changed, the God that we worship has not changed, and will never change. There’s this old, old story about how a Savior has come from glory to give us hope in a world that never has had much hope. We have some good news to share, some life-giving good news to share. We’ve got a story to tell, and this church has been and remains an important part of that story. And we are an important part of this church. Who knows what Steele Creek will look like another 125 years from now, or how Central Steele Creek will look then? We’ll all be dead then. But what we do today will impact what they do then. And we get to be a part not only of what has happened here long before we were born, but what will happen here, at 9401 South Tryon Street, long after we are dead. What a privilege, what a responsibility, what a celebration. Thanks be to God.
In the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
