The Towers of Jesus -- FPC sermon excerpt
In Barcelona, Spain, there is a church that has been under construction for more than a century. And it is still not finished.
From a distance, the four main towers of the church look like giant drip sandcastles on the beach. But as you get closer, you discover that they are psychedelic, mind-bending masterpieces.
The architect? Antoni Gaudi, born in 1852. Some love his work, some hate it. But everyone agrees that Gaudi is gaudy — showy and ornamental, full of geometric shapes and images plucked from nature.
According to Hemispheres Magazine (May 2009), Gaudi’s church is still incomplete after 125 backbreaking years. When the cornerstone was put in place, Chester A. Arthur was president of the United States and Victoria was the queen of England. For all that time, the church has been wrapped in scaffolding and cranes, and the work has inched along — continuing even through the death of Gaudi himself, killed in a streetcar accident on his way to work in the year 1926.
Finally — yes, finally — the interior will be finished. For the first time in its history, the church will host a Catholic Mass in its main nave this month. Then, in November, the pope will stop by to consecrate the church.
“For which of you,” asks Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, “intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish’” (14:28-30).
The next step in the construction of Gaudi’s church will be the completion of its final spire: A 550-foot high “Tower of Jesus.” This tower was started by Gaudi and will be finished by others, hopefully by 2026 — the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death.
This long and intricate building project raises a question for us today: What are the towers that Christ is challenging us to build, and do we have the perseverance and commitment to complete them?
We’ll be starting construction on five towers here at FPC in the next five weeks, in a series of sermons and small group discussions. Based on the work of Robert Schnase, they are the towers of radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity. Together, these five are The Towers of Jesus, essential parts of being a hospitable congregation.
From a distance, the four main towers of the church look like giant drip sandcastles on the beach. But as you get closer, you discover that they are psychedelic, mind-bending masterpieces.
The architect? Antoni Gaudi, born in 1852. Some love his work, some hate it. But everyone agrees that Gaudi is gaudy — showy and ornamental, full of geometric shapes and images plucked from nature.
According to Hemispheres Magazine (May 2009), Gaudi’s church is still incomplete after 125 backbreaking years. When the cornerstone was put in place, Chester A. Arthur was president of the United States and Victoria was the queen of England. For all that time, the church has been wrapped in scaffolding and cranes, and the work has inched along — continuing even through the death of Gaudi himself, killed in a streetcar accident on his way to work in the year 1926.
Finally — yes, finally — the interior will be finished. For the first time in its history, the church will host a Catholic Mass in its main nave this month. Then, in November, the pope will stop by to consecrate the church.
“For which of you,” asks Jesus in the Gospel of Luke, “intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it will begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish’” (14:28-30).
The next step in the construction of Gaudi’s church will be the completion of its final spire: A 550-foot high “Tower of Jesus.” This tower was started by Gaudi and will be finished by others, hopefully by 2026 — the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death.
This long and intricate building project raises a question for us today: What are the towers that Christ is challenging us to build, and do we have the perseverance and commitment to complete them?
We’ll be starting construction on five towers here at FPC in the next five weeks, in a series of sermons and small group discussions. Based on the work of Robert Schnase, they are the towers of radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity. Together, these five are The Towers of Jesus, essential parts of being a hospitable congregation.
posted by Henry Brinton | 12:35 PM
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