"Build it Right"

Fr. Pete's sermon for July 21, 2024 (Proper 11B). The readings for that day were 2nd Samuel 7:1-14a and Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

When you build something, you have to do it right. Right? Some of you do-it-yourselfers and crafts people know that. Home Depot used to have a slogan, You can do it, we can help. And Lowe’s says, Do it right, start at Lowe’s.

Now I’m not handy by any stretch—Dan is, not me. But I look back at some of the building projects I got myself into, successes and failures! As a kid I’d help my Dad with projects in his basement workroom with all his tools on a pegboard. He would tell me, measure twice, cut once! Sometimes I got that backwards!

One project Dad and I did was to build a Pinewood Derby race car. Every year Cub Scouts like me would build their own little race cars out of a block of balsa wood, put on the wheels, paint and decorate it, then we’d have a race down a big raised board. One year I think I put the wheels on wrong and I came in pretty far back. But the next year, Dad and I were determined to do better.

We worked so hard on that copper-painted Pinewood Derby race car. It tested fast! I was so ready to take on my buddies at the pack meeting…. Which I then totally forgot about. I didn’t go! I never got to race that car! I could’ve won. 

​So, when you build something, you have to do it right. And, you have to do something with what you build! Build it right, and make it go.

Years later, back when I was in my 40s, the deck on my house was getting very wobbly. It was 25 years old, the wood was grayed and wrinkled and splinter inducing. And it shook when you were on it. That’s not a good feeling when you’re 16 feet off the ground. 
​
Several handy friends experienced in deck-building offered to help me rebuild it. We could easily take down the old one and put up the new one in one weekend, right? Wrong. Not if you want to do it right. 

I went in to get a county permit, which some people said why bother, but I wanted to do it right. I consulted with both Home Depot and Lowes to do it right. Got the materials, ready to go. And even with all the help I had, it was a far more difficult, complicated, and exhausting job than I expected. 

The work went well with my experienced do-it-yourself buddies. We tore down the old one and set up the new improved version over a long 3-day Labor Day weekend. It looked great.
​ 
I called the county inspector to come approve our handiwork. Didn’t think it would be a big deal. But when I got home from work I saw a big red “warning” tag attached to the permit sign out front. We’d flunked! Had to fix lots of things…

Including the fact that the railings on the stairs were one inch below the required height! The stair railings were also improperly built. And we had attached the whole deck incorrectly to the house. And on and on… I was devastated. 

I called the inspector and asked, how were we supposed to know the specifics of the county codes so we could’ve built it right in the first place? Because the permit office would provide no guidance. Home improvement stores refused to provide guidance—they could get in legal trouble if they told you wrong!

The inspector said, “Well, you’re just supposed to know it!” Or ask them specific questions, which I didn’t know to ask. Well, my expert construction buddies were all gone now, but over next four full weekends one friend and I worked to make our deck legal. Somehow we managed it. And with a few final tweaks we passed the re-inspection. Now we could have a legal cookout on it!

When you build something, do it right! Even if it is difficult to accomplish.

Okay, why these stories about building projects? Because David had a big building project in mind, as we heard in 2 Samuel 7. He has settled into his own palace of cedar, but he complained to the prophet Nathan that while he was living in kingly comfort, the ark of God is in a measly tent! We need to build a temple for the Lord. And the prophet Nathan encouraged David to go for it.

But that night, God came to Nathan in a dream and told him he’d gotten it wrong. It’s always wise to check with God before speaking on God’s behalf! God said, “Now hold on. Not so fast. David isn’t the one to build me a house to live in.” 

You see, God wanted the people to experience some stability and security regarding their worship of God first. God wanted a permanent home with the people, yes. But now it was time to fight the battles to secure the land. It was time to establish peace in the kingdom, and that would require all of David’s attention. It wasn’t yet time to build God a temple. 

God gives Nathan more to tell David. God will make David a house—a dynasty. God will raise up David’s offspring and establish his kingdom. And David’s son, King Solomon, will indeed build the first magnificent temple of God.

God’s plan would unfold deliberately and divinely. It would take time. It would need the proper context—a secure kingdom under the authority of David and his descendants. But it would happen. After all, God is everywhere—whether in a tent, a temple, or a church building like this one—wherever the heart of God is, God makes a home. 

David wanted to build God’s temple, but doing that right meant not doing it yet. Of course, today we see the tragic fighting in that area of the Middle East, as Israel and Hamas seem to be destroying everything rather than building things. We pray for peace and justice in that wounded land.

So when you build something, do it right. In the right way, in the right time. This hit me this week because I’ve been doing a lot of dreaming about St. Timothy’s. And I look forward to dreaming about our future together with you all. 

Now some of you can talk story about how St. Timothy’s started in ‘Aiea, and I look forward to hearing your memories. I found an old history in our files that said the real beginning of St. Timothy’s Episcopal Mission in ‘Aiea was back in March 1953, though it wasn’t until later that the church was named.

Back then I’ve learned ‘Aiea was a quiet town surrounded by sugar cane fields. The church first met in the auditorium of ‘Aiea Elementary School on Moanalua Road, then met later in the old ‘Aiea plantation community building. Groundbreaking for the first St. Timothy’s church building was in 1955.  

Our current chapel building was built later and dedicated on January 30, 1972—52 years ago. And over several years after that our campus continued to grow.
 
I love this chapel building with its high ceiling pointing toward heaven. You can see our roof from several highways. People know we’re here. I love this stained glass cross too, it symbolizes the vibrant faith of the faithful here. We can see it here, but it also shines on Moanalua Road.

St. Timothy’s was built with love and dedication, and today we continue to enjoy the results of that hard work. There’s a lot of history that we remember and honor, but I also want to look forward.

What do we want to build at St. Timothy’s for the future? Physically we’re making progress—our new parking lot is a huge help in terms of safety and just looking so much better. The Bishop's Committee is now focusing on our solar power project and you’ll be hearing more about that in the days to come. But what other ways could we improve this, our church home?

And not just with our physical structures, but spiritually—what do we want to build at St. Timothy’s for the future? What prayer ministries should we foster? What formation and education opportunities should we offer for children, youth, and adults? What ongoing ministries that we hear about in our Ministry Minutes do we need to strengthen and expand? 

What community outreach opportunities should we prayerfully consider? What fellowship gatherings shall we pursue to strengthen our ‘ohana inside and out? What steps do we need to take forward in order to return to full parish status? 

What do we want to build at St. Timothy’s?

These are exciting questions, and in the years to come you and I will all be working on answering them together. Because if we want to build something, we want to do it right. In the right way, in the right time.

And how do we go about answering these questions about the future of St. Timothy’s? Well let’s take a look at the gospel lesson from Mark 6.

Jesus was entering his rock-star phase here; people are coming out of woodwork to get to him. As Jesus and his disciples are sailing away in a boat to a deserted place for some R&R, all these people recognize him and hurry on foot to get there ahead of their boat! That “deserted place” is now far from deserted.

​But rather than get upset at them swarming all around him, what does Jesus do? “As he went ashore, he saw the great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” So he gets back to work with them. And his ministry prospers.

That’s the key to a prosperous future of ministry here at St. Tim’s: Compassion. Compassion for one another here in this ‘ohana, compassion for the community around us, compassion for the whole hurting ‘aina in need. 

Now, we might get so caught up in what we want to do for God that we forget to invite God into the conversation. David and Nathan were ready to build God a house, they assumed that was what God wanted. But God says, “Actually, that’s not what I need right now.”

​We can fall into the same trap, whether it’s about building something physically here, or starting a new community ministry or small group. If God is not kindling the dreams, we’ll only burn out and feel disappointed and defeated.

How do we know what God wants for us? How do we avoid confusing our desires with God’s? We must spend time in prayer, individually and together as a body, dreaming together in the power and creativity of the Holy Spirit, listening for God’s guidance. 

So let’s build the future here, and let’s do it right, in God’s timing and in God’s way.

You remember that Kevin Costner movie “Field of Dreams.” It had that famous tagline, If you build it, they will come. Well, that often doesn’t seem to be the case with churches!

People rarely just come to a new or different church. They need to be invited. They need to feel welcome. They need to sense hope and joy among the people they meet here. They need to be treated with compassion.

I believe strongly that all those things are happening right now at St. Timothy’s. So let’s build on what we have for the future. 

And let’s build it right—in God’s time, in the Spirit’s power, following the compassionate example of Jesus as he leads the way forward. 

​Amen? Amen.