THE EYE OF THE STORM

When the flood came, the rising water smashed against that house, but the water couldn't shake the house because it was well built. (Luke 6:48)

Some time ago, Frank Knox, who was then U.S. Secretary of the Navy, uttered the following words:

"Whatever happens, the U.S. Navy is not going to be caught napping."

When did Secretary Knox say this? December 4, 1941: three days before the Japanese attacked the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor. Sadly and tragically, the Japanese forces caught the Navy napping.

A storm came in the form of Japanese bombers, fighters, and aircraft carriers, resulting in over 2,400 Americans killed and more than 1,100 wounded. A storm came, and despite boasts to the contrary, there was little preparation and much napping. And the results were predictably tragic.

As we move through this book, particularly here in Chapter 1, "The Eye of the Storm," it will become clear that preparation is important. The message of this chapter, and of the Scripture passage that we will discuss, has everything to do with preparation (or a lack of preparation) and storms. In Luke 6:48-49, Jesus tells the story of two men who each encounter a flood. One man is prepared, and the other is not. One person's house survives the flood, while the other's is swept away. Like the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor, the second man is caught napping. Jesus' story vividly illustrates the disaster that can come when we fail to prepare. Yet as we will see, like most of Jesus' parables, it communicates something deeper than the story itself. The tale of the two houses shows us how vital it is to obey Jesus' teachings.

Here is the story, in Luke 6:46-49:

Why do you call me "Lord, Lord" and don't do what I say? I'll show what it's like when someone comes to me, hears my words, and puts them into practice. It's like a person building a house by digging deep and laying the foundation on bedrock. When the flood came, the rising water smashed against that house, but the water couldn't shake the house because it was well built. But those who don't put into practice what they hear are like a person who built a house without a foundation. The floodwater smashed against it and it collapsed instantly. It was completely destroyed.

Before we look closely at this parable, it's important to recognize when and why Jesus tells it. It occurs at the end of Luke 6, and Jesus uses it to conclude his Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17-49). This is Luke's version of Jesus' most famous public address, more widely known as the Sermon on the Mount. It's most commonly called the Sermon on the Mount based on Matthew's version (Matthew 5–7), where Jesus speaks on a mountain (Matthew 5:1). In Luke it's called the Sermon on the Plain because Luke 6:17 tells us that Jesus speaks from "a large area of level ground." It's possible that Matthew and Luke just placed the same sermon at two different locales. Or it's possible that Jesus gave the same basic message at two different times and two different venues. It was important teaching, and he may have delivered it to more than one audience. And here's a little preacher secret: We do that from time to time. "It worked once, so I'm going to give it to this group over here next!"

In either case, the contents of the sermon are some of Jesus' most important and well-known teachings. He gives the sermon near the outset of his public ministry, almost like an outline of the vision of the kingdom of God he will proclaim and exemplify. The Sermon on the Plain, or the Sermon on the Mount, is an important proclamation. And Jesus concludes the sermon with a story of two men, two houses, and a flood.

PREACHERS TAKE CONCLUSIONS VERY SERIOUSLY.

Now, I have preached a few sermons in my day, and here is something I can tell you from experience: Preachers take their conclusions very seriously. We put a lot of thought into how we tie things up and bring the sermon to a close. The ending is the last thing the audience will hear, so it had better be memorable and important. And in the Sermon on the Plain, this story of two men and two houses is Jesus' conclusion. It's his finale. He has taught a lot of deep, important things in the Sermon on the Plain, and this story is his conclusion that brings it all home.

Jesus puts the story of the two men and the storm at the end because he really wants his hearers to remember it. That's a clue that we need to pay close attention. Jesus wants us to be like one of the people in his story and to avoid being like the other person. Like most of the stories Jesus tells, the tale of the two men is about more than just the two men. It starts with curiosity, a pained question from Jesus himself (Luke 6:46):

Why do you call me "Lord, Lord" and don't do what I say?

In other words, why do you want my blessing without obedience? Why do you want all the benefits of following me without following me? Why do you want to boast about me but not surrender to me? Why do you throw my name around but don't let my Spirit shape who you are?

It simply doesn't work that way. We don't really believe it until we actually do what Jesus commands. When it comes to Jesus, what comes out of our mouths doesn't really matter until our actions back it up.

"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and don't do what I say?" I don't think this is the only time Jesus asked this question. I think it was something he must have asked many times. I think it's something he asks of us even today.

Jesus wants us to come to him, hear his words, and then put them into practice (Luke 6:47). And to help us get there, Jesus moves into the story about these two men, both of whom are in home-building mode.

The second man, in verse 49, chooses the easier route for building a home in those days (long before county inspectors!): He builds it without a foundation. In Matthew's Gospel, it says the man builds his house on the sand (Matthew 7:26). Either way, from the start it looks like a questionable building decision. It's actually not quite as absurd as we might think. In that climate, the sand was packed hard in the summer and by all appearances was a solid surface on which to build. And it would have given the man a quick turnaround for completing his home. You can almost imagine the real estate agent saying, "I can have you in by June."

But then a storm happens, and the results speak for themselves. What happens to this quick-build home when the inevitable storm hits? Look at Luke 6:49:

The floodwater smashed against it and it collapsed instantly. It was completely destroyed.

Two words capture it all: instantly and completely. The house took about as long to fall as it took to build. Destruction was immediate and absolute. Because there was no foundation, everything came crashing down the instant difficulties arrived.

Many of us know this from experience. When we opt for the easy way, collapse is often sudden and thorough. Maybe you know just what happens when you choose the soft and...