Community Church Sermons
Year C
May 30, 2010
The Sunday after Pentecost
Wisdom Calls
Romans 5:1-5
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Rev. Rhonda A. Blevins
LISTEN IN!I was in college when the WWJD fad hit America once again—you’re familiar with WWJD aren’t you? “What Would Jesus Do?” I bet the Christian bookstores around the country were loving life with young believers pouring in to buy the latest WWJD mug, t-shirt, bracelet, or bumper sticker. Would you believe I’ve even seen a WWJD thong? Come on, confess. How many of you have owned a WWJD thong?
I never got into the WWJD craze. I never possessed a WWJD bracelet or t-shirt or bumper sticker. I never found the question, “What would Jesus do,” very helpful. It seemed to require a lot of imagination to try to figure out what a 30-year-old, first century, Jewish carpenter/rabbi would do in contemporary culture.
· “Would Jesus buy the Levis or the Calvin Kleins?” Neither. Isn’t he more into flowy, robey things?
· “Would Jesus go see the G-rated movie or the R-rated movie? Neither. Not unless they have Aramaic subtitles.
· And for a young co-ed like me in those days, “Would Jesus date Brian or Brad?” Hmmmm.
Can you see how this line of questioning quickly breaks down for a literalist like I was back then?
At the peak of this fad’s popularity, I sat down with a group of teenagers at the little country church where I served as the youth director, and pointed out the folly I noticed in the whole WWJD thing. I challenged them that instead of asking “What would Jesus do,” that they should ask, “What would wisdom do?” I read to them today’s scripture lesson from Proverbs 8 in which we see wisdom personified, dwelling among the Godhead but engaging humanity:
“Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice? On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out: ‘To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.’”
I spoke with those kids about making wise choices—about how every waking moment presents a choice, how we’re constantly standing at the crossroads, and right there with us is the Spirit of God—Lady Wisdom—to lead us, to guide us, to illumine our way.
So when the lectionary landed on Proverbs 8 this week, it took me back to that moment with those precious kids. It reminded me of that lesson I both taught and learned with those young believers. I now realize that I had a distinct advantage in teaching those kids about wisdom. I was the older, wiser, cool college kid who drove a little red sports car.
Today, talking with you about wisdom, I have none of those same advantages. I’m younger than most of you, I have less life experience than most of you, and I now drive a nerdy white sedan. “Why would they listen to me talk about wisdom?” I pondered. I was feeling a little bit insecure until I remembered a bumper sticker I saw once that said, “You are only young once, but you can be immature your whole life.” That’s the truth I’m claiming as we hear the call of Wisdom among us today! There’s always room to grow in wisdom! To be human means that we are constantly presented with the opportunity for growth. Lady Wisdom calls out to us at all times, in all places. “My cry is to all that live,” she joyfully proclaims! Can you hear her?
Wisdom Knows
Let’s start by asking, how do you know wisdom? What is wisdom? Because:
The situation today is:
Lots of knowledge, but little understanding.
Lots of means, but little meaning.
Lots of know-how, but little know-why.
Lots of sight, but little insight [1]
But then there’s wisdom. Think of wisdom as being at the top of a pyramid. [2].At the base of the pyramid is data, the raw material, the facts and nothing more. The second tier is information—the level at which facts are acquired or read, but they may be unorganized and even unrelated. Knowledge, the third level of the pyramid, is when information takes shape and becomes a part of you. Finally, at the top of the pyramid is wisdom, when knowledge is assimilated giving us insight into the situations in which we find ourselves. When our values are such that we seek the well being of all and the good of the whole, we are moving from knowledge to wisdom.
Moving toward greater wisdom is marked by an expansion of concern, from being concerned only about ourselves as the starting point, to being concerned about the people we know and love, to being concerned about all people and society as a whole, and finally to being concerned about the entire created order. Notice how this growth in wisdom plays out in a little poem named prayer:
God bless me.
God bless me and thee.
God bless me and thee and our country.
God bless me and thee and our country and every nation and every sea.
Moving toward greater wisdom also broadens our concern beyond today, to think about what impact our decisions will have into the future. Among certain Native American tribes, individuals are taught to think seven generations into the future as a way to guide the decisions they make. “How will this decision affect my children 200 years into the future?” This is called the “Seventh Generation Principle.”
Wisdom Sows
It is said that a person “has made at least a start on discovering the meaning of human life when he plants shade trees under which he knows full well he will never sit.” [3]
When is the last time you planted a shade tree?
In Proverbs 8, we see a picture of Wisdom as a master architect, co-creating the cosmos along with God. That same creative energy is as work in every person, calling each of us to become co-creators with God as well. The moment we retire from our creating capacity is the moment we lose ourselves. Wisdom sows in us a desire to plant a shade tree under which we will never sit.
When is the last time you planted a shade tree?
Thanks be to God for those men and women who had a “seventh generation” mentality about them—who dreamt of a democracy with liberty and justice for all, men and women who died for that cause that you and I might enjoy freedom.
Thanks be to God for those men and women who had a “seventh generation” mentality about them—who dreamt of an interdenominational church where the people of our community could come together and become the church together. . .people instrumental in building our current sanctuary. . .people instrumental in building our next. It’s not for us, you know. We have a place to sit. It’s our gift to the “seventh generation.”
Wisdom Grows
Wisdom knows. Wisdom sows. And wisdom grows.
A Nathaniel Hawthorne short story called The Great Stone Face “tells about a young boy, Ernest, who grew up in the shadow of a remarkable face, composed of a formation of rocks on a mountain overlooking the valley where he lived. Since his childhood, the face had fascinated Ernest, and daily he spent time beholding its benevolent character. A long-standing prophecy among the people said that someday one would come whose face resembled the giant visage. Ernest yearned for that person more
than the other inhabitants of his village, for he had grown to love and unconsciously emulate the face from his long practice of studying it with care.
Several renowned men returned to the valley of their birth, and each time the villagers expected that this one would surely fulfill the prophecy. But each time, the people, and Ernest in particular, were disappointed. At long last, a famous poet came to the village, having written about the face and the human who most nearly might correspond to it. In Ernest, he recognized the one who bore the likeness of the Great Stone Face. By his attentive contemplation of the face for all of his life, he had come to reflect its own distinctive character and likeness.” [4]
Wisdom grows when we cast our gaze upon Christ, the embodiment of wisdom. We become a reflection of Christ in the world. Being made in the image of God means that wisdom is within us, and grows in us when we become seekers: “Ask and it will be given to you,” the Bible promises. “Seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” [5]
Simply put, wisdom grows in us when we become seekers of wisdom.
Wisdom Calls
This morning when I got out of bed, I went downstairs to make a cup of coffee. . .
. . .just then wisdom called. She said simply, “Gratitude,” and I was thankful for another day of life and breath.
When I finished my coffee I went to take my shower. . .
. . .just then wisdom called. She said simply, “Empathy,” and suddenly I thought about the billions of people who wouldn’t get a warm shower today.
After my shower I went back to the kitchen and discovered a mess my spouse had left. . .
. . .just then wisdom called. She said simply, “Acceptance,” and I thought about how much I love my spouse and quickly cleaned the clutter.
As I drove to work, someone pulled out in front of me. . .
. . .just then wisdom called. She said simply, “Peacefulness.” I pressed the brakes and took a deep breath, and went merrily along.
Walking into the office, I noticed a nest full of baby birds. . .
. . .just then wisdom called. She said simply, “Wonder,” and I smiled as I paused to marvel at the beauty of creation.
All of this before 7 o’clock in the morning.
Wisdom is calling you as well! Won’t you open your heart to hear what the voice of Wisdom is saying?
[1] Robert Short
[2] Copthorn MacDonald, from a video on The Wisdom Page:
www.wisdompage.com/video2/WisdomPageIntroVideo.html
[3] D. Elton Trueblood
[4] Molly Marshall, What It Means to Be Human: Made in the Image of God, Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc., Macon, GA. 2001, p. 49.
[5] Matthew :7-8