“A Rich Variety” Vance L. Toivonen
READING Ephesians 3:1-12
This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles-for surely you have already heard of the commission of God's grace that was given me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God's grace that was given me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.
READING James Thornton, A Field Guide to the Soul
Wisdom is embodied truth, the only kind worth having. It is what remains of our inspirations and mistakes after we have lived them and their results have sifted down into our body, feelings, and intuition. Wisdom is alive and moving, quicker than thought, fresher than words. Wisdom follows from understanding…Knowledge takes us only to the threshold. We gain understanding by looking into what causes happiness or pain in the situations that life provides for our intuition…Wisdom takes time. Time alone, though, is not enough. We can grow old and be as ignorant as we were at the beginning. Wisdom takes practice.
SERMON
When I was a child I actually did the hand on the hot stove thing. Am I the only one here? In that moment I learned what the words “hot” and “burn” meant. You could have described them to me, or explained what would happen if I did put my hand on a hot burner; but somehow that would just not have been as effective as actually placing my little hand on that glowing piece of metal.
When I was seven or eight I asked my dad for a drag of his cigarette. He was sitting outside with my great-grandfather at my great-grandfather’s farm. There was, at this farm, no running water. The drinking water was pumped out of the well and placed on the counter in the kitchen with a big dipper. I describe this in order that I might then tell you that as soon as I inhaled that cigarette, there was burning in my throat so intense that I ran into the kitchen and began devouring dipperful upon dipperful of water. My father and my great-grandfather had a good laugh, and I’m not sure, but great-grandma may have scolded the men just a little bit.
These, and other experiences in my childhood, could, I suppose be referred to as the beginnings of wisdom. For as Thornton reminds us, wisdom is not just something we read in a book. Wisdom is not merely a thought or an awareness, but it is the lived experience of those thoughts, and the consciousness that ensues.
Paul’s words in that first reading today may seem to us to be lofty and mysterious. There is a kind of religious language here with which we may not be comfortable. He speaks of the mystery of Christ, a mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things. He refers to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places, and of God’s eternal purpose. We can easily get lost in such talk, get caught up in wondering about its meaning, or just discount it altogether by saying it does not speak to us.
Simply put, Paul is saying that something has been revealed to him, something he now passes on to the churches full of Jesus followers that he is attributed with beginning. Paul then goes on to say what caught my ear as I read this passage. As you may remember, Paul is well known for his body analogy, that the people who gather together to worship the Christ, the church, are the very body of Christ, and that because of this there is a tremendous diversity inherent in each community. Here Paul speaks of the wisdom of God in its rich variety.
In ancient days wisdom was held by leaders. Biblically we may recall King Solomon as a source of wisdom. In those days you went to the source of wisdom. To be in the court of King Solomon, for instance, would mean you were in the presence of wisdom. In later writings in what we now call the Old Testament, wisdom came to be personified, an independent entity swirling about the universe, accessible not exclusively in the court of the king, but in the marketplace and in the hustle and bustle of the city. Here is a passage from the first chapter of the book of Proverbs (20 - 33):
Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: "How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, would have none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster."
Wisdom is personified here as feminine, removing wisdom from the patriarchal systems of the past. She requires attention, and I need not say any more about that. She warns of the consequences that flow from disregard, and promises an easier life for those who pay attention to her. Proverbs chapter 3 elaborates on this (13 – 18):
Happy are those who find wisdom, and those who get understanding, for her income is better than silver, and her revenue better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called happy.
So there is obviously a great advantage to our acquisition of wisdom. But where is this wisdom? How do we get it? And what do we do with it once we’ve got it? For the authors of the biblical material, the source of wisdom is God. So I would also ask an even thornier question: How do we know if the wisdom we have acquired is from God?
As I said at the outset, wisdom begins with experience. I can honestly say that I have never again intentionally placed my hand on a stove burner, and I have never again inhaled the smoke of a cigarette, at least not first hand. My guess is, however that no matter how many times parents tell their children that something is hot, and that they should stay away from it, children will still find ways to burn themselves. Although cigarette taxes have increased the cost of a pack of cigarettes by a dollar or more, people in Wisconsin will still smoke. In spite of the financial imposition, and the health risk, smoking will continue to be a behavior that will support the tobacco industry.
How many of us started diets this week, or joined the YMCA? Living and eating healthy in this culture is a challenge. Knowing a lot about healthy lifestyle choices will do us little good unless we apply those choices and live them. We continue to be bombarded with information about going green in order to combat global warming. While this knowledge is a wonderful thing, the planet, and ultimately humankind, will not benefit at all from a mere increase in knowledge. The extent to which our understanding becomes behavioral is the extent to which the world, and the environment, will change. Knowledge and understanding are merely the seeds of wisdom. The wisdom is in the living, in the behavior, in the human experience.
Moe Berg, Moe being short for Morris, was a professional baseball player for fifteen years. He played for the Brooklyn Robins, the Chicago White Sox, the Cleveland Indians, the Washington Senators, and the Boston Red Sox. He was known, however, as “the brainiest guy in baseball” because of his degrees from Princeton and the School of Law at Columbia. One day a White Sox teammate, after seeing Berg strike out twice in the same game, and both times with the bases loaded, approached him and said, “Moe, I don’t care how many of them college degrees you got. They ain’t learned you to hit that curveball any better than me.”
Josiah Henson was born into slavery in Maryland, and after escaping to Ontario, Canada founded a settlement and laborer’s school. He is thought to be the inspiration for the title character in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Later in his life Josiah had an opportunity to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Archbishop was so impressed by Henson’s speech, the way he carried himself, and his sheer presence, that he asked Josiah which university he had attended. Henson replied, “The University of adversity.”
The author of Proverbs says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” This is the place to start, with the humility of understanding that there is a power greater than ourselves in the universe, and that we are best to pay some attention to that universal power. This is the beginning of a wisdom that teaches us respect for human brothers and sisters. This is the beginning of a wisdom that informs us of the universal connectivity of all things. This is the beginning of a wisdom that instructs us, that schools us in the ways of justice and peace. It is the beginning, this great mystery that holds us, often without the awareness that we are even being held.
But the wisdom itself becomes imbued within us when we live it, breath it, and honor it in our lives. Wisdom lives in us not only when we read and study ancient texts, but only when we apply their teachings to our lives. When we listen to Jesus say “Love your enemy” and then actually love our enemy, wisdom is born us. When we hear the Buddha speak of emptiness and non-attachment, and then actually practice emptiness and non-attachment, wisdom lives within us. When Mohammed declares, “To God belongs everyone in the heavens and the earth,” and we then treat everyone as if they do indeed belong to God, treat everyone as if they are sacred and holy, then wisdom has come into us.
Diversity is the nature of life. At Hope we celebrate diversity. But the richness of that diversity is most beneficial to us and to the world when we honor and celebrate not the diversity itself, but the true and lived wisdom that flows forth from that diversity. As we learn and grow together focusing on our lived wisdom, not torn apart by mere opinions, thoughts and ideas, we will be a greater witness to the Source of that wisdom, the divine mystery, the Lord of all. Wisdom calls out to us, we respond by living transformed lives, and the Christ is born in us. We are the hope and the light of the world. By practicing wisdom, we can only get brighter and more hopeful. May it be so among us.