Gentleness Born of Wisdom Preached for Wollaston Congregational Church on September 19th 2021 Scriptures: James 3:13 - 4:3, 7-8a and Mark 9:30-37 James 3:13 Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. This week we continue our fall sermon series on God’s Wisdom. And today, I’m deviating a little bit, and instead of reflecting on a passage from the Wisdom texts of the Old Testament I’m choosing the Epistle, or letter from the New Testament. This morning we read from James’s letter to the early church. Until today, I have never reflected on this letter in a sermon. The reason is that this epistle has the reputation of being a bit righteous and a bit “preachy.” James’s letter often reads like “good advice” for leading a Christian life, like “take your medicine” or “eat your peas”, good for you but, well … dull. However, the subject of today’s passage, on God’s wisdom versus the wisdom of the world, is far from dull and boring in James’s eyes. James is really concerned, even urgent, about getting his message across. He sees the wisdom of the surrounding culture, the world, as a real threat to the community of faith. James portrays earthly wisdom as “bitter envy and selfish ambition”, calling it “unspiritual and devilish.” He is urgent, calling the Christian community to live out God’s wisdom rather than earthly wisdom. The stakes are high for James. Will the church differentiate from the world, or are they going to allow themselves to be corrupted and swallowed up by the culture? And so James preaches a message of God’s wisdom: gentleness or humility is born of that wisdom. Gentleness is its fruit. Our gospel for this morning echoes similar themes, even though the word wisdom is not used. Jesus and the disciples are traveling the road, preaching, teaching and healing. As they walk from one village to another, Jesus picks up on the fact that there is an argument going on among the disciples. The group has just heard Jesus tell them that he will be betrayed, crucified, that he will die and then rise again three days later. The disciples do not understand Jesus and are afraid to ask him more about his meaning. And so they occupy themselves with a petty argument: who is the greatest among them? It’s a little one-upmanship, a competition. They think that Jesus cannot hear them. When he asks them what they were talking about they are ashamed to tell him. In the evening the group arrive at a village: babies are crying, goats are bleating, and fires are being stoked for the evening meal. Women and girls are busy preparing food and the men and boys are bringing in animals following a day’s work on farms and vineyards. The disciples and Jesus find a place to stay and food to eat. It is easy for Jesus to find a child, playing in the dust, fetching a pot of water for their family’s kitchen, or chasing a chicken. He brings the child into the circle and then holds her in his arms. The disciples can see that she is a living, breathing child with needs such as food, healthcare, clothing, housing and protection. He says to them “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all … whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” They are stunned. They’ve learned to ignore the children who scurry about the villages. Children are deeply loved by their families, but they have as little status as a servant in the culture. Until a child can pull their weigh and help feed their family, they are a part of the backdrop of village life. Whoever would think of welcoming them? Major Chris Brannigan of the British army is walking from Bar Harbor, Maine to North Carolina. He’s walking barefoot, carrying a pack so that he can camp along the way. He’s staying in the backyards and homes of volunteer strangers and, most often, town fire departments. Chris is calling his walk and his fundraiser “Hope for Hasti.” Chris is raising awareness and finances for his own 10 year old daughter, Hasti, and others who have rare life-limiting diseases.[1] Hasti has CDLS, Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, This is a “developmental disorder that affects many parts of the body. The severity of the condition and the associated signs and symptoms can vary widely, but may include distinctive facial characteristics, growth delays, intellectual disability and limb defects.” [2] Chris Brannigan is on an urgent mission. When Hasti reaches 12, her condition will deteriorate. Hasti struggles with numerous health issues, still she is able to communicate, learn and play. If she doesn’t obtain treatments and even a cure as she enters puberty she will become more withdrawn, regress, become mute. She and her family will lose the development they have fought hard to achieve. Hasti’s disease is considered rare, still there are many children who have the same condition. And there are a great many more who have conditions that are also designated rare. Chris estimates that one in 16 children in the UK have a “rare” disease. The designation “rare” means that pharmaceutical companies and the medical industry will not devote resources to these diseases. They prefer to channel their efforts into the conditions that affect a greater proportion of the population. It’s not difficult to see that this has a lot to do with making money for share-holders. This is the way our culture manages resources: through profit and loss. That’s the way capitalism has evolved. Most of us have no choice but to work with it. It is the ocean in which we swim and we have limited influence. But we can take the time to notice, and to differentiate. To heed James’s warning that the wisdom of God is quite different from the wisdom of the world. Gentleness and humility is born of the wisdom of God. We are urged, by James and by Jesus to welcome “the least of them” into our lives and our churches. And still, today, even as many children well provided for, there are children who get ignored and lost by in the culture. There are unaccompanied minors in our school systems; there are children who are bullied in school or learn differently and haven’t found a places to fit in; and, of course, almost all children have suffered over the past 18 months, through lack of in person teaching and stressed parents trying to juggle their own work, and limited and unpredictable school hours. Here are Wollaston Congregational Church, we rarely have the opportunity to welcome children into this worship space. In days past, this church would teach children Bible and music, coach children on the basketball court that was downstairs. The traditional role of the church is to train children to become the next generation of church. Generally that is done through educational programs. We have gotten into a catch-22 regarding children. We have no children to create education programs for, and without educational programs we do not attract families with children. But notice that Jesus doesn’t tell the disciples to train children, or coach children, or raise the next generation of church members. He tells them to welcome children. He tells them to welcome children with all their needs and wants, with all their rambunctious and energetic behaviors, with all their noisiness, or awkwardness, or anxieties, and their desperate need to find a place to fit. This church has provided a welcome and space for organizations that know how to extend that kind of welcome to children. Cub Scout Pack 42, who use space in our building are a diverse group of children, both girls and boys, exploring the opportunities scouting has to offer. Scouting.org says “Scouting is family, fun, friends and a lifetime of adventure! It’s the place where young people can grow to become their very best future selves.” [3] Another organization that uses space in this building is Mel O’Drama, run by the vivacious Melanie Gillespie. Perhaps you remember the time Mel O’Drama came to perform a number from the Lion King during one of our services. Mel O’Drama creates a safe space for children to develop and grow, they are an inclusive group and Melanie works hard to empower children who have experienced bullying in other settings. Their mission is to: “[Empower] children and empower them with the tools they need to face troubling issues … working on confidence, awareness and helping [them] to let go and have fun ... [4] A third organization that began to use the classroom space in our building last September is the Rising Tides Academy. Rising Tides Academy serves pre-school, kindergarten and elementary school age children in a free and open environment. They anticipate expanding to Middle School and High School over the next few years. Their mission “is to build a community where children thrive: the whole child is seen and their inner genius is explored.” [5] And so, we can be proud that Wollaston Congregational Church is welcoming children in this place, even if that work is being done indirectly by those who know how to do it best. Over the coming weeks, we will have the opportunity to discern God’s wisdom for the future of our congregation and our church building. I am sure that the decisions we make will ensure that children of all backgrounds are welcomed in this place well into the future. When I began this sermon series I was concerned that discerning God’s wisdom for our lives and our life as a church might seem too swirly and impractical. But, as we read last week from Proverbs and with James’s and Jesus’s guidance this week, we can see that enacting God’s wisdom is about tangible, actionable qualities, like tenderness, gentleness and humility. I leave you with one verse from James’s letter followed by a reflection by Steve Garnaas-Holmes Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom. —James 3.13 Beloved, be my wisdom, my way of seeing, knowing by your love. Be my gentleness, my soul meeting another. Let my wisdom be tender respect for all. You who are so gentle with me, by your grace let my gentleness be my good life. [6] May all God’s people say, Amen [1] https://www.facebook.com/HopeforHasti [2] https://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/diseases/10109/cornelia-de-lange-syndrome [3] https://www.scouting.org/ [4] https://www.melodramakids.com/index.php/en/about-us.html [5] https://risingtidesacademy.com/ [6] https://www.unfoldinglight.net/reflections/5cl3a2cjlyjlf4y79ats6e72jtlglc
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
If you enjoy a sermon or have a question, please leave a comment. If you would like to quote any of my material in your own sermons or writings, please use appropriate attribution. I look forward to hearing from you!Archives
April 2022
Categories |