Wise Foolishness

Sermon by Rev. Laurel Bobb

Dennis Bolton suggests that there are 2 kinds of people in the world--damned fools and fools for Christ. I think I agree with him. We can either be involved in what stands as wisdom in the world, or look to what God tells us. St. Paul reminds us that this dilemma has been going on for a long time when he wrote in I Corinthians 1:22-25, "For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser that human wisdom and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength."

The Greeks looked to many sources of wisdom. Science and mystery religions and philosophies all were counted as wisdom in that society; this knowledge was something that was highly prized and sought after. The Jews had their own wisdom. They saw the Torah, the law, as wisdom personified. Wisdom was the first creation of God. The author of the Gospel of John says that Jesus is wisdom personified. Not only does he fulfill the law, he replaces it with one that supersedes the Torah. His law is one based on love of God and neighbor.

We see the difference in his way of looking at things in our Gospel for today. The merchants in the temple were disrupting worship for those who were not pure Jews. They were selling their wares in the Court of the Gentiles, which was the only place in the temple those people were allowed. Jesus saw how the leaders were twisting the law to their own advantage and thereby hurting those who should have been looked at as their neighbors and mission field.

The Jewish leaders then demanded a sign that Jesus had any right to do that. Jesus really didn’t owe them any sign or explanation, and what he did tell them certainly seemed foolish to them. But then again, they weren’t looking at things from God’s perspective, but rather from their own human one. He was in fact foretelling his death and resurrection when he said, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (Jn. 2:19) That would be the time when God’s wisdom would be manifest in the world, for those with open eyes and hearts to grasp.

At Pentecost when bystanders were listening to the disciples speaking in many languages they didn’t understand. They foolishly thought that the disciples were drunk. They didn’t have eyes of faith. God’s people did understand. Their eyes and ears were open to God’s wisdom.

Since God’s opinion is ultimately the one that matters, true wisdom is to be found in looking at life with the perspective God wants us to have. That perspective is one that sees life through the lens of the cross. God’s love was shown most clearly in Christ’s death for us. When we are baptized into his death we take on the qualities of love and service in the world. We come to know more about God’s love through Christ.

We know that God’s ways are always best. Experientially, if we live long enough, we know that this makes sense. We know that things God has told us to stay away from ultimately cause us and others harm, and those things God has told us to do will ultimately bring happiness. Let’s look at some of those things.

The world tells us that wisdom is going for the gusto, and the goal in life is to be happy. The world tells us that we are the center of our universe, but God demands that he is and that he be treated as such.

The world tells us it’s cool to swear and anyone who gets upset about it is out of touch. It also says that our words are meaningless and that it’s okay to break it. But God tells us that swearing or making promises we don’t intend to keep is wrong because it ultimately hurts others.

The world tells us that the weekends are made for Michelob (or you put your favorite whatever in the blank), but God says the weekends were made for rest and worship. When we fail to take time for these things, the rest of the week can’t go as God intended it to go. We rob ourselves of something good and vital and life-giving.

The world tells young people that their parents are old fuddy-duddies--that they’re so out of it, they just don’t know how to have fun. God says that the rules that parents and other authority figures place in front of them are for their protection.

The world tells us that gangsta rap is just a way of expressing oneself; the world says I have a right to see to my own happiness and if someone crosses me, I can take matters into my own hands. God says that anyone who hates another is a murderer, let alone carrying out acts of violence.

The world has conned people into believing that premarital relations are freeing and good when God says they are wrong. Those who have engaged in such behavior often find themselves feeling empty and used. It also says that no one expects marriage to last a lifetime and getting a little on the side can actually improve a marriage, but we know that Jesus said, "If someone looks at another lustfully, they have already committed adultery in their hearts. We realize that breaks the marriage trust level, and causes harm to the relationship.

The world of business says that white collar crime or cheating on taxes is okay because after all everyone does it, but God tells us to be honest in all our dealings. The Enron scandal is one thing that helps to prove that crime doesn’t pay.

The world says it’s okay to engage in sharing a bit of gossip; in fact there is big money in it through various T.V. shows. Even telling little white lies is okay, because it makes the story more interesting. But God tells us that speaking what is not necessary about others or out and out lying is wrong, because we are to build up others’ reputations and not destroy them.

The world tells us we’ve got to keep up with the Joneses by getting that new vehicle or house, or whatever the latest gadget or piece of furniture is. But God tells us to be content with what we have and to be happy for others when they are blessed materially.

In short the world tells us that wisdom is found in having our needs and desires met, but Jesus tells us that wisdom is instead found in doing things God’s way. Jesus’s way is one of love and service to him and others. In fact true happiness only can be found in giving ourselves away.

Emphasis magazine records that many years ago the Protestant Council of the City of New York produced a film called "Parable" to be shown at the New York World’s Fair. "Parable is about a clown who changes the lives of the people in the circus. For the tired roustabout, the clown carries buckets of water to the elephants. At the base-ball pitch booth, a very angry, prejudiced person tries to dunk the black man on the perch. The clown takes his place instead, making the customer very angry. Under the big-top a human puppet performance is underway. Magnus the Great manipulates the human puppets in violent acts toward one another. The clown, seeing this, releases the human puppets from their harnesses and himself climbs into a harness. Magnus the Great gives the signal to hoist the clown up. He manipulates the strings madly, so that the clown is thrown about, while angry people below yell and throw things at the clown. Finally the clown hangs limp in the harness, dead.

The next day a change can be seen. The circus people who had been helped by the clown begin to help one another. Magnus the Great leaves his puppeteering and dresses as the clown. Their lives had been changed by the one who came into their midst, not with the ‘wisdom’ of power, but rather with the ‘foolishness’ of compassion and service, even to the point of giving his own life." [Emphasis. Vol 26:6, March-April 1997; p. 14]

They had learned that true wisdom was found in caring for others. That is the example we have in Jesus. That is who we strive to be like. Through Christ’s death and resurrection we have the power to live like that in the world, for the power of sin and death has been broken, and his spirit now dwells within us.

We know that no human wisdom would cause us to lift up an instrument of torture as something in which to glory, but God’s wisdom tells us to do just that. It is through the cross alone that our lives have meaning and hope. We have Jesus who shows us that God can work in even hopeless-looking situations to bring about something good. God brings joy in the midst of sorrow, hope in spite of uncertainty, courage in the face of fear, life in the presence of death, and love that can overcome hatred. Such is the wisdom of God; let us be wise then, and trust not in what the world values, nor in what is seen, but in God’s truth and way of being in the world.
 

  Copyright 2002 by Rev. Laurel Bobb