The Wisdom of Jesus is a stumbling block

Still in the season of Epiphany - the season of seeing and feeling how the coming of the light is both a beacon of hope and a disturber of those who do not want change or righteousness or mercy to come - still the readings come that speak into our conflicted experience at this time. (Fourth Sunday after Epiphany. Matthew 5:1-12; Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; and 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.)

Sentence:

“For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18

Collect:

Spirit of the Living God,

You come to us disguised as a fool, a beggar, as our own humble lives

and break us open until we see your wisdom,

feel your forgiveness, and are remade by your love.

Help us so to live that we are sure to learn and certain to love,

and always to proclaim your gospel to those most in need of your good news.

This we pray in the name of your Beloved, Amen.

Reflection:

Many of us are broken open at this time by images and experiences of violence; overwhelmed by important issues of climate change and hunger and poverty that wash over us like flood waters of Biblical proportions; and the smallness of our actions in the face of such challenges. How are we to respond? What is ours to do at this time?

You may like to read what I have previously reflected on in response to these texts.

The Foolish Wisdom of Jesus

Walk Humbly

By the light shed by these ancient texts I would like to reflect three thoughts. Firstly, that it may be comforting that the prophet Micah does not require the individual, or even the community, to do heroically mighty deeds as might a caped super hero but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God - to conduct ourselves with mercy and integrity and authenticity. And yes, on some days and in some places this does require heroism but mostly it is the heroism of the everyday – digging deep to find patience, courage, honesty, compassion for the other even when sore pressed by our own struggles and desires.

Secondly, as Paul suggests in his letter to the Corinthians, that the wisdom of God in Christ Jesus is a stumbling block and not the sort of wisdom that we can reach through rational thought and moral obedience alone. More like a rock on which we are meant to fall and break open upon. The grace, the wisdom, the power of God is not so much a reward for our labours but an encounter in our time of surrender and self emptying love. The wisdom of the broken and lost.

And thirdly the teaching of Jesus expressed in the Beatitudes is the Way of the Holy Fool surely? To find blessedness, holiness, in the very places and circumstances we least want to find ourselves! Jesus was, in some ways, the culmination of the ancient wisdom tradition of Israel. And in some ways he was radically different.

One way of understanding the central teaching of Jesus was that of “self-emptying love”. The way to God that Jesus lived was not one of ascent, of reaching up and achieving greatness, but of descent and finding God in the depths of life, including in suffering, sin and death. This is what we acknowledge every Lent and Easter, every time we are able to share the Eucharist together, every time we pray when we are sad and lost, heart broken and contrite, lost but still looking. And this, I think, is the key to entering into the wisdom of the Beatitudes.

If I may suggest an amplification of the Beatitudes that expresses this understanding.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. When you are broken and can no longer hope for worldly success or comfort, you are blessed for you are ready to be open to the kingdom, to God’s way of living and loving. You are no longer invested in the little changes that are not really change at all, you are ready for a new creation, a new world.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.  When you grieve for those no longer with you, for faculties, position and powers gone from you, you are blessed for your heart’s desiring and seeking may open you to the comfort of God’s holy spirit, to what is not limited to those who already have what they want, to what is eternal and not temporary.

Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.   When you are not important or wealthy, when you are aware of your smallness and ordinariness, when you give away your sense of importance , you are blessed because you are the place God wants to be, your humility and emptiness creates room for God’s blessings and priorities in your life and through you in the lives of others.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  When we are not satisfied with the way of the world, with watching our neighbours suffer and our planet be destroyed, when we yearn for a right way of living then we are blessed for God has room to work in us and through us. God can only set up the kingdom in hearts that are emptied out by desire for what is just and merciful, kind and compassionate.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. When we practice mercy toward others we are blessed for our heart becomes available to receive mercy. Hearts need to be open and receptive, giving and receiving. Mercy and forgiveness are not legal tender but the flow of God’s love in action through us and for us. The more we let go of control, the less bargaining we attempt, the more we will receive as mercy and love flow through us.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. When our hearts have been emptied out by love and forgiveness, for the desire for union with God and neighbour, then the eyes of our hearts will be able to discern God, we will be able to see. Where love and mercy have been flowing through us our vision will have been washed clear.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.  When we dig deep in order to courageously work for peace (not simply be conflict avoidant) we are blessed and we are a blessing for we are not only doing what is right we are playing our part to create the environment where real peace can grow. And in this we will be helping build the kingdom of heaven here in the midst of what sometimes feels like hell.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.  When our lives and actions for God’s way of life stirs up trouble and disturbs the darkness we are blessed for we can know that we are being the kingdom now. (The caution is that this is only true if it is the light in us that is stirring up the darkness, not if it is our own darkness. Too many Christians have used criticism and pushback as evidence of their rightness when they would have been advised to listen humbly and repent of their wrongs.)

To follow Jesus is to stumble onto the holy fool’s path, the inside out, upside down, journey of descent into humility and openness rather than the self aggrandizing task of becoming right and wise in the eyes of others. Jesus lived a life of self emptying love and so also are we called to do.

Even so, come Lord Jesus the Christ, come confuse us with you mercy and humility, your power and your vulnerability. Come make us a holy dwelling place for your kingdom.

Intercessions:

Gracious Creator God,

blessed are the humble and strange things that you have placed in the midst of your wonderous creation.

Help us so to see, hear and live that we give honour and protection to all that you have made.

We particularly pray for those places, creatures and person of which we are aware …

Help us to share with delight the bounty of your riches so that all may know seasons of rejoicing and abundance.

And help us to acknowledge that everywhere is the home of someone and to tread the earth softly.

Gracious Creator,

Hear our Prayer.

Jesus the Beloved, Redeemer of all,

open our hearts and ears to the songs and cries of all your peoples.

Help us to give thanks when we find ourselves in the blessed position of neighbour to those in need.

We particularly pray for those whose needs are known to us and those whose needs are known only to you …

Jesus, our Beloved Redeemer,

Hear our prayer.

Holy Spirit of God,

come animate and enliven us that we may be healed, forgiven and restored and serve as hands and feet in this time and place.

Grant us imagination and vision to see how your world might yet be,

gift us with courage and conviction that we might build your dream,

and call us to celebrate all that is unfolding.

We particularly pray for those in whom the dream of God is fading and wearied and for those whose hearts are distracted by false promises.

Help us remember that your life is in the humble places and where the precious ones are.

Spirit of God,

Hear our prayer.

Living God,

Creator, Redeemer of all, Spirit that Sustains,

We pray in the name of your Beloved Son, the Christ, who came among us and called us to follow. Amen. 

This is my work which is informed by everything I have read, heard and experienced. I am indebted to the wisdom of others. This week I am especially  grateful for the writings of Cynthia Bourgeault, “The Wisdom Jesus: Transforming Heart and Mind – a New Perspective on Christ and His Message”