St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Wesley Chapel, FL
Preacher: The Rev. Adrienne R. Hymes, Vicar
Year B/Proper 15
1Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14/Psalm 111/Ephesians 5:15-20/John 6:51-58
August 15, 2021
The wise butler, Alfred in Batman. The wise Dr. Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X, leader of the X-Men. The wise Mr. Miyagi in The Karate Kid. This tiny sampling of fictional characters in movies, which have become classics, as well as the obvious, “Three Wise Men” in the Bible, have contributed to the stereotype that men of a mature age are wise. Because of their age, the assumption is that, through life experience, wisdom has developed within them giving them insight to optimally navigate the ways of the world—avoiding harm or leveraging advantages. Rarely, are wise characters depicted as young or as female. On the occasion that someone contradicts the stereotype, they might be described as an “old soul” or “wise beyond their years.” It is ironic that the Spirit of Wisdom, unaffected by time, is so often described using temporal language.
In our Old Testament lesson in First Kings, the teenaged King Solomon asked God for wisdom and discernment. This passage depicts God’s generous outpouring of an understanding mind into a young Solomon, and contradicts traditional expectations of wisdom developed over time, rather than wisdom that is bestowed. Within the vulnerable state of sleep, and in the intimacy of Solomon’s dream, God used Solomon’s dream as the sacred meeting ground upon which a holy and honest conversation took place.
Having the humility to know that his kingship was not of his own doing; Solomon said, “O LORD my God, you have made your servant, king in place of my father David.” He then referred to himself as “only a little child,” to express his lack of maturity in leading God’s people. “Give your servant…an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil…” Solomon said.Essentially, Solomon said to God, “I have no idea what to do to govern your people, but whatever it is you have called me to do, I know I can’t do it without your wisdom.” It takes great wisdom for someone of power to admit that they neither have all answers nor all abilities. And, because Solomon humbly asked for the ability to optimally serve God’s people, God poured into him a discerning mind and gave him an earthly abundance as long as he continued to keep God’s statutes and commandments as his father, King David, had done.
Our psalm, psalm 111 tells us that “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; those who act accordingly have a good understanding…” Fear, in this context, refers to a state of being that both expresses worship of the Lord and obedience to the Lord. To illumine our understanding of wisdom, it is helpful to challenge the wise, mature man stereotype. The optional track of readings designated for today includes Proverbs 9 which personifies Wisdom as a feminine spirit who calls out to the simple and invites them to “…Turn in here!…Lay aside immaturity, and live and walk in the way of insight.’”
We know from Wisdom’s invitation to the simple that she is accessible. We know also that once Wisdom is accessed, immaturity, regardless of one’s age, necessarily falls away. It is divine Wisdom that enables human understanding to transcend the limited human senses, in order to perceive that which can only be perceived in the way of insight—spiritual depth perception.
In our gospel passage in the sixth chapter of John, Jesus continued to teach the Jews in the synagogue in Capernaum about his identity as the bread of heaven that gives eternal life. Without belief, however, access to the living bread, Jesus himself, was not possible. As the old adage goes, you can lead the horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.
The Jews had already been led to the bread that gives eternal life to all who eat of it, but they chose not to eat by their lack of understanding and unbelief. They were offended by Jesus’ talk of his own flesh as the bread. Receiving Jesus’ message literally, they disputed, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” The Jews’ handicapped human understanding made Jesus’ teachings incomprehensible.
The medical community has long communicated about the connection between bodily health and the quality of foods eaten to fuel the body. As children of God, we know that our souls also require nourishment for good health and living water to combat spiritual dryness.
Wisdom says “To those without sense…‘Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed.’” Sound familiar? Week by week, we come to the holy table to be fed with the sacraments of Christ’s body and blood, believing by faith that the real presence of Christ abides in us and we in him, and that through that mutual abiding, we are bestowed with understanding minds and discerning hearts that continue to be nurtured to the mind and heart of God each time we fuel our souls with Jesus.
Through our individual and communal worship of the Lord, God’s faithful people crave the living bread of Christ. And, the souls of the faithful eventually develop food allergies to those things that are not of God, those things which threaten to assault the soul. As we eat the original soul food, we are granted access to divine wisdom where our ability to discern between good and evil is strengthened as we pattern our lives in the footsteps of Jesus.
Through prayer, communal worship and obedience to Jesus of Nazareth’s teachings, God’s faithful people grow in wisdom. We do well to embrace the honesty and humility of Solomon, who even though he was a king with great power, did not lose sight of his utter dependence on God’s presence and guidance.
The fear of the Lord—the worship of and obedience to the Lord—is the beginning of Wisdom; those who act accordingly have a good understanding. In our humble asking of God for His grace-filled guidance, may God pour into us a good understanding of His divine truths. And, may we act accordingly.
Amen.
