Sermon 01/03/10
Sirach 24:1-12
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"The highest form of wisdom is kindness." - The Talmud The start of a new year - the festival of rebirth and of new beginnings. What would we like to find and to embody in the new year? Our lectionary text this morning would answer: wisdom! Sirach speaks of wisdom coming forth from God, seeking a dwelling place on earth, and finally coming to reside within the people of God. What is wisdom? Before we tackle that question, let's consider what wisdom is not. What wisdom is not: - Wisdom is not just knowing a lot of stuff (knowledge). - Unfortunately, it is not a by-product of age: "The older I grow the more I distrust the familiar doctrine that age brings wisdom." - H. L. Mencken "Wisdom doesn't necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself." - Tom Wilson Serenus, a friend of Seneca, said, "Many people would have arrived at wisdom had they not believed themselves to have arrived there already." Wisdom is not the sum of our opinions. Opinions can often be self-serving. Just this week I saw a cartoon that depicted three cows holding up a sign that said; "Eat More Chicken." Descriptions of wisdom: The love and reverence of God. - Tannak One of my favorite quotes about wisdom is from the Talmud where it is written, "The highest form of wisdom is kindness." Plato's dialogues mention the virtue of wisdom and defines wisdom as knowledge about the Good and the courage to act accordingly. Socrates only claimed to know that he did not know, but this he was very certain of, and he showed the many contradictions in the claims of his fellow citizens. Neo-Platonists like Cusanus , endorsed a 'docta ignorantia' in which the greatest wisdom was to recognize one's own ignorance of the divine. Confucius (sixth century BCE) stated that wisdom can be learned by three methods: Reflection (the noblest), imitation (the easiest) and experience (the bitterest). Confucius also said, "Love of learning is akin to wisdom." And that "The Way of learning to be great consists in manifesting clear character, loving the people, and abiding in the highest good". (Quotes from Chan's Sources of Chinese Philosophy). In Mesopotamian religion and mythology , Enki, also known as Ea, was the God of wisdom and intelligence. Wisdom was achieved by restoring balance. (Note: the last five paragraphs above were taken from Wikipedia.) Today I want to turn to the wisdom of the desert as told by Thomas . The following stories and sayings are from a collection Merton published in 1960. These represent some of the collected wisdom of early Christian hermits and monks who lived in the deserts of Egypt and Palestine during the third and fourth centuries. They were the beginning of Christian monasticism. Much of what they discovered in the solitude of the desert is as timely today as it was then.
"The Wisdom of the Desert" by Thomas Merton. The wisdom of letting God be God: One of the brethren had been insulted by another and he wanted to take revenge. He came to Abbot Sisois and told him what had taken place, saying, "I am going to get even, Father." But the elder besought him to leave the affair in the hands of God. "No," said the brother, "I will not give up until I have made that fellow pay for what he said." Then the elder stood up and began to pray in these terms; "O God, Thou art no longer necessary to us, and we no longer need Thee to take care of us since, as this brother says, we both can and will avenge ourselves." At this the brother promised to give up his idea of revenge. Merton, p. 37 The wisdom of hungering for God: Abbot Palladius said: The soul that wishes to live according to the will of Christ should either learn faitfully what it does not yet know, or teach openly what it does know. But if, when it can, it desires to do neither of these things, it is afflicted with madness. For the first step away from God is a distaste for learning, and lack of appetite for those things for which the soul hungers when it seeks God. Merton, p. 45f What do you suppose might happen if we made our hunger for God more fully operative in our lives? The wisdom of laughing through tribulation: Once there was a disciple of a Greek philosopher who was commanded by his Master for three years to give money to everyone who insulted him. When this period of trial was over, the Master said to him, "Now you can go to Athens and learn wisdom." When the disciple was entering Athens he met a certain wise man who sat at the gate insulting everybody who came and went. He also insulted the disciple who immediately burst out laughing. "Why do you laugh when I insult you?" said the wise man. "because," said the disciple, "for three years I have been paying for this kind of thing and now you give to me for nothing." "Enter the city," said the wise man, "it is all yours." Merton, p. 39 The wisdom of not-knowing: Some elders once came to Abbot Anthony, and there was with them also Abbot Joseph. Wishing to test them, Abbot Anthony brought the conversation around to the Holy Scriptures. And he began from the youngest to ask them the meaning of this or that text. Each one replied as best he could, but Abbot Anthony said to them, "You have not got it yet." After them all he asked Abbot Joseph, "What about you? What do you say this text means?" Abbot Joseph relied, "I know not!" Then Abbot Anthony said, "Truly Abbot Joseph alone has found the way, for he replies that he knows not." Merton, p. 52 The wisdom of asking for help: It was said of one of the elders that he persevered in a fast of seventy weeks, eating only once a week. This elder asked God to reveal to him the meaning of a certain Scripture text, and God would not reveal it to him. So he said to himself, "Look at all the work I have done without getting anywhere! I will go to one of the brothers and ask him." When he had gone out and closed the door and was starting on his way an angel of God was sent to him, saying: "The seventy weeks you fasted did not bring you any closer to God, but now that you have humbled yourself and set out to ask your brother, I am sent to reveal the meaning of that text." And opening to him the meaning which he sought, he went away. Merton, p. 54 The wisdom in nature: A certain Philosopher asked St. Anthony; "Father, how can you be so happy when you are deprived of the consolation of books?" Anthony replied, "My book, O philosopher, is the nature of created things, and any time I want to read the words of God, the book is before me." Merton, p. 62 That last one reminds me of the poetic theology of Saint Ephrem the Syrian. The wisdom of silence: Theophilus of holy memory, Bishop of Alexandria, journeyed to Scete, and the brethren coming together said to Abbot Pambo, "Say a word or two to the Bishop, that his soul may be edified in this place." The elder replied, "If he is not edified by my silence, there is no hope that he will be edified by my words." Merton, p. 63
The wisdom of knowing who you are: Abbot Joseph asked Abbot Pastor; "Tell me how I can become a monk." The elder replied, "If you want to have rest here in this life and also in the next, in every conflict with another say; 'Who am I?' And judge no one." Merton, p. 73f
The wisdom of mercy: An elder was asked by a certain soldier if God would forgive a sinner. And he said to him; "Tell me, beloved, if your cloak is torn, will you throw it away?" The soldier replied, "No, I will mend it and put it back on." The elder said to him, "If you take care of your cloak, will God not be merciful to one who was made in God's own image?" Merton, p. 76 There are many forms that wisdom can take. May each of us be blessed with greater wisdom in the coming year. Originally written in Hebrew in the early second century BCE, Sirach, also known as the Wisdom of Ben Sira, and also known as Ecclesiasticus, was included in the Septragint and is an accepted part of the biblical canon by Catholics, Eastern Orthodox and some other Orthodox traditions, but is not a part of the Protestant canon. The author, Ben Sirah, was a Jewish scribe who lived in Jerusalem and later may have established a school in Alexandria, Egypt. The contents of this book consist primarily of ethical teachings, not unlike those found in the book of Proverbs. The portion we will hear today is part of a speech in which wisdom is praised modeled on a similar speech of the Goddess Isis in which she recounts her virtues.
Sirach 24:1-12 Wisdom praises herself, and tells of her glory in the midst of her people. In the assembly of the Most High she opens her mouth, And in the presence of God's hosts she tells of her glory: "I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, And covered the earth like a mist. I dwelt in the highest heavens, And my throne was in a pillar of cloud. Alone I compassed the vault of heaven And traversed the depths of the abyss. Over waves of the sea, over all the earth, And over every people and nation I have held sway. Among all these I sought a resting place; In whose territory should I abide? "Then the Creator of all things gave me a command, And my Creator chose the place for my tent. God said, 'Make your dwelling in Jacob, And in Israel receive your inheritance.' Before the ages, in the beginning, Yahweh created me, And for all the ages I shall not cease to be. In the holy tent I ministered before God, And so I was established in Zion. Thus in the beloved city I was given a resting place, And in Jerusalem was my domain. I took root in an honored people, In the portion of God, Yahweh's heritage. |
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