“What is Wisdom?”
September 25, 2022
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and
peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus
Christ, Amen.
Some of you have probably noticed,
for the past five and a half years or so, that I have a rather unique way of
pronouncing the word for the sister of one’s father or mother. Specifically, I
tend to say “Ahnt” rather than “Ant.” The reason is because the first parish I
was privileged to be called to serve as a pastor almost twenty years ago was
located in southwestern Minnesota, where that is the pronunciation for that
word. So that’s something from Minnesota, besides having been born there, that,
for purely personal reasons, I have still chosen to hang on to at this point in
my life. Now, the reason that that is the pronunciation for that particular
word is because, especially in the rural areas, Minnesota was predominantly
settled by immigrants from Scandinavia. These immigrants were taught English by
schoolteachers from New England, who passed along their own accent to their
students – which is why people from the upper Midwest tend to sound like
they’re from New England even today.
But the story I want to tell is
about these immigrants, especially those who populated southwestern Minnesota.
As I said, my first parish was located there, and was made up primarily of
people of Norwegian descent, many of whose families who, much like our church
family, had lived in the area for at least four or five generations. So, while
I was there, I had a chance to learn a bit more about the Norwegian background
of the people. Jeg lærte også litt Norsk. But then, as it happened, the second
parish I was called to serve was located in north central Montana, and was also
primarily made up of people of Norwegian descent. And one thing I learned about
the Norwegians who settled in Minnesota and Montana is that they were an
incredibly resilient and resourceful people. Many of them had come over to this
country with next to nothing, and even struggled to make it upon arriving. But
a lot of them became farmers and ranchers, and, even despite the tremendous difficulties
from farming and ranching on the prairie, were able to build lives for
themselves and their families. The Montana Norwegians in particular were
frequently described to me as being “survivors,” people who had been able to make
it through virtually any hardship, and, in many cases, come out in even better
shape than before.
And the primary reason for this
was because their faith in God enabled them to be able to do so. Even despite
all the difficulties they had to endure, they trusted in God to be able to help
them keep going, remained committed to Him, and relied on His guidance and
power to enable them to overcome all the troubles they faced. Frequently, the
first building that would be erected in any area, even before any houses were
built, would be the church. The church was the place where people came to
worship God each Sunday, but even during the week, the church was also the central
point where people would gather together to socialize and receive support from
each other. They would also regularly read the Bible and pray together in their
homes, as families and as communities. Especially in the earliest days, when
pastors would only be able to be at the church once a month, if even that, the
people would be required to worship and study the Bible on their own, which
helped them to rely on God and each other even more closely. It was also this
strong faith and reliance on God that they passed along to their descendants,
which also helped the churches I was eventually called to pastor to be able to
survive even into the twenty-first century – and which, even after covid, still
continue to remain open and worship regularly. These spiritual ancestors, and
current brothers and sisters of ours, are wonderful examples of how to follow
God in a hard world.
All of this is a demonstration of
what we hear in today’s First Reading, from Proverbs 9:10: “The fear of the
LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is
understanding.” Right away, we have to clarify something which is frequently
misunderstood: the word fear would make us think that we have to be afraid
of God. That is the usual meaning of the word “fear” – being afraid of
something – but it actually has another, more positive meaning. The Hebrew word
for fear, “Yirah,” has more the sense not of being scared of something, but of
being in awe of something – of being so overcome with wonder, amazement, and
even happiness at something that is happening, or what someone is doing. In
this case, when we realize who God really is, what He’s like, and everything
He’s done for us, we can’t help but be in awe of Him. Especially when we think
about how loving and caring He is towards us, every single day; and how He
accepts us and who we are. Really, if we consider it, God hasn’t given us any
reason to be afraid of Him. If we are afraid of Him, it’s because we’ve been
fed false messages, which tell us that God is threatening us if we step out of
line; we should be scared because God is so powerful that He causes disasters
to happen; or that God hates us and we should feel guilty and be ashamed of who
we are. None of which are true. God is not angry with us, He’s not threatening
us in any way, and He certainly doesn’t hate us, nor is He ashamed of us for
any reason. In fact, if we really take the time to think, it is people, not
God, who have said these things. People have told us that God hates us and is
threatening us with punishment for various reasons. And there’s been one main
reason we’ve been told this, which is that certain people want to create fear,
for purpose of trying to control in God’s name – which is itself a lack
of wisdom, because it is claiming to speak on God’s behalf, but not even doing
so. What God really wants for us is to remember who He really is for us, and be
in such wonder of everything He’s done to show who He is, that we can’t help
but trust and follow Him – because we know He always has our best interest in
mind.
All this is different from what our
usual definition of fear is: being frightened of something. And this kind of
fear frequently causes us to stumble: when we are afraid, we don’t think as
clearly or as wisely as we ought to, because we’re so focused on our fear that
we become stressed. And this means we make decisions, or react to situations,
in ways that may seem like the best solution, but are usually unwise, because
they end up causing more damage. For example, we may act out in anger or
frustration towards someone because we are afraid of what might happen, but we
hurt our relationship with them, their feelings, and ultimately ourselves in
the process. Since we know what the truth is – that God actually wants the best
for us – this means we have another way. If we want peace and calm in our
lives, we have to let God take charge of us. What we will find when we trust in
God, ask Him for guidance, and turn our worries and problems over to Him, is
that we will be able to think more clearly – and with greater wisdom. We will
also be make better decisions, since God will provide us with the answers. But
we have to abandon the fear of what we are having to deal with, and adopt the
true fear – or trusting faith in – God instead, and let Him take charge.
Yet this faith also requires a
strong commitment – even at a cost. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus emphasizes
that following Him can often come at a high cost. Often we have to be reminded
of how much it can cost to follow Jesus, because just as often we tend to
forget. Jesus compares this to someone who started building a tower, but lacked
the funds to finish it. Also, He talks about a king who tries to consider
whether he has a large enough army to try to defeat an enemy, and if he doesn’t
he tries to defuse the situation by making peace. We also have to remember that
all of this is not only about our commitment – it is about God’s solid and
unbreakable commitment to us. So much so that He sent His Son to die on the
cross and rise again for us – to demonstrate what kind of God He is. And it is
that cost which we are to consider, as, especially in this day and age, our
faith is frequently challenged. And by our faith, I don’t just mean the things
we say we agree with intellectually as Christians - I mean being able to trust
in God with our hearts, follow Jesus, and become like Jesus even though there
continue to be many distractions. Recently we heard stories about how
Christians continue to be persecuted in many parts of the world, but still remain
committed to their faith, even under pressure to convert to another religion. While
we may not face the same pressures here, we still have problems, especially
with things remaining uncertain and tense – and while society may want us to be
one way, God wants us to be another. He wants us to be like Him. So today we
have to ask ourselves honestly: with God’s help, are we able to commit
ourselves to ignoring fear and trusting Him instead? Can we live in such a way
where how we act is not out of being scared, but instead become peaceful out of
trust in God? Can we be wise, asking God to guide us in making decisions, and
acting in a calm way whatever might happen? Even though it may not be easy,
with God’s help, we can continue to overcome what we are going through, and, as
He has demonstrated in the past, and will continue to show us in the present,
if we trust God, He will help us become wise.
Now may the peace of God, which
passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
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