Proverbs 31:10-31; Mark 9:30-37
Last Friday, Mike
and I went to see a movie. We both enjoy baseball, so we saw Clint Eastwood in Trouble with the Curve. The movie is
about Gus, a 60-something scout for the Atlanta Braves. He’s beginning to
experience some vision problems, but he doesn’t rely just on his eyes to
determine who is a winner.
Longing to take
his place is Phil, who rarely sees a game, live or on TV. He depends on
computer lists of statistics to determine the best of the new talent available.
It all comes to a climax a few days before the draft. The guy being scouted is
Bo Gentry.
Phil says, loudly
and repeatedly that the figures don’t lie; they should not bother watching him
play, they should just plan on drafting him. Meanwhile, Gus and his daughter
Mickey sit in the stands to watch Bo in action. He is a powerful slugger,
hitting anything that comes his way out of the ballpark. He is also an
obnoxious, arrogant jerk.
I won’t spoil the
movie for you, but the plot is about wisdom. Is it wise to depend on an old guy
with health issues seeing a player in action, or is it better to look at the
statistics, which don’t lie?
Our texts for
today are about wisdom: the capable wife in Proverbs, the wise person in the Psalm,
the pure wisdom from above in James, and the wisdom of knowing your place in
the Gospel.
The wise woman in
Proverbs is often lifted up as the perfect symbol of a submissive wife. She
does everything for her family: cooking, cleaning, shopping, planting and
harvesting. She looks wonderful, doesn’t she?
Except, she does
nothing for herself, unless you count her perfect hair and clothing. Most
modern women would say they want more than that. But, when we look closer at
the text, we notice there’s a lot more to her. This woman managed to scrape
together enough cash to purchase land, plant a vineyard, and harvest it. Where,
I wonder, did she get the money? And how was she able to purchase land, in a
time when women are not permitted to own land?
She is a merchant,
growing flax, making the thread, weaving the cloth, dying it, and selling it
for profit. The family is wealthy – only wealthy families could afford to wear
red and purple. I also note that she does not work alone. She has serving girls
to help her. She is aware of the community around her, sharing her wealth with
those in need. She opens her hands to those in need, the text says.
This woman manages
a very large household and she demonstrates wisdom in the way she manages it in
keeping with God’s purposes.
For Jesus, wisdom
is in knowing one’s place in God’s family. The disciples are excited about
being with the Messiah. They argue about who is the best, who is the most
important, who is the leader among them. In response, Jesus finds a child in
the crowd and puts her front and center. “Listen to me,” he says. “This child
is more important than any of you! When you welcome her, you welcome me in God’s
name. So, stop your posturing for first place and think about serving others
instead of yourselves.”
The more we seek
to be first, the more God wants us to be last. The more we put ourselves last,
serving others, the more God raises us up to be first. Of course, we can’t tell
ourselves we will start out last so that God can make us number one; God sees
through our intentions. God wants us to have a heart for serving others.
Former Army
Sergeant Adam Burke knows the wisdom of serving. He served his country in Iraq,
but when he came home, he knew he needed to do more. One day, he was eating in
a restaurant, but he was not very hungry. A person next to him spoke. “Are you going
to eat your meal? If you’re not going to eat it, can I have it?” Sergeant Burke
looked at the man, then looked at the floor near him. He noticed the patches on
his duffel bag; the man was a veteran, living on the street, homeless.
Sergeant Burke had
the wisdom to realize he was called to continue serving. He established Veterans
Farm in Jacksonville, Florida, to give injured and disabled veterans a place to
rehab, to relearn social skills, to help them get jobs, to help them learn to
manage their PTSD. Veterans Farm partners with a larger organization called “The
Mission Continues.” Vets are carefully
screened and work for six months learning all aspects of the farming business
on a 5 acre organic farm. They, too, have the opportunity to gain wisdom.
God’s wisdom is
available to all of us, if we pay attention. It comes to us through the Holy
Spirit, who speaks to us in quiet whispers, in loud shouts, in challenges to do
more, in open doors, and through closed doors which lead us down new pathways.
This week, I invite
you to be on the lookout for wisdom. Who speaks words of wisdom to you? When do
you offer wisdom to someone else? Is it perceived as wisdom or as simply words?
Who do you notice has a good idea, demonstrating practical wisdom?
In this era of
lots of words and images related to political leadership, please have the
wisdom to check the facts before deciding for whom you will vote. Which
candidate, which new regulation, offers the most wisdom? Which candidate will be
more focused on serving instead of seeking to be first?
Please pray with
me. Jesus, you are our Servant and our Savior. Help us to discover – over and over
again– the wisdom to be found in serving you through serving others. Amen
