Let us pray: God of goodness and wisdom, open our hearts and minds to your words today. May your Holy Spirit flow, inspire, and guide us. Amen
“The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy.” Willing to yield. I’m NOT very willing to yield. In fact, I don’t care for it. Whether I’m driving somewhere or in another situation. I’m more naturally inclined to go, to take, to believe that I have the right away, the right answer, or the important thing to do or say, or place to be. I don’t want to yield. I want to be right. I am right! Right? Well, as my wife Stacey recently pointed out to me, sometimes I can be a bit SELF-righteous. What? It would seem that those who know us well, well, they really do know us well.
Not too long ago I shared with my wife and daughter an actual story about driving when I thought I didn’t need to yield to someone and I was SO sure, SO positive that I was right. And it ended with the person cussing me out and me saying not such a nice thing to them and thinking things that were even less kind. Guess what? It turns out that I was COMPLETELY wrong. And I had been SO sure. My wife pointed out that I can sometimes get like that. Pretty sure I’m right, pretty sure others are wrong, pretty indignant and fired up about things when I think I’M RIGHT and THEY’RE WRONG. What honey? No, that’s not me. What about this time, and then there was that one time, and remember when? Ohhhh. I finally came to the realization that my wife was right and that I was wrong, and that in fact, I DO get pretty upset and act poorly when I’m convinced that I’m right.
And so today’s reading from James hits close to home with me.
Over these past few weeks we’ve been getting some pretty practical advice about how to relate well and get along with others, and this week James continues by encouraging us to find and follow the Wisdom of God. This wisdom is in sharp contrast to the wisdom of earth, which we can see reflected in the values of our society today: me first, taking care of number one, what James calls selfish ambition. Consume, consume, consume, bigger, better, newer, envious and desiring what others have, or what we don’t have, yet. The kind of wisdom that causes envy and selfish ambition and leads to disorder and wickedness is not from above, not from God, and it’s not good for us, for humanity, or our planet. James tells us that we are to be peacemakers who will sow in peace and receive a harvest or righteousness. We are to look to the Wisdom of God that we see directly reflected and modeled in Jesus. Wisdom whose attributes are peace, gentleness, willingness to yield, and fullness of mercy. This is how we are to act and treat one another, to show by our lives and actions that we are following God’s wisdom, seeking to emulate Jesus.
“Show with your good life that your works are done with gentleness, born of wisdom.”
But how? First we have to be willing to admit that we’ve gotten it wrong, to cede our power, our perceived self-power. We need to yield. Yield to others and yield to God. To do our best to cultivate these attributes of God’s wisdom, working hard and consciously to be: peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, and full of mercy. When our lives reflect God’s divine nature demonstrated by Jesus, then WE are submitting, yielding to God’s power in and over our lives. Yielding our power, forsaking the world’s wisdom for God’s wisdom.
This is what is means to go toward God, to draw ourselves nearer to God’s love. Draw near to God, James tells us, and God will draw near to you. Remember that one step, one effort, one small action counts in drawing us nearer to God. And remember that God rejoices in your approach and that God LEAPS to meet you just like a happy dog, a joyous toddler, or a lover after a long time apart.
In today’s gospel story we get another look at the wisdom of God in the actions of Jesus.
Jesus has some tough words for his disciples. “But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.” Jesus disciples don’t understand that he’s going to be betrayed and killed. What? No, say it isn’t so. Jesus doesn’t model what they or we expect when it comes to interactions of power. Jesus doesn’t demonstrate worldly power or wisdom, but God’s wisdom, God’s ways. Jesus is willing to yield. He is full of mercy- “Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.” Remember that Jesus didn’t enter Jerusalem on a great white stallion, decked out in conquering soldier’s armor, but on a donkey, wearing simple clothes. He didn’t incite his followers to insurrection and a violent overthrow of the powers that were. No, God’s power and wisdom is about sowing peace, bringing about wholeness and healing, right relationships, valuing and lifting up the least, welcoming, honoring, and loving them.
“Whoever want to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Godly wisdom is servant leadership. Jesus shows his disciples what he means with how he treats a young child, elevating them from no status to equal status with God! A bold statement.
“Then he took a little child and put it among them…and he said to them, whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
This isn’t a sweet scene of Jesus loving a little kid, it’s much, much more. Jesus is tearing down the whole societal structure here. This is the wisdom of God. Earthly wisdom values relationships of power and privilege, the Godly wisdom proclaimed by Jesus lifts up the lowly, the no-names, the no-power or standings, the chattel. Sharon H. Ringe calls this scene from Mark’s gospel a “powerful and…shocking depiction of the paradoxical values of God’s will and reign, which confront the dominant values of human societies and assign worth and importance to every person. “ Earthly wisdom values things, power, getting ahead at all costs. Godly wisdom values people and relationships. When we yield to others, recognizing their shared value as children of God, when we give up our own power, submit to God, and draw near to the Divine, then we are becoming wise in God’s ways and we begin to show with our good lives that our works are done with gentleness, born of the wisdom of God. Draw near to God, and God will most certainly draw near to you.
Amen.
