September 13, 2009 - Proper 19, Year B (RCL)
This week
has been one of those weeks
where it seems that all the news
has revolved around
two stories.
The first one
was the President’s speech to schoolchildren.
Here in Smithtown School district, our kids didn’t go back till Wednesday, so I guess it wasn’t as contentious - if they wanted to watch it live, it had to happen at home.
But across the country
there was discussion about whether it was appropriate for children to be shown a live webcast of the President talking to them.
Some people were concerned
that they didn’t want their kids seeing anything that could be deemed political
without them being there with them.
Some saw it as partisan. Some were nervous about what their kids would hear.
On the other side,
some said that all children should watch it, because it’s the President.
And some pointed to the history of Presidential broadcasts to children, Presidents like Ronald Reagan and the first George Bush.
Mostly, the opinions matched up
along party lines.
But I think there was something deeper going on.
It’s not just about which party you vote for; it’s about who you can trust. Who do you listen to?
Whose words
do you want your children to pay attention to?
Who can you trust?
And it seems to me
that pretty much the same issue
underlies the discussion
of health care, the other big issue
to dominate the news this week.
It’s been in the news for months,
but what pitched it into the forefront
was the Presidential address to the Joint Session of Congress
on Wednesday night.
When it comes to health care
there are some things
that everyone agrees on.
We want it.
We want to know
that if we or our parents or children or grandchildren get sick
we can get the medical care we need.
And we would prefer not to go into bankruptcy to pay for it.
But most everything apart from that
is up for grabs.
Should we continue with the current system of mostly private insurance, except for Medicare and Medicaid and Veterans?
Or should there be a mix of public and private, each of them open to anyone who wants to choose it?
Should insurance be optional or compulsory?
Should it be focussed on wellness and health maintenance,
or catastrophic needs,
or cover everything?
And how much should government
be involved in healthcare anyway?
Everyone has an opinion.
The lobbyists.
The insurance companies.
The doctors.
The hospitals.
People who’ve had great healthcare in our current system.
People who’ve had lousy healthcare in our current system.
People who’ve had great healthcare in other systems.
People who’ve had lousy healthcare in other systems.
People who have insurance.
People who don’t.
And, of course, the politicians.
So who do you listen to?
Who do you trust?
That seems to be the question
that is beneath all the other questions.
As was clear in the outburst of Representative Joe Wilson
a Republican from South Carolina,
who shouted during President Obama’s speech,
“You lie!”
Whether you thought his outburst was appropriate or not, whether you agree with him or not,
it’s clear that that’s the fundamental question.
What is the truth?
Who can we believe?
And it’s with that question
in my mind
that I turned this week
to our Old Testament reading.
It’s from the first chapter
of the book of Proverbs.
Last week
we heard a few verses
kind of plucked out of the middle of the book,
and I introduced them this way:
“Proverbs
is a collection of sayings,
sayings that cover
the full range
of human experience.
They advise on families and households,
friendships and business,
values and morals.
They are full of common sense,
the sort of wisdom
that seems obvious once you’ve read it,
but which sometimes feels far
from what we see around us,
common sense,
infused with the wisdom
of God.”
But this week
we’re back at the beginning.
And instead of being the soundbites
that traditional proverbs make,
here in chapter one,
we have the introduction
to what’s behind them,
the role and purpose
of wisdom.
The book of Proverbs
begins this way:
“The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel:
“For learning about wisdom and instruction,
for understanding words of insight,
for gaining instruction in wise dealing,
righteousness, justice, and equity;
to teach shrewdness to the simple,
knowledge and prudence to the young—
let the wise also hear and gain in learning,
and the discerning acquire skill,
to understand a proverb and a figure,
the words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.”
The focus of the book of Proverbs
is living wisely
and to live wisely
you need to know who to listen to.
And who you should listen to
is God.
The “fear of the Lord”
as it’s used in the Old TEstament
is no so much being afraid of God,
as in awe of God,
respecting, honoring God,
doing as God would wish,
following God’s commands.
As Jesus summarizes it,
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength....[and] ...You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
God is the one
we should listen to.
And then, after a brief excursus on listening to your parents
Got that kids? Listen to your parents. Do what they tell you. It’s in the bible. And don’t get sucked in by people who want you to do things that you know are wrong -
anyway, after that,
we get the section that we read this morning.
“Wisdom cries out in the street”
Here the wisdom of God
is personified,
the wisdom of God
takes human form.
And stands in Times Square
and shouts out to anyone who listen:
“Simpletons! How long will you wallow in ignorance?
Cynics! How long will you feed your cynicism?
Idiots! How long will you refuse to learn?
About face! I can revise your life.
Look, I'm ready to pour out my spirit on you;
I'm ready to tell you all I know.
As it is, I've called, but you've turned a deaf ear;
I've reached out to you, but you've ignored me.
"Since you laugh at my counsel
and make a joke of my advice,
How can I take you seriously?
I'll turn the tables and joke about your troubles!
What if the roof falls in,
and your whole life goes to pieces?
What if catastrophe strikes and there's nothing
to show for your life but rubble and ashes?
You'll need me then. You'll call for me, but don't expect
an answer.
No matter how hard you look, you won't find me.
"Because you hated Knowledge
and had nothing to do with the Fear-of-God,
Because you wouldn't take my advice
and brushed aside all my offers to train you,
Well, you've made your bed—now lie in it;
you wanted your own way—now, how do you like it?
Don't you see what happens, you simpletons, you idiots?
Carelessness kills; complacency is murder.
First pay attention to me, and then relax.
Now you can take it easy—you're in good hands."
from Eugene Peterson, The Message
Okay, so if we were in Times Square and heard that,
we’d probably assume
that Wisdom was
some religious nutcase,
and keep well clear
with our eyes fixed firmly on the ground
so as not to attract
her attention.
But the call is clear.
Pay attention, listen, to God.
And be warned,
if you don’t, you’ll only have yourself to blame
if things don’t work out.
Listen to God.
The book of Proverbs
isn’t going to tell us whether or not
to let our kids listen to the President in school.
It’s not going to tell us
what should happen
about healthcare reform.
But it does tell us
who to listen to,
who to trust.
God.
And we have God’s advice.
We have it in the bible,
if we only take the time to read it.
And we have it here
in the first few verses
of Proverbs.
Righteousness, justice, equity.
A little different from those great American principles,
life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
It’s not that they are wrong,
but that even they
have to be subjected to
the wisdom of God.
And the wisdom of God offers us
righteousness, justice, and equity,
God offers them to us
as a trustworthy way
of discerning
what is right.
They are principles
that we can trust.
So when the name calling begins on the political stage
and we don’t quite know
who to believe,
tune in
to the wisdom of God.
You will be
in good hands.
© Raewynne J. Whiteley 2009