16th Sunday after
Pentecost
September 13, 2015
Proverbs 1:20-33; Psalm 19; James 3:1-12; Mark 8:27-38
Upon arriving in Switzerland two
weeks ago, my very first impression was that it was very green. From the airplane window just before we
landed, green was the only color I could see.
I commented on this to my seatmate, a Swiss-Italian, and he agreed,
Switzerland is a very green country. The
decent amount of rainfall each year, plus the melting of all the snow in the
Alps, makes the country look quite green from the air. From the ground, what I noticed first was the
quiet. It was quiet walking through the
airport, and not just because of jetlag on an overnight flight. The machines were quieter. Conversations were quieter. There was no yelling, there was no loud
talking on a cell phone. In general, it
was quiet. Even the trains weren’t
noisy. I think the only loud thing the
whole week was a drunk person outside our hotel one night. It reminded me of an article I read a while
back that said something to the effect of how American parents encourage and
teach their children to speak more, and are much more talkative in comparison
to other countries. I know I talk so
much to my kids that I often get funny looks when I’m out in public with one of
them. I talk them through what we’re
doing, why we’re at this particular place, and what we’re going to next. I think out loud a lot around them, so that
they can hear my thought process and how I arrive at a decision. And I did that even when they were six months
old and were mostly only processing the sound of my voice.
What we read in the Scriptures this
morning is the importance of words, and, trust me, it made it more difficult to
write a sermon about words. I think we
can all agree that words matter, that the particular words we choose to use
matter, because words can build up, or words can tear down. A joke I read this week about the power of
words was: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will have such a
lasting effect that I may have to go see a counselor for the rest of my life,
so thanks for that.”[1] James, in particular, talks about words and
how while the tongue is relatively small compared to the rest of the body, it
has great power.[2] He compares it to how a small flame can set a
whole forest on fire! A little rudder
can give direction to a big ship. And so
it is with the tongue. The words we
speak have a great effect on our listeners and on ourselves. Words can bless and be positive and build
up. Or words can curse and cause
division and drive people apart. The
words we choose matter.
I learned this thoroughly in a
summer school class I took thirteen years ago called “Language and the
Professions.” In college and grad school,
I studied not just about teaching and children and teaching a language, but
also about language and the role it
plays. This class was fantastic, it was
one of my favorites in the program, although by the end of the summer, I was
worn out from analyzing every single word choice on everything I saw. We looked at billboards and magazines, at the
words that are associated with different professions, even at ordinary everyday
conversation. It was mentally exhausting
to always be thinking about the words you use and how they determine the
impression you want to give to others and how they define you and give you
direction, much like that small boat rudder.
It’s important to choose words wisely.
Speaking of wisdom, we meet her, in
person, in Proverbs this morning. Wisdom
cries out in the street, raises her voice in the public square, calls out at
the busy street corners, and speaks at the city gates. It sounds like Wisdom can be found almost
everywhere, especially in places where people meet. It sounds like it’s not that hard to find
words of wisdom, when they appear to be just about everywhere. The problem is in hearing them. If wisdom has to shout and raise her voice,
presumably it’s because there’s a lot of noise that would otherwise drown her
out. Wisdom must be loud in order for us
to be able to hear her, and yet even when we hear her, we don’t always heed
her. We don’t always listen to the
pearls of wisdom that we’re given. Some
people recognize wisdom when they hear it; others do not. What we’re told in this passage this morning
is that Wisdom is not going to call out forever. There will come a time when we’ll seek wisdom
and it’ll be too late. We’ll be left to
the consequences of our unwise
decisions, trouble brought about by our own hands, because we didn’t want to
listen to wisdom. And God does not
always spare us from the results of our poor choices. So, the bottom line is to listen to Wisdom
now, while she can be found. Make wise
choices. Choose your words
carefully. “Whoever listens to wisdom
will have security. They will be safe, [and have] no reason to be afraid.”[3] Listen to the wise words that you hear,
regardless of whether they’re what you want
to hear, and act on them.
Our psalm this morning also deals
with speech and knowledge in a common place.
“The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims
God’s handiwork. Day to day pours forth
speech, and night to night declares knowledge.”[4] I remember the first time I really paid
attention to these verses and thinking, why isn’t it more obvious? If the sky
declares God’s glory, something everyone
can see, then why aren’t more people aware of God’s glory? If creation proclaims that it was created by
God, then why don’t we all realize that?
“Creations speaks and its message is clear: that glory and honor belong
to God alone.”[5] I suppose it’s a bit like Wisdom shouting at
the busy street corner. It’s busy, there
are lots of people there who surely must hear her, and it appears there are
lots of people who ignore her, just as lots of people ignore creation and the
sky declaring that it is God’s handiwork.
The wisdom is there, the knowledge is there, the words are there, right
in front of us. I guess that’s why Jesus
says repeatedly, “Let anyone with ears to hear, listen!”[6] Apparently we’re not very good at
listening. We’re not very good at paying
attention. If the skies declare it, all
we have to do is go outside and look up.
Unfortunately, our Golden Age of
Information is turning into our Golden Age of Anxiety. There is so much information thrown at us, so
many words that we read and hear every day, that it’s stressing us out because
it’s hard to figure out which are the right words to listen to and pay attention
to. There’s more chaff to sift through
to get to the wheat. We talked a few
weeks ago about how only Jesus has the words of life. There is nowhere else we can hear these
words; only Jesus has the wonderful words of eternal life. And so he is the plumb line by which we
measure all other words and determine which words are words of wisdom and which
words are foolishness. As James writes,
we all make mistakes often, and no one can thoroughly tame their tongue.[7] We all say things we regret, and it seems
like, with today’s technology, more of our words are recorded for posterity
than ever before. If we’re paying
attention, that only adds to our anxiety.
If we’re not and we speak without thinking, our mistakes are flung back
in our faces, also fueling our anxiety.
So, take the time to think before
you speak. Choose your words
carefully. And be gentle with each
other. None of us can tame our
tongue. I err on the side of not saying
enough, because I’m quiet by nature.
Others of us run off on the mouth and enjoy a good gab. Taking the time to think before you speak
goes hand in hand with taking time to think about what you’re hearing. In so many conversations these days we’re not
listening to understand, we’re listening to respond, and once we have our
response back, we generally tune out the other person until they’re done
talking because we’re focused on remembering what we want to say. So many conversations go this way these days
and I think it heightens the divisions between us. If I’m listening in order to be able to
respond to you, then I’m focused on what I
think about what you’re saying. If I’m
listening in order to understand you,
then I’m focused on what you think
about what you’re saying. Focusing on
the other person is part of how we deny ourselves, like Jesus calls us to do in
our Gospel.
This is a very familiar passage,
where Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and
take up their cross and follow me. For
whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for
my sake, and for the sake of gospel, will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole
world, yet forfeit their soul?”[8] You know it’s important when all four Gospels
record Jesus saying this. What may be
helpful is to make it less familiar. The
Message paraphrases this passage this way: “Anyone who intends to come with me
has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show
you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to
saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you
want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?”[9] It’s an interesting choice of words that
Eugene Peterson picked. “Self-help is no
help at all.” Self-help books and
mantras are often full of words, words designed to help, words designed to
build up, words designed to make you better, to save you. And they are very wordy. In contrast, “self-sacrifice is the way,
[Jesus’] way, to saving your true self.”
I don’t know about you but when I think about self-sacrifice and words,
what I think is not a lot of words, and instead more quietness, more listening,
more humility and silence.
What I wanted to title this sermon
was “Words, Words, Everywhere, Nor Any Drop to Drink,” but I wasn’t sure if the
reference was too obscure. (I told you I
hesitate more on the side of caution and quiet.) It’s a play off a line from the poem, “The
Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” published in 1798 by the English poet Samuel
Taylor Coleridge. The original verse
says “Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink,” since the Ancient
Mariner is at sea and surrounded by water, but none of it is water that he can
drink. In a similar way, we are
surrounded by words today. Words are
everywhere, except perhaps in creation.
The heavens can tell the glory of God without using words. Our language, however, is based on
words. So, as you go forth today, think
about the words that you use, and think about the words that your conversation
partner uses. Listen to them, so that
you can try to understand them, rather than argue with them. While the tongue cannot be tamed, wouldn’t it
be nice to live together in mutual understanding with each other? Focused more on self-sacrifice than
self-help. Focused on saving our real
selves rather than trying to get everything on our wish list. Take time to think before you speak. Take time to think about what you’re
hearing. Listen not to respond, but
listen to understand. Even the creation
proclaims God’s handiwork, if we’re paying attention. Thanks be to God. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment