Wisdom Calls

“Wisdom Calls”
Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 Romans 5:1-5 John 16:12-15
Trinity Sunday, Year C, June 16, 2019
Pastor Andy Kennaly
Sandpoint, Idaho

This sermon is titled, “Wisdom Calls.” But if we could re-name it, or give it a subtitle, it would be, “A Jesus Makeover!” Beauticians have a way of doing makeovers, and the ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures give proof to improvements that much of the time we didn’t even know were possible. Sometimes the results are so amazing and dramatic, we wonder how we were lured or accepted the before state to begin with! But a Jesus Makeover has less to do with the looks of Jesus in terms of hairstyle and cosmetics, (no one really knows for sure anyway), and more to do with our side of the image, of who and how we assume Jesus is, and how we reflect that understanding. It’s our Jesus image that needs a makeover, and Wisdom is calling us to a deeper, more faithful witness.

This witness is grounded in the love and relationship of the Trinity, God as three in one and one in three. Today, Trinity Sunday, we’ll explore this calling. Part of this involves critical thinking, of questioning some long held assumptions, while other parts of this will breathe some well needed air as it brings refreshing perspectives.

Richard Rohr, in his booklet, What Do We Do With The Bible?, shares of the Christian tendency to remove text from context, especially related to Jesus. Christians often try an understand Jesus while not appreciating that he was both Jewish and human. The Church has extracted Jesus “from his own reality and made him a unique, one-time anomaly to be worshiped and praised […,] above history, apart from the incarnate Jesus of history.”

But, Rohr says, “A non-Jewish Jesus is simply not Jesus. A nonhuman Jesus is simply not Jesus. When his divinity is allowed to totally trump his full humanity, we no longer have the authentic Manifestation or message.”

Rohr goes on to notice that beginning at 313 AD, as Constantine makes Christianity the official religion of the State, that

“the message of Jesus was increasingly aligned with Empire in both the East and the West [,…] fully co-opted to establish an agreed-upon state religion and to enforce compliance.” [And here’s the clincher:…] We needed and created a unifying God figure to be worshiped instead of a divine-human teacher to be followed and imitated.”

This is a key aspect of early Christian theology which the Church has yet to recover from. On this Trinity Sunday, we can see how this Christology, this understanding of who Jesus is affects our interpretation of Christ and the Trinity. Rohr says,

“We also extracted Christ from the eternal love flow of the Trinity and made him into a lone male monarch, [thus Christ the King, even though Jesus never wanted to have the title, King].”

Rohr gives a geometric image to help express his next point, but before we look at that, I’ll ask you. What geometric shape or image comes to mind when you hear the word Trinity? What shape comes to mind when you hear, Trinity? (Triangle). The symbol of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has a stylistic equilateral triangle as part of the implied design, using a triangle with the single point at the top to illustrate Trinity. Three-dimensionally, this would be a pyramid.

Rohr continues with the illustration,

“We henceforth understood the God relationship less in terms of a circle and flow of shared life, and more as a pyramid of feudal authority. Obedience and loyalty were the supreme virtues, not love and compassion – witness the Crusades, the Inquisition, burnings at the stake, [and others…]. Top-down control and uniformity was the norm, even in many later Protestant groups…” (Rohr, What Do We Do With The Bible?, Center for Action and Contemplation, 2018, pg. 36-37).

It seems insightful that Christians on the edges of the Empire, such as Celtic expressions of the church in Ireland and other parts of the western fringes, have symbols that illustrate the God relationship in terms of circles and flow and love and connection. Like Celtic crosses that have circles and vines interwoven, with no beginning and no end, or circles that overlap, sharing in unity and distinction, each circle is its own, yet having common connection. A circle has no beginning and no end but symbolizes eternal love.

One of the things I learned on the Sabbatical trip in 2017 is that early Celtic monasteries, such as the one at Glendalough south of Dublin where Saint Kevin lived around the year 600; these monasteries used to be open to men and women, married people, even families. People would come and live there, but maybe go, depending on their needs for work; and the community was connected to the landscape through farming, even as more and more pilgrims arrived from Europe to flee persecution. But as Empire Religion had more influence, later expressions of the monastery came in line with the church structure focusing on Dioceses, Catholic Orders, on male-only monks and priests practicing celibacy, on hierarchy, and around the twelfth century, the Celtic monastic age came to a close, and it wasn’t long after that when Glendalough was abandoned and then destroyed.

The Dance of the Trinity is a phrase which tries to show the dynamic, relational aspect of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as Creator, Christ, and Comforting Advocate. The fullness of Christ in the life of Jesus, who is fully divine and fully human, is one part of this picture, the part that links us into this dance, with our divinity and humanity.

The World Council of Churches is an international ecumenical organization of which the Presbyterian Church (USA) is connected to and the World Council of Churches (or WCC) actively engages people around the world from a spiritual perspective, even as we face problems or challenges in realms of economy, violence, ecology, politics; basically any aspect of living on the planet. WCC puts out a weekly news summary through email, highlighting headlines from all the continents in ways the church is loving God by showing mercy and seeking justice. In this week’s prayer circle, they offer prayers shared by people from Batswana and Zimbabwe. Lets come alongside these people as they pray, as we explore Trinity.

A Prayer from Botswana:
Dear God, our builder, you have all the building materials needed to construct our societies. You have all the strength to put wisdom on all that has fallen apart in our lives. You have the wisdom to reshape our world.  Inspire us with all your wisdom, strength and love, to rebuild the broken walls in our community. (By Rev. Cheryl Dibeela, Gaborone, Botswana. Africa Praying: A Handbook on HIV/AIDS Sensitive Sermon Guidelines and Liturgy, ed. Musa W. Dube, WCC, 2003, pp.57, 175, 187-88).

A Prayer from Zimbabwe:
Lord God, we give you thanks for sending your only Son to give us life.
In the midst of wealth we are crushed by poverty, and while we are offered Christ-life in all its fullness, we are surrounded by disease, death and destruction. We are tempted to despair, and yet keep hoping, knowing that you care. At times we weep silent tears, and cry out with deep emotion.  We come to you, our only hope and refuge. Thank you for the gift of laughter, even when the going is tough. With you, O Lord, we may be troubled but not destroyed.  (By Rev. Farai Chirisa, Zimbabwe. www.ctal.org.uk/zimbabwe.htm) https://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/prayer-cycle/week-22-botswana-zimbabwe

Tears, laughter, despair, hope, poverty, refuge, troubled but not destroyed, knowing that you care, wisdom, strength, and love; these are words of dynamic relationship, of living in a Reality that takes context exceedingly seriously, that doesn’t deny the crushing realities and challenges, and yet claims the power of text in the midst of it. Jesus ministers to the poor, and these prayer show they believe it. Jesus releases the oppressed, and these prayers recognize injustice, and claim the promise of God that society will be transformed. God gives strength, but it is only gained through adversity. God gives wisdom, but it is only gained as knowledge unites with experience. God gives love, but it is a verb and not a noun. Love is what God has to give because love is who God is. This love shared through these prayers is a reflection of the imminent and transcendent, the intimate and infinite, the Way of Jesus as Wisdom calls to shape our lives to reflect God’s image.

Here we sit in 2019, having inherited a less than perfect church that still carries marks of Empire Religion. “Loving” is not always a word that describes the headlines in the news or the latest political scandal or the next tension leading to continued war. But “Loving” is the defining reality of the Trinity, and the Jesus Way leads deeper into life and peace beyond understanding. If you’re looking for a practical application, something you can do to help this life unfold, to help heart and mind unite to humbly receive God’s living Presence; then sitting in silence on a daily basis in prayer is one of the ways God transforms our hearts and releases us from the tyranny of our own egos. Ten to twenty minutes a day is a great way to apply our intention of focusing on participation in the dynamic dance of love.

May God’s Wisdom Tradition continue to call us both now, and even forever. Amen.