Sermon: Wisdom and the Kingdom by Laurie

Wisdom and the Kingdom
1 Kings 3:3-12; Matthew 13:44-52


There is a bumper sticker that reads: I once took an IQ test and the results were negative.

An astronomical IQ isn’t everything. I read about a young girl in California who scored a perfect 1600 on her SAT. She also scored perfect in several other California state tests and college prep tests. She was interviewed about this amazing feat. The reporter asked her with all that she had learned that had enabled her to achieve such intellect, what did she feel was the meaning of life for her. Her reply was that she had no idea what her life’s meaning was! Unfortunately this isn’t as humorous as it is sad.

Today, I want us to think about two concepts that I believe are related. What is the meaning of the word wisdom and the meaning of the phrase the Kingdom of God (KOG)? What ideas or images come to your mind when you hear these?

The first part of the question concerning wisdom tends to lead me to a Proverb: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom…” This Proverb has meant different things to me at different times. I first encountered it as an epiphany of sorts in a sermon in my home church while struggling to discern my future direction. To me at that time, it meant that if I surrendered all to God, then I might better understand God’s will for my life.

This led me to encounter the phrase again about a year later etched into the archway over the seminary library. I continued to relate to this Proverb in that same way through most of my seminary education. But now, as I reflect upon the meaning of the word wisdom in light of Solomon’s dream, these parables of the kingdom, and my experiences in ministry, I think its placement on the library also serves as a great warning – intellectual knowledge is contained in this building, wisdom may not be.

We often interchange the words wisdom or wise with words such as smart, intellectual, knowledgeable, and intelligent. Doing such, I believe has lessened the true meaning of wisdom. Yes, to gain wisdom does involve using your brain and intellect to an extent. But very smart people are not always wise and many times a young child can show more wisdom than his or her parents can.

Thus, wisdom isn’t solely contingent upon intellect. I think the meaning of wisdom is closer related to experiential understanding than to knowledge. There was an old man in a Kentucky town who was celebrated for his wisdom. A young man once asked him, “Uncle Zeke, how does it come you’re so wise?” The old man said, “Because I’ve got good judgment. Good judgment comes from experience, and experience – well, that comes from poor judgment!” (Gerald Kennedy A Reader’s Notebook)

Frederick Buechner says, “Wisdom is a matter not only of the mind but of the intuition and heart.” (Whistling in the Dark. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1988, 112.) Solomon shows this true wisdom by asking God to grant him “…an understanding mind to govern your people that I may discern between good and evil…” He realizes his limitations; he knows what he really needs to be able to rule. Solomon is not asking to be radically transformed into something other than what he already is. His sincere humility is just what God was hoping to hear and in turn God promises that Solomon’s wisdom will be greater than any before or since.

Is this what most of us would ask God to give to us if we had a wide open choice of anything in this world? Probably not, based upon how many people respond to Ed McMahan’s invitation to send in their sweepstakes entry or the number of lotto tickets sold. I have been guilty of falling prey to the lure of both. So, I think Solomon was already wise in many respects since he understood what he needed to govern was more important that what he may have wanted for his personal comfort or gain.

Our parables today are considered to be a part of the grouping known as “Parable of the Kingdom”. Jesus uses the then familiar teaching method of comparative stories containing common every day images. In these stories, the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven is compared to some ordinary element of life. Before today’s lesson in Matthew 13, Jesus tells his followers the Kingdom is like…a sower, a farmer’s wheat field infiltrated with tares, a tiny mustard seed, the result of a little amount of leaven mixed in flour. Today we add the KOG is like…a man finding a buried treasure, a merchant finding a great pearl, a catch of fish, and a trained scribe literally throwing out old and new treasures from his storeroom.

While parables may be extremely confusing to us, I don’t think they were supposed to be. I think sometimes our intellectual pursuits and intense dissections of biblical texts have caused us to forget to use common sense and intuition – basic wisdom – to guide our understanding. Just like Solomon, we need to ask for God’s help, for a discerning mind, when we read the Bible. If we truly believe that the scriptures are God’s inspired word, why do we not trust that the author knows what the text is trying to say to us? Again, this is why we have a “prayer for illumination” before the scriptures are read.

Jesus’ parables are not intended to completely baffle and perplex. They are a central part of his teaching and as such, it doesn’t make much sense that such a large portion of his teaching would be intentionally misleading. But they were not overtly easy to get either. Most are open-ended and a little shocking or scandalous in their comparisons - all with the intention of making us use our brains – they should cause us to think. Instead of allegorizing every minute detail, we need to read them in their 1st century CE context – comparisons utilizing simple daily elements of life found in that time. But making that kind of transition is hard for us, because here in the 21st century, we do have a much different life.

This morning I want us to not rip these stories and sayings apart at their seams to figure out how they were made, but instead to work backwards. I asked it earlier, what does the phrase the Kingdom of God mean to you? What images does it conjure? If they are wheat fields and tiny seeds and sowers throwing wildly, then we have knowledge of the texts, we’ve memorized the answers, but I am not sure we understand our answers. I know I still struggle here a lot of times.

Rev. Barclay has related that the KOG can be defined as “a state of society upon earth where God’s will is as perfectly done as it is in heaven…therefore to be in the KOG, to enter the KOG, is to do God’s will…” (Daily Study Bible: Matthew – Part 2). Think about the Lord’s Prayer – “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This prayer in itself defines the reality of the KOG.

Part of what makes the KOG hard to understand is that Jesus talks about it in different ways. At times, he speaks of the Kingdom as imminent. The mustard seed follows this – the KOG is here, it has been planted and even though it looks puny, even absent, it will grow into its own immense size. Then there are the times that Jesus talks as if the KOG is still to come. At the Last Supper he says that he will not drink of the fruit of the vine again until he drinks it in the Kingdom. This is the dilemma theologian Karl Barth called the “Now and the Not Yet”. And as frustrating as it often seems, this is where we live today - somewhere in the middle. The KOG is here, God’s reign has begun, but it is far from completed. The full fruition has not been realized and has a ways to go.

In the buried treasure and the pearl parables, we have stories relating how surprising the KOG can be when it is found in whatever state of fulfillment, how people become disciples in response to their perception of God's presence in their lives. The first man happens upon such while going about his day’s labor of digging in a field for the field’s owner. The second man has been searching for a great pearl. As a merchant he is always looking for and buying the best he can find, but this time he finds one that is the finest imaginable. Regardless of their different paths, their reactions are the same – they joyfully go and sell everything they own in order to obtain their great treasure.

Complete commitment and fervent desire lead to unspeakable joy and excitement. The KOG is worth any sacrifice. It is not a grim task for these two to give up all they have. They do not walk away sad like the rich young ruler. They do not pause to count the cost. It is almost reckless abandon that overtakes them. Their treasure has changed them – forever.

I think it is interesting that in the Jewish culture both buried treasure and pearls were considered to be symbols for wisdom. The audience hearing Matthew’s gospel would have picked up on this. In this context, not only is the KOG like a monetary fortune, it is also like the richness of true wisdom. As related earlier, when we are truly wise, we ask for God’s guidance and help, we ask for a discerning mind. When these actions lead us to understand God’s will for our lives and we obediently try to follow that will, then we may get a glimpse of “a state of society upon earth where God’s will is as perfectly done as it is in heaven…”

It is because of our sin, our weak human nature and its propensity toward apostasy that we only get glimpses of the KOG now. In Barclay’s commentary he said there are many nice, fine pearls in this world – pursuit of knowledge, the arts and literature, service to others, friendships and relationships – but there is only one great pearl of supreme beauty: the will of God and willing obedience to it. He says there is no other way to gain peace of mind or heart in this life than following the will of God. I know from my own experience he is correct.

I read somewhere, but I cannot remember where that the highest truth about the KOG is that the King is a loving Father and his Rule is one of Grace. This makes sense when you consider Jesus’ life and ministry. He followed the law of love and grace, and he followed this law not passively, but confidently and fiercely. His teachings show us that love and justice are not options or pieces of legislation, they are essential elements of life, elements that open up glimpses of the Kingdom because they allow a sliver of society for a brief time to follow God’s will here as it is in heaven.

One way a teacher checks for understanding is if a student can relate the concept of the learning within a different context. This is a great exercise to try. This morning, I want to end with a few kingdom parables I have roughly drafted based upon our current everyday life in this part of the world. You may or may not understand my point of connection or comparison, and you may or may not agree, but that is OK. Remember, the intent is to make you think and consider. The possibilities really are endless…

The KOG is like…
… a church with a few scuff marks on the walls or floors, glue and marker stuck on some tables and cookie crumbs ground in the carpet after a week filled with the fun and laughter of VBS.
… a cedar tree growing out of solid rock.
… a motionless body of water that perfectly reflects the images of its surroundings, thus multiplying their beauty.
… a cool beverage that quenches thirst and restores vitality to the body.
… the sound of children’s slightly off-key, yet joyfully robust singing.
… the excitement of seeing a 12-point buck on your side of the fence.
… cedar pollen – just think about that one for a while…[my interpretation - seemingly, leaves it mark on anything and everything, often intrudes irritatingly into our lives]
… a community whose many different churches gather to worship and serve their Lord as one united body.

Finally, for me, the KOG is like two different worshipping communities that are willing to support and share a very humanly flawed leadership, embracing its failures and its successes, accepting the persons and the personalities that encompass this leadership as they are and being willing to step out in faith and walk beside them in the search for pearls of wisdom and the treasure of discipleship.

The KOG is here, and while it may not be fully completed, it can be glimpsed in this place! May we be wise enough to relish this treasure we have found. Amen!