Lent III: Lent’s Long Journey – David Brubacher – March 15/09

My grandmother had a stroke when she was thirty nine. All the years I knew her she spoke with a stutter and her walk was unsteady. It was not uncommon to see gramma out walking and see her roll on a heap. I can remember several tumbles down the steep and narrow cellar steps that ended close to the stone foundation of the old farm house.

            Amazingly, gramma never broke any bones. She should have, according to my sense of common wisdom. My mother explained that stroke victims do not resist a fall but simply roll with it and in not resisting the fall bones are less likely to be broken. I have never checked with a medical authority to see if that is true.

I thought of my grandmother as I pondered and prayed with the scriptures for today. You heard the themes and portions of the texts artfully woven together in the reader’s theatre. Exodus 20, Ten Commandments, reminds us of another major covenant God made with God’s people. Last week we heard of the covenant made with Abraham and before that, with Noah. Lent is a time for us to ponder what it means to walk in faithfulness with God, as spiritual descendants of the people with whom God established these covenants,

            Psalm 19 in a poetic way draws attention to the voice of God’s promise as heard in creation. God’s intention and desire for all of creation is peace and harmony. When we walk in God’s way rather than stiffening ourselves by our own wisdom we experience the blessing of God in the beauty and order of creation.

            I Corinthians 1, speaking of human wisdom and God’s foolishness, and John 2 where Jesus drives the money changers from the temple, invite us to ponder Jesus’ intervention in our lives.

Today is the third Sunday of Lent. Lent is one of my favourite seasons of the Christian year. During Lent we are encouraged to consider God’s activity in human history and in our lives. Lent as an opportune time to reflect on the good news we profess in Jesus and how we engage in God’s mission.

            Spirituality today seems to focus less on outcomes and ends and more on life as a journey. For me lent is a journey with Jesus from the lush region of Galilee along the rocky and dusty roads of Palestine to the city of Jerusalem and ultimately the cross. Along the way Jesus began to tell his disciples what would happen in Jerusalem. It was contrary to what many anticipated and it made little sense to human wisdom. What good would a dead, Messiah King be to God’s people?

            In the days of Jesus, it was a long journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. Lent continues to be a long journey as we travel from the places of human securities to the place of God’s way in the world so that when we roll with the inevitable stumbles of life, things may yet go well for us.

The question being asked during Lent is this, “On the Journey, whose way do we follow, our own or God’s? Is God Lord of our lives or do we really think we know best?”

            These questions are at the heart of Paul’s concern in writing to the Corinthian church on the matter of their divisiveness.  In the text read this morning Paul lays a theological foundation for his critique. “The reason you are caught up in rivalries,” Paul suggests, “is because you are caught up in human wisdom.”

            The ancient Greco-Roman world placed a high value on philosophical wisdom and rhetorical eloquence. Skilled public orators were given the same public acclaim we give to movie stars and sports heroes. These skilled orators presented their wisdom as an arrived at truth gaining superior standing. The tension and division between those who followed the various public orators spilled over into the church. From plac
es where I have sat in the church I have wondered if things have changed much in two thousand years. We are still on that long journey.

            Paul does not step into the fray by arguing for a super framework of wisdom. Paul presents what he understands to be the wisdom of God revealed in the cross of Jesus. The wisdom of God is not contained in superior knowledge and rhetorical ability but in self-giving love. Such a framework of wisdom totally subverts the wisdom of any age.

            Paul proclaims the wisdom of God revealed in the cross as the way of salvation. For Paul those in the church are on a journey of “being saved.” Those who claim the wisdom of the world suppose that they have already arrived and that they are in full possession of all truth.

            By contrast Paul suggests it is the power of God at work in the world whereby members of the church find themselves on a trajectory toward salvation. We are “being saved.” Salvation is not something we can blindly claim as a present possession. This trajectory, this way, this journey is the way of God’s wisdom at work in the world.

            The way of God’s wisdom, Paul maintains, is the way of Jesus on the cross. The cross, the symbol of God’s self-giving love is utter foolishness in the way of human wisdom, but for Paul, it is the way of salvation.

            Paul revels in the paradoxical twist of God’s grace. Seeing the cross as the way of God’s salvation in the world overturns all human standards of religious evaluation. This was equally difficult for all parties in Corinth to fathom. The religious insiders were looking for signs or demonstrations of power to prove their position. One who died on the cross did not seem to demonstrate power. Those looking for rationally persuasive arguments were also not convinced.

            The irony in Paul’s argument is in the cross itself. Crucifixion was an instrument of torture and execution. It was designed by the Romans to demonstrate that no one should defy the powers that be. Paul suggests that God in Jesus, who voluntarily died on such a cross, is the way of wisdom in the world and the way of salvation. That way of thinking is a long way from how many people; including Christians, think in today’s world. It is the long journey of Lent.

The long journey with Jesus to the cross challenges us to look at things through another lens. What drives our life? Is it acquiring wealth as a means of security? Is it proving our “right” and other’s “wrong?” How would things look different through the lens of the cross? We might begin to ask, “How can I use my material resources and God given gifts to benefit those God has placed around me?” How can I make sure that my life reflects God’s love for me? This is the way of love, God’s way, modeled on the cross.

            The journey of Lent, long as it may be, is not a journey taken in isolation. As Jesus traveled toward Jerusalem many people joined with him. Today we celebrated Courtney and Aaron formally becoming members of the TUMC community of faith. As a community of faith we are sisters and brothers who care for each other with the best interest of each other at heart.

            In God’s infinite wisdom, God places us in communities of faith to support us and to encourage us so that we do not get lost on the journey. Amen.