Yesterday's wisdom is today's fallacy

 The basis of our wisdom is often the knowledge that we gain over time. More often then not those we consider to be wise are those who have studied over a long period of their lives. We can look at all sorts of examples of people who for us have grown wise over time. Indeed if we were to go back in time the wisest were often thought to be the elders of the community whom we looked to for guidance and direction. In more recent years this understanding of wisdom has perhaps been laid to rest as we turn to those who are younger who keep up with modern trends and have thoughts of the future. They are wise in the world because they encompass the fast moving elements of society and we allow ourselves to be guided by them. However, our wisdom is based on the knowledge that we have and is thus limited by our own corporeality. Furthermore, our knowledge has, since the enlightenment, been more and more based on the physical reality of the world negating that which can not be defined or physically witnessed. This is the wisdom that Paul denigrates in his letter to the Corinthians (1:18-31).

Wisdom is not knowledge

Following Christ and basing ones life wisdom on God is not based on a physical proof or understanding of the world. Rather it is based on a deeper basis of understanding that goes far beyond the physical relying on the persons own 'faith' and interaction with God's Spirit in their lives. The wisdom of the world changes from era to era determined by what society perceives to be of the greatest good whether that be science or computer technologies or other increasingly fashionable knowledge bases. In taking up the cross and being counter to the current feeling of what is wise we maintain the wisdom of the ages that do not change at the foundational level but like any building can be expressed in a variety of forms. For Christians or those that follow Christ our living and ethical foundations are found in what are commonly referred to as the Beatitudes or the things of supreme happiness.

Unfortunately, over time we have come to think of the sayings at the start of the 'Sermon on the Mount' (Matt. 5.1-12) also found in the 'Sermon on the Plain' through the lens of theology. It is always fascinating to think of Christ's audience when we look at these writings. I can guarantee you that there were no theologians in the group that were listening to him. They were rather ordinary people who were given not theological masterpieces but gems of wisdom on how to live. Just thinking about the first one "Blessed are the poor" not from a theological perspective but from the perspective of reality. The wisdom of the world around us suggests that we should chase and hanker for the riches of the world in such a way that we neglect those around us. We pursue the goods of the world driving ourselves into debt so as to emulate the rich. Thus, finding ourselves lonely or without strong connections within the community whilst at the same time not allowing us the time to be with God. The wisdom of the ages suggests that the poor are blessed. I am not sure about you but the those living in poverty often are the more joy filled around us because they live within their own means and are happy with friends and community around them.

If we were to continue to look at this sermon of Christ we would find a way of living that is totally contrary to the wisdom of our present social circumstances. In order to be deemed wise we are to follow the tradition that has been set before us in both the academic sense and the worldly sense. Going against the grain of perceived knowledge and understanding places us on the outer edge of society and its various circles of influence, We just need to look at how we teach our children to see that we are often dependent on archaic knowledge and understanding to frame how children are to learn and grow. It is not surprising then when we follow such teaching and knowledge (that is claimed to be wisdom) we inevitably end up being stressed and not blessed in our lives. It is only when we adhere to the basic foundations that Christ gives to us will we find the blessedness of life in the fullness of God's presence. 

The Martyr's call

 Where are all the martyrs gone? It seems that they do not appear on our immediate horizon but rather languish in the backwaters of Wikipedia awaiting us to discover them. Martyrs are those that are witnesses to Christ and to the way of Christ. If that is the case are we not all martyrs to the faith or we should be in what we proclaim and do. The issue is that along with the majority we perceive martyrs as those who have died or rather been gruesomely put to death by those who are deemed to be not of the faith. In other words we think solely of St Agnes and those like her whose names we now revere and use as placeholders or examples for modern believers. However, in the original meaning of the word, which we Christians have redefined, martyrs were and are witnesses to their cause.

Young witness to Christ, St Agnes, not a witness to death

We do not live in an era of violence within the borders of Australia, however, we still see the tendency towards radical violence when people oppose the views of the other. If we are to try and emulate St Agnes and any of the others before and after we need not emulate their deaths but rather their witness to the gospel and the way of Christ. What their lives and deaths highlight for us is that opposition to God's word and way often lead to responses that are extreme as a result of speaking the truth. It is perhaps that in this day and age because we 'look up' to the martyrs of the faith and perceive only the horrifics of their deaths we find it difficult to understand our own witness.  In our linking of death with the fate of the martyr, in the true sense of witness, we do not wish to participate in our call to be witnesses to Christ.

The call to be witness and our understanding of the fate of the witness, through the veneration of people such as St Agnes, means that we have to "consider our call" as Paul puts it to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 1:26). Our aversion to the fate of the witness means that we also forget the banality of the witness' life who were not powerful or wise but normal with a true faith and witness to the truth. Let us understand the life of Agnes before her death and subsequent declaration as it were into martyrdom. She was a normal teenager in Rome who underwent persecution because of her status as a Christian. Just as in today's world people are persecuted for who or what they are rather than attempting to understand them. Sexual abuse is often part of the martyr's story especially if the martyr is a woman and this is the same for Agnes. Perhaps simply because in a patriarchal society the abuse and defilement of women are seen as ways of showing strength. The normal cycle occurs with abuse followed by a number of attempts at killing in this case through fire and eventually with a sword thrust. If we were to think of the symbology here it is perhaps male supremacy through the sword.

What does this all mean for us? Perhaps that in our accepted normality we are also outcasts in the world. Our buried treasures (Matt 13:44-ff) are just that unseen and unknown to the world. In bringing them into the light of the world we open ourselves up to abuse of not only ourselves as being different but our families and communities. Today's morality in terms of our actions towards others who are different or display a greater understanding than ourselves is much the same as in Roman times. We just need to consider the actions of sections of society who believe themselves better than others whether as a result of race, creed or social circumstance. What Christ and the martyrs tell us is that our deeper truths need to be lived out in practice. We need to really give careful consideration to what we have been called to especially in the knowledge that the truth always hurts those who do not want to hear it. This naturally leads the other towards rejection of those who follow the way of truth. Often, unfortunately, the rejection of the truth leads to violence. Violence, which often ends up being horrific and personal. In not wanting to confront that violence we come once more to our rejection of the message and the life of the witness. We bury our own treasures we do not dig them out. We reject the pearls of great worth so to avoid the pains that come with speaking and living the truth. This is the inspiration of the martyrs, not the violence, but the normality of their lives lived in the truth.

What or where are we looking?

 John's Gospel has Christ asking the two disciples of John the Baptist 'What are you looking for?' with what appears to be a non-sequitur response 'Where are you staying?' (Jn 1.38). A question answered with a question with no real answer from the disciples.  Yet the question remains and is something for us to consider today and within the context of our own society.  I have moved multiple times and am intrigued by the disciples' answer. As I consider their response I remind myself that while I am sometimes removed from the flow of society around me I am still connected to the Church and the concerns of the Body of Christ. In being disrupted in our place of living we can perhaps bring to mind this question and focus on it in the context of where we consider our place of living to be.

The question posed is: what are you looking for? In life we are constantly looking for something to fulfil our needs.  If we were to answer this question then our answers would probably revolve around our needs and those perhaps of our families.  The you is personal it creeps into the spaces  of our need and highlights them to our mind.  We think of our housing, our work circumstances, our children, our social standing, etc.  We would consider these as our needs; we would think that perhaps these are the things we are looking for to fulfil our lives in the modern world.  What about the question in terms of our religiosity, our faith, our denomination / church / community in which we worship? Here we conceive of our mission in the world, our ministry to each other and those who are less fortunate.  We look at those less fortunate, the orphan, the widow, the exile, the immigrant and stranger; we designate an other who is not of us to whom we are called to bring our faith, our God, our ways of doing things to achieve fulfilment and the end of our desire.  Is this then what we seek, the perfect way to bring the Gospel to all people throughout the earth in fulfilment of God's commandment?  Is this the answer to Christ's question?

The incipient disciples answer strangely with an alternate question; where are you staying?  This appears to be a frivolous question in response to Christ. Let us come and see where your living, that's what we are looking for.  Just to see where this person is living, a cave, a hovel, a palace.  No great desires for food or fancy goods.  No desires for peace in the world or a community of love and acceptance.  This is really odd to seek a place of abode. Yet, if we look at it purposely and with deeper understanding is this not the absolute answer to Christ's question to us.  If we are truly looking for something within our own faith and religious journey is it not just this to find Christ's abode.  We are not looking for a trivial house or palace or campsite in the wilderness we are seeking where Christ is living.  We are looking for signs of Christ's presence in ourselves and in those around us as a community.  It is the presence of God in Christ that is our daily task to find and worship; to become a part of and not to become excluded from.

We are not looking for an ideal home but for Christ's abode in the community

In going out into the world as part of our faith journey we are perpetually sent to find Christ's abode. Christ shows his disciples where he lives through the scriptures and in our hearts as we interact with the people of the world.  In discovering where Christ's abode is we are discovering the end of the question that Christ asks us.  In finding Christ we are in finding that which we are seeking for fulfilment.  We often misinterpret what we are looking for to find fulfilment as we have been taught to find it within the auspices of modern society and life. Only when we truly discover what it is that we are looking for is when we truly find the hope of Christ in our lives.  We accept what we think we want without looking further as our needs are surface orientated.  Christian's seek for a deeper foundation that brings hope to a community.

To be a light in the world

 As we come out from the season of Christmas into the New Year what are we expecting and what do we wish for in terms of our Christian and faith journey? and are these the same?  This is perhaps a question that we do not often put to ourselves and indeed we automatically assume that they are the same.  The initiation of our faith and Christian journey is in baptism and on this last day of the Christmas season we celebrate the baptism of Christ by John. In doing so, we could perhaps see this as indicating the complete connection between the two events.  Yet, our baptism is the baptism in Christ who has died whereas Christ's baptism is the baptism of John who was re-initiating the covenant of God in the hearts of those who came to him.  Indeed, John sought Christ's baptism (Matt 3.14).  Christ's own journey into God's presence begins here with John's baptism, as it is Christ who sees and Christ who hears (Matt. 3.16-17), a journey that drives him into the desert places.  A drive outwards not inwards, not simply into the desert and the solitude of the self but also eventually into society.  Towards God in community not simply and only inwards towards God in solitude.

Let our faith journeys be lights in the world.

The community of the people of God are given a sign of hope in the coming of God's servant (Is. 42. 1-7).  A hope that extends not just to Israel as God's chosen people, but to 'all nations' (Is. 42.1b).  This is a journey that is extended away from the personal into the community of the world no matter where that belief in God is found.  This is perhaps the one thing that we tend to forget in our exuberance of bringing the Good News to the world.  We focus on baptising everyone rather than bringing the Good News.  Jesus asks for baptism, the child's parents ask for baptism of the child, the confirmation candidate asks for their confirmation.  We are commissioned by God to go out into the world.  The world came to Christ in the Magi and Christ went into the world to give and proclaim the good news.  Our focus is and always should be the demonstration and proclamation in all we do as to what the good news is rather than on proclaiming our own spiritual journey.  Christ's spiritual journey drives him out away from the crowds but his proclamation of the good news and God's Kingdom drives him in towards community.

We are reminded of this outward pull by Peter in Acts as he to comes to the realisation that God is not confined to the rules of man but to the compassion of God for all people (Acts 10.34).  Our faith journey is our discovery of God within ourselves while our Christian journey drives us into community accepting all as part of God.  It is in this realisation that we find the hope of God's kingdom.  In proclaiming our faith we need to involve ourselves with all people not just with those who are 'Christian'.  We misunderstand our role in God's Kingdom when we look just to bring our personal views into fruition.  It is God who enables those who want Baptism to come to God and ask as part of their spiritual journey.  As Christians we are called to set the example that will enable those not baptised to seek baptism not play favourites.  If we do not set that example how can we expect people to come to God and choose that commitment?  If we are unable to do God's works of justice, righteousness and peace in the community how do we expect people to see God?  In another place in scripture the disciples say that they should stop someone, who is not a part of them, who is doing good works but Christ says if they are not against us they are with us. Can we deny those who are not baptised their right to do what God has asked for in doing God's work? Perhaps they are closer to God then we are on our own journey.  We are asked to grow both as Christians and within our personal spiritual journey towards God, this may not be quite the same thing.  Let us bring hope not build divisions; cultivate love and not destroy in hatred.  Christ went into the world and so also should we.

To go another way

 I am often stunned by the fact that as Anglicans we often stick to tradition above everything else in our lives. If we think about many parishes throughout the world I would suggest that many of them if not all of them are obstreperous in holding on to what they see as tradition. If it is not the pew that grandma sat in its the pulpit that was created in the 18th century that is so monstrous that it is a carved relic of note that we cling to and make the priest ascend. Indeed, it has been said that you do something for two weeks it becomes a tradition that cannot be undone in the Anglican church. In our attention on miniscule horrors of antiquity we ignore the world around us and the various interests that would bring us down slaughtering our beliefs. We also ignore the presence of God in our midst and the directions of God to go another way (Matt. 2:12).

The gifts that the wise men bring to the Christ Child remind us that our mortality is tied to power, faith and mortality itself. In other words we can grow through power and authority, faith and our sense of wonder but we are curtailed by our own mortality. No matter how much power we have it will come to an end with our deaths, which means that in the end it is not of much use to ourselves but for a brief period. Most of that period is one that is of struggle to either gain the power we want or to retain it once we have it. Gold is also very symbolic of our desires that are deep and abiding. Desires that lead us away from God or are put  in place of the deep desire that God has for us as we cannot comprehend nor accept the burning love that is God and like the Israelites before we must turn away to obtain that which is easier to obtain.

The lures of the world around us that prevent us from seeing God

Of course a burning desire for God can also change how we perceive our reality as the second gift aptly illustrates. The incense of desire that flows towards what we imagine is God but is solely our imagination rather than the true interaction with God with us. It is our desire for something more than that which is intangible. We chase after our dreams found in the various alternative 'spiritual' paths that are on offer in the world today. The pursuit of which simply burns out and curtails our ability to commune deeply and personally within our lives with God as shown by the developing mystery of Christ in his life. Both of these paths eventually lead to death not only our mortal deaths but our spiritual deaths as well. Indeed death is something we continue to shy away from within our own lives as we euphemistically refer to it as "passing on" or "lost" or other words that divorce us from the reality of death that leads into newness of life that Christ again shows on the cross.  

Are these then the choices that we have? or as God directs the wisemen into another way is there such a way for us that confounds our desires and needs whilst placing us before God? A way that incorporates all our desires and dreams without overwhelming and scaring us away. The way has been proclaimed to those that were not the first inheritors of God's presence and who turned away from the deep desires of God at Sinai (Eph 3:5-6). In doing so the desires of God are no longer things to be wary of and afraid of but rather to embrace above and beyond the world's gifts. They are not things that we have to search for but are given to us if we were but to open our hearts to God's presence and listen with all our being to God's guidance and direction. In doing so the cravings that come for power and authority through the medium of gold have no call upon us as God provides what we need. In placing God's presence firmly in our hearts we no longer have to go searching for the myriad dreams that our egos provide for us as the transcendence of God is ever present. We no longer fear but rather embrace death as part and parcel of life as Christ through his life changed how we perceive death.

Only when we acknowledge these, does the alternate path become visible as we strive to follow where Christ leads. This is a change of view, a change of thinking and a change of our relationship to God the incarnate one the other who is us. We who live in darkness (Is. 60:2)  can then discern the great light that changes us and our lives into a light for the community beckoning us into new beginnings and new lives.