Solomon wants to be wise. He shows that he already has some level of wisdom when he acknowledges his need for wisdom, For who indeed can govern this great people? Truly, couldn't we say that to anyone who aspires to public office, Good luck with that!
But the pursuit of wisdom is what all human beings do, not just leaders. Every world religion, every philosophy, folk lore, most conversations over coffee ultimately are about how to live well, how to have a life that has meaning, now not to waste it. if we don't aim for wisdom, at least we want to know how--not to be foolish.
I have a story for you this morning. It's a Japanese contribution to the world's wisdom literature.
"One day the stonecutter was working with hammer and chisel upon a huge stone, when he heard a crowd gathering in the streets. Questioning them, he learned that the king was coming to visit his humble village. The stonecutter gazed in awe as the king, dressed in marvelous silk, was greeted by his subjects. Oh, how I wish I were a king, he thought. He has soldiers at his command. There is no one more powerful than he.
"A dry summer went by. The new king watched the effects of the heat upon his subjects. People and animals grew weary. Plants withered. Looking up, the king realized that the sun had far more power than any earthly ruler. How I wish I were as powerful as that, he thought. I wish I were the sun. Immediately his wish was granted.
"Then one day a tiny cloud moved over the land, shielding the earth from the sun's bright rays. Here was something more powerful than the sun. He thought, I want to be a cloud. What do you think happened? Again, his wish was granted.
"When the stonecutter-turned-king-turned-sun-turned-cloud blocked the sun, he felt even more important. Gathering his strength, he grew gigantic, and poured down rain on the earth. Rivers formed where previously there were none, flooding the cities and the farmlands. Everything--trees, animals, people--were awed by his power.
"Everything except a huge stone that remained untouched. There is nothing, he thought, as powerful as that. I wish I were a stone. His wish was granted.
"The stone remained motionless and powerful, unmoved by either sun or rain or anything that nature could bring. He felt exempt from all the forces that shaped the existence of those around him.
"Then one day a man approached him, carrying a bag. He stopped, pulled out a hammer and chisel, and began to chip away. Realizing that the man with the tools had more power than any rock, he cried, Oh, I want to be a stonecutter.
How are things and people related to one another? This is a major part of wisdom. The stonecutter's question was, Who or what has true power? His answer recalls the children's game-playing device, rock, paper, scissors. Rock breaks scissors; scissors cut paper; paper covers rock. Everything has its place, its power, and its limits in this world. Everything is related to everything else.
The Bible deals with these same questions. Jesus tells wisdom stories. Paul gives advice. There is a whole section of the Hebrew Scriptures called wisdom literature. This literature inserts another relation into the story.
From the Book of Proverbs: Wisdom has built her house. She has set up her seven pillars. The house is the earth. The seven pillars are the pillars of heaven. Like the stonecutter, we have the sky above and the earth below. But we also know the builder of both. Unlike rock paper scissors, the Bible's wisdom includes a relation beyond this world, a relation to the Creator of it.
We read from the wisdom literature each week. The psalms are part of the wisdom literature.
We might think of psalms as interlude, something we say to break between two lessons. However, the psalms are their own lesson, a lesson in right relation. When we say the psalms, even more when we sing the psalms--which is what they are, they're songs--we act out our place in the world in relation to the One who created it.
How do wise people relate to God? Not primarily by learning about God, or holding certain opinions about God, not even by having faith in God. Not primarily. Our primary relation to God is expressed in the first verse of Psalm 147, Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God! We act out this relationship when we praise.
147 Laudate Dominum
1 Hallelujah! How good it is to sing praises to our God! * how pleasant it is to honor him with praise!
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; * he gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals the brokenhearted * and binds up their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars * and calls them all by their names.
5 Great is our Lord and mighty in power; * there is no limit to his wisdom.
6 The Lord lifts up the lowly, * but casts the wicked to the ground.
7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; * make music to our God upon the harp.
8 He covers the heavens with clouds * and prepares rain for the earth;
9 He makes grass to grow upon the mountains * and green plants to serve mankind.
10 He provides food for flocks and herds * and for the young ravens when they cry.
11 He is not impressed by the might of a horse; * he has no pleasure in the strength of a man; 12 But the Lord has pleasure in those who fear him, * in those who await his gracious favor. 804 Psalm 147
13 Worship the Lord, O Jerusalem; * praise your God, O Zion;
14 For he has strengthened the bars of your gates; * he has blessed your children within you.
15 He has established peace on your borders; * he satisfies you with the finest wheat.
16 He sends out his command to the earth, * and his word runs very swiftly.
17 He gives snow like wool; * he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.
18 He scatters his hail like bread crumbs; * who can stand against his cold?
19 He sends forth his word and melts them; * he blows with his wind, and the waters flow.
20 He declares his word to Jacob, * his statutes and his judgments to Israel.
21 He has not done so to any other nation; * to them he has not revealed his judgments. Hallelujah!
We can retell the stonecutter's story through the words of the Psalm, by inserting this other relation.
To the poor stonecutter it says, The LORD lifts up the lowly, but casts the wicked to the ground.
To the king it says, God is not impressed by the might of a horse. [In the Hebrew Scriptures, horses are military weapons, the biggest guns they had. God is not impressed.] God has no pleasure in human strength.
To the powerful sun, God counts the number of the stars and calls them all by their names.
To the storm cloud, God covers the heavens with clouds, and it is God who prepares rain for the earth... God blows with the wind, and the waters flow.
As far as the rock goes, God makes grass to grow upon it.
And to the stonecutter again, God heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
God heals you brokenhearted and binds up your wounds.
Scott Gunn, editor of Forward Day by Day, recently referred to Paul's letter to the Ephesians as Paul's letter to the 21st century church: Make the most of the time, because the days are evil, Don't be foolish; don't waste your time. Rather, sing.
Back to the Psalms. Singing is an act of wisdom, and worship is what the wise person does. Worship is the primary act of wisdom. In worship we understand who we are, what our relationship is to the world, which is--we and the rest of the world, whether rock, paper, or scissors--are fellow creatures. In worship we not only repeat that truth; we make it part of our schedules, what we do with ourselves on Sunday morning, and any time we pray.
For me, one of the hardest parts of the pandemic is the loss of singing together, even more than the loss of communion. And it must be hard for those who actually are together in church, not to sing. Everyone and everything is connected. And so out of love for one another, we refrain.
But when you go home, turn on the radio or Spotify or put on a cd or sit at the piano. Sing out your praise. In worship, we acknowledge with our time and our bodies and our throats that our lives are in relation to something bigger than ourselves. That's what has kept me going for the last year, worship, continual reminder that I live in relation to something bigger than me.
The gospel today invites us to act out our wisdom with our mouths, what we put in our mouths. The wise go to God with open hands, outstretched hands. The wise allow themselves to be fed by God, with food which is more than what we produce.
The gospel series over the last few weeks has been about the bread of life. There is irony to reading these texts when there is no bread in our hands for those who are saying Morning Prayer, or those who are attending church online.
But maybe our situation opens a window beyond our narrow thinking about the bread of life. The Scriptures talk about the Word of God as bread, like manna and better than manna. From Psalm 119: How sweet are your words to my taste! They are sweeter than honey to my mouth.
So when Jesus says, I am the bread of life, hold open your hands and receive--Jesus.
If you are hungry for the bread of life, sit down and read the gospels. You are what you eat. So eat those words and become like Jesus.
In a self-sufficient, pragmatic world, we feel foolish admitting that we go to church. We feel foolish because we say words we don't understand, because we trust in something that we don't see. We feel foolsih because we make decisions based not on our careful calculations of our own risks and benefits, but rather based on our connections to all things and all people under one original and final and supreme relationship.
What church is about, really, in this self-sufficient and calculating world, is wisdom. It's about knowing, knowing, that we are in charge of many things, but not all things. We can do many things, but not all things. We have many things, but not all things. We stand in relation to One whom we worship.
There is a tradition that God answered Solomon's prayer for wisdom, and that out of that wisdom, Solomon wrote the Book of Proverbs. So that's where I will end, by giving Solomon the last word:
From the Book of Proverbs: Whoever is simple, turn in here! To those without sense, Wisdom says, Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave simpleness and live, and walk in the way of wisdom.
Solomon praying, illustration from a Bible primer, 1919, source - Flickr
photo of bamboo hut, in public domain
image of King Sho Boku, in public domain
sun symbol, in public domain
Arrival of Kerala Monsoon India by Vinoth Chandar, licensed under Creative Commons
photo of man using hammer and chisel by Surya Prakash S.A., licensed under Creative Commons
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