1 Kings 3.5-12 I give you a wise and discerning mind.
Romans 8.26-39 Nothing can separate us from
the love of God
Matthew 13.31-33, 44-52 The master
brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.
‘Have you understood all this?’ They answered, ‘Yes.’
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‘Have you
understood all this?’
Jesus asked
his disciples that question at the conclusion of a whole series of parables;
parables we have been hearing over the past few weeks as our Gospel reading:
the parable of the sower, the wheat and the weeds, and today the mustard seed
and the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price and the net.
‘Have you
understood all this?’ They answered ‘yes’.
I’m tempted
to say, ‘really? Have you really understood
all this?’
The
disciples said ‘yes’, they did understand, and in response Jesus is not
incredulous, but says slightly mysterious and intriguing words:
Therefore every scribe who has been
trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings
out of his treasure what is new and what is old. (Matthew 13.52)
So, the
parables have been training the disciples, and by extension us, for the kingdom
of heaven.
The
disciples have been trained into being scribes, those learned in sacred law and
holy wisdom.
And what a teacher
they, and we, have. Not a homespun guru or moral exemplar, but Divine Wisdom
Incarnate; Divine Wisdom in person: Jesus Christ.
Thus trained,
the scribe can bring out of the treasury new insight and ancient wisdom.
It’s like an
apprenticeship. The apprentice learns from the one who has mastery of the
subject by listening to the master and trying out the craft in clear,
incremental steps.
The
apprentice is doomed the moment he or she decides they know best.
Imagine the
novice violinist who decides that she can play the violin and need not bother
with the teacher.
She might
watch a two-minute YouTube video, but that’s about all the advice we want now; the
result is an abrasive, scratching sound, not a melody.
And we
recognise it as just bad.
That’s
different from the novice who is carefully working on the disciplines of violin
playing, building up skills, strength and stamina base, to ensure good quality
sound; practising so that, in time, the beauty of the music can be heard.
It’s the
same with the visual arts, with crafts, with dance, with calligraphy, with
engineering and, indeed, with the Christian life.
But that’s
hard in today’s culture.
We live in a
culture that cherishes novelty and despises what is ancient; it’s a culture
that says ‘I don’t need the disciplines, Christian or otherwise; I don’t need the
teaching or the inherited wisdom of the past; that gets in my way, that makes
me less free, oh and, by the way, I want everything now’.
The
spiritual life, intimacy with God, does not and cannot work like that.
The parables
train us, school us, and shape us into the ways of the kingdom of heaven.
It’s no
accident, I am sure, that the parables draw on images of patient and deep
growth: seeds growing, bread proving and yeast rising, persistent searching and
its corollary, joyful finding.
Parables
root us fruitfully in God’s life.
They are
ancient wisdom and are endlessly generative and continue to form our minds and
hearts and action in the way of the kingdom of heaven.
The paradox is
that ancient wisdom reveals fresh insight; ancient wisdom enables us to live
today wisely.
To go back
to our violinist, but translate that to the spiritual life, when we refuse the
schooling of the spiritual mastery of the teaching of Christ we are rejecting a
life well lived, and our life – spiritual and physical – is scratchy,
unmelodious, unattractive and just plain bad.
So let us
turn to our Old and New Testament readings for today and see what we draw out
of the treasury, both old and new.
In our first
reading from the treasury we hear about the famous King Solomon.
His name is
a byword for wisdom, riches and splendour.
When God
asked him what gift he wanted at the outset of his reign as new King of Israel,
Solomon chose not to ask for a long life or riches or retribution on his
enemies – as many young, new rulers would - but rather a wise and discerning
mind, the ability to discern what is right, discerning between good and evil.
That is an
example to us: it echoes through what is known as the ‘wisdom literature’ of
the scriptures, the books of Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and the Song
of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon.
Those books
tell us of the value of wisdom and pose the question, ‘where is wisdom to be
found?’ (cf Job 28.1; 28.12; 28.20) .
In the face
of all the choices we are asked to make today the gift of a wise and discerning
mind is as vital as ever.
That’s true
for earthly leaders like King Solomon - Prime Ministers and Presidents - and
it’s true for spiritual leaders - bishops and priests and lay leaders - in the Church
too.
Every day in
life, the message from Solomon’s blessing is: seek not your own priorities and
preferences, but the wisdom that comes from God, the Most High.
This week,
what will a ‘wise and discerning mind’ look like in your life?
In our
second reading we learn similarly how the life of prayer is not about lining up
our own wish list but about opening ourselves to the movement of the Holy
Spirit of God deep within us.
St Paul puts
it like this:
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in
our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit
intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27And God, who searches the heart,
knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the
saints according to the will of God.
At its heart
prayer is the art of aligning ourselves to the will and purpose of God;
something we only gain in true and deep silence, in dedicated time, paying
attention to his Holy Spirit who shapes us and enlightens us.
So when you
read scripture don’t impose your own terms on it, allow God’s terms to be
imprinted on you.
And if you
don’t regularly, pick up the Bible today, go back to the Bible today, for there
is your treasury where you will find pearls of immeasurable value for your
life.
You could do
worse than to re-read today’s parables!
Read ahead
to what next Sunday’s readings will be; start pondering them, extracting new
insight from their ancient and enduring wisdom.
In our
discipleship as Christians we need to rise above the chatter of the world, or
rather, sink deep below to find the treasury, open it up, find the pearl of
great price, the pearl of wisdom.
Lord, grant us wise and discerning minds,
may your Holy Spirit search our hearts
so that we may draw out of your treasury
wisdom ever old and ever new
to lead us to gracious, faithful and generous lives
as we learn and grow day by day.
Amen.
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