Wisdom from Above

Rebecca Sheridan
Sunday, September 22, 2024
James 3:13-4:8

    Several years ago, Ron Engebretsen was interviewed shortly after the shocking major bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  His wife, Sherry, was one of the thirteen people tragically killed.  On national TV, when asked how he was doing after such a loss, he said, “We are Lutheran.  We are saved by grace through faith.  We will be OK.  Others will take care of us, and we will take care of each other. (Larson)” When I recently came across this story in an article by Rebecca Larson for the Lutheran World Federation, I thought about what we’ve been talking about in the book of James and the power of God’s Word to give us strength and words to say when we encounter truly difficult things in life.  Would I be able to profess my faith in such a profound way in similar circumstances?  Drawing near to God and experiencing God’s nearness allows us to be strong in our faith when the going gets tough.  What habits, practices, values, and even the kinds of people do we surround ourselves with to help us have faith so that when something shakes our foundations, we are able to respond in such a gracious way?  How can we continue to be fruitful Christians, regardless of our life situations?
As we’ve been reading along to about three-quarters of the book of James now for our second reading in worship, a big theme of this book is that while we can rest in our baptism into the Christian faith as a once and for all event, we all have an ongoing need to turn again and again to Christ whole-heartedly.  In some ways, James is a bit of a downer because he points out our consistent inconsistency.  None of us can fully achieve perfection or live out what we say we believe all of the time.  James accurately describes the “cravings at war within you.”  We want to serve Christ and follow him without hypocrisy or partiality, but we have an inner battle within ourselves to do so.  We live in a world which frequently pulls us away from Christ because the way of the world is a different system.  What the world values is quite different from Christian values.  Jealousy, pride, arrogance are normed, and the world tells us that our worth is determined by what you can own and have – your “net worth” so to speak.  The world tells us to rely on ourselves and trust no one.  When bad things happen to us, it is natural to blame God and be angry or withdraw from God and our faith.  Trusting in God, a power beyond ourselves, is difficult.
Even Jesus’ closest disciples struggle to follow Jesus whole-heartedly, we see in today’s gospel.  When Jesus innocently asks what his disciples are arguing about on the way to Capernaum, they are embarrassed to admit that they were debating who was the greatest.  Martin Luther famously described this human tendency to focus on ourselves and our own needs and wants above others as “navel gazing.”  The “cravings at war within” ourselves pull us into ourselves so that we can’t see around us to serve the needs of others or humble ourselves in the eyes of God.  The wisdom of the world pulls us inward so that when we look around our focus is limited:  we see only limited resources that we need to protect for ourselves or else. Drawing near to God is asking God for help to pull us out of our belly buttons to look up and out – up toward God and out to serving our neighbors in faith.
Today, James points us to trusting in God’s wisdom from above rather than our own knowledge.  The Greek philosopher Socrates said you are wise when you say something like, “I do not think that I know what I do not know.”  The older I get, the less I know that I know.  God knows way more than I will ever know, in other words.  This is drawing near to God, resisting the devil, and seeking God’s wisdom from above.  Faith is admitting we don’t know everything.  This is becoming like a child in the eyes of God as Jesus teaches his disciples and us today.  Children aren’t ashamed to admit that they don’t know something; they ask questions!  A LOT of questions, sometimes.  Children know it’s a big world out there with so much more to know than what one individual can know in a lifetime.    
Somehow we lose the wisdom of children as we grow into adulthood.  Adults, in defending our egos and “greatness” too often pretend to have the answers and confidence in ourselves.  Just like the disciples, we spend way too much time, especially here in this country in a presidential election year, arguing about who is right, who is the greatest while leaving God on the sidelines.  As Jesus teaches us, true wisdom is to look at his suffering and death on the cross and believe that in dying, in losing life, in letting go of things and the ways of the world, is where true and eternal life is actually found.  “We are saved by grace through our faith. We will be OK. Others will take care of us, and we will take care of each other.”  When life throws us things that happen beyond our human understanding, we are humbled to seek God’s wisdom and guidance.  This is the wisdom from above that James describes:  peacefulness, gentleness, humility, mercy.  It’s no coincidence that Paul in his letter to the Galatians lists these as fruits of the Spirit.  And when we look at children, we see through their more innocent and carefree way of being these fruits being shared without worrying about whether they’ll run out or have enough.  God’s wisdom and the fruits of dwelling in God’s knowledge is easily shared.
When we draw near to God through prayer, worship, study and service, God draws near to us, like the children gathered in the arms of Jesus.  We start to see that the gifts we have been given from God, wisdom from above, is limitless.  Instead of rationing what we receive and making sure we have the best parts, then, we can share these fruits of the Spirit, this wisdom that comes from beyond ourselves, and not worry about whether we are good enough or have enough.  Jesus frees us to be his children, no matter how old we are.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.