March 2, 2014, Proverbs 18

Proverbs 18 Sermon

An unfriendly person pursues selfish ends
and against all sound judgment starts quarrels.

A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, 

but only in expressing personal opinion. 

When wickedness comes, contempt comes also;
and with dishonor comes disgrace. 

The words of the mouth are deep waters;
the fountain of wisdom is a gushing stream. 

It is not right to be partial to the guilty, 

or to subvert the innocent in judgment. 

A fool’s lips bring strife,
and a fool’s mouth invites a flogging. 

The mouths of fools are their ruin,
and their lips a snare to themselves. 

The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels; 

they go down into the inner parts of the body.

One who is slack in work

 is close kin to a vandal. 

The name of the Lord is a strong tower;

 the righteous run into it and are safe.

The wealth of the rich is their strong city; 

in their imagination it is like a high wall.

Before destruction one’s heart is haughty, 

but humility goes before honor.

If one gives answer before hearing, 

it is folly and shame.

The human spirit will endure sickness;

but a broken spirit—who can bear?

The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, 

for the ears of the wise seek it out. 

A gift opens doors; 

it gives access to the great.

The one who first states a case seems right, 

until the other comes and cross-examines. 

Casting the lot puts an end to disputes

 and decides between powerful contenders. 

An ally offended is stronger than a city;
such quarreling is like the bars of a castle. 

From the fruit of the mouth one’s stomach is satisfied; 

the yield of the lips brings satisfaction.

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, 

and those who love it will eat its fruits. 

He who finds a wife finds a good thing, 

and obtains favor from the Lord. 

The poor use entreaties, 

but the rich answer roughly. 

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a sibling.

***

A few weeks ago I attended continuing education on the subjects of Church Conflict, and Dealing with Difficult Behaviors.  It was pretty fascinating to listen to stories and case studies, across dominations and faith traditions, from the rockies, to LA, to Canada, to the Deep South, and ourselves in Eastern Oregon, from rural landscapes, to urban cities, from pastors in their seventies and myself in my thirties, from big mega churches, to churches having split, to new churches and those whose history included early presidents. Yet, despite all these differences there were patterns in each conflict that related one church to the other, one rabbi to another pastor. I imagine the writers of proverbs at a continuing education of sorts, and when I read this text, I see those same issues and hard learned wisdom relating from their context a millennia ago, to our own today. 

In each case study there was miscommunication and often triangulation, and in those situations I can hear the writers of proverbs explain, “The words of a gossip are like delicious morsels; they go down into the inner parts of the body.” After hearing case study, after case study, it was easy to see how tempting gossip also affected the body of the church. That though for a moment, like candy, gossip can be a delicious morsel, it also can sicken the body, be it a church, or just a few people. It seems somewhat discouraging that a millennia later we are still dealing with the same issues, that we can’t just take the proverbs and follow them exactly. But I don’t think these were merely rules to be written and followed. Perhaps instead, they were written to tell us something about ourselves, and something about God. 

Sitting around our classroom tables, pastors and rabbis shared wisdom, and offered words to help move stuck congregations and people, toward situations of growth and learning. These suggestions included everything from do nothing, to meet for coffee, to seek advice from someone above you, to set boundaries, or simply to respond to e-mails to an overly needy person once a week. Advice came out of role plays, and drawings, and conversations, which seemed unapproachable for the pastor bringing the situation, until the collective gave words of advice. I wonder if the writers of proverbs also, saw the times when words can move stuck situations. The writer of proverbs knew that, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love life will eat its fruits.” I think the writers of proverbs, and the pastors around those classroom tables, knew the grace and love that words can bring. With their advice, they testified that words that bear good fruit that brings life to a congregation or individual. Perhaps, Proverbs was not written merely to be a set of rules, but to tell us something about ourselves and about God. 

From reading these proverbs, and hearing the wisdom of pastors at continuing ed. I can tell you something about ourselves, here at First Presbyterian, and this will tell you about God in our midst. In some of the case studies, conflict arose from one side having the inability to hear the other. Like the proverb, “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion,” congregations had become stuck and intrenched, and even split, over personal opinions. Likewise, in our own denomination, in our own Presbytery, churches have split over the national PCUSA’s opening up of ordination to pastors who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Yet, here in Baker City, at First Presbyterian Church, you have done nothing of the sort. You are a church that prides itself in its ability to agree to disagree, to love each other not only despite of, but because of your vast differences. As your pastor, I am proud to say that each week I preach to both those that believe in creationism, and those that find us the welcoming church in town to GLBTQ people. Our beliefs span the gamete  and I know of no other congregation with such a range of beliefs and such a deep compassion for one another. I remember when I first showed up, there was big debate, and after a tense session meeting, people who could have been named on opposing sides, called one another the next day, to express care. You know as the Proverb states, “An ally offended is stronger than a city; such quarreling is like the bars of a castle.” You know that quarreling with a fellow brother or sister in Christ will bar you in. It is in these places that the wisdom of Proverbs comes alive in this congregation, and through it comes the wisdom of God.

Likewise, you are a congregation who is willing to ask questions, and willing to be wrong, and willing to share grace when you were right. The other thing I like to tell people about our congregation, is how gracious you are. You have to be gracious to have a pastor in their first call. It means I am going to mess up, no matter my class rank at seminary, or my excelling during my time as a hospital chaplain, anyone doing something for the first time, is going to mess up, and I do, and you are so gracious with me. I feel forgiveness and understanding before I even ask, and I know this is not only to me, but I see you offer it repeatedly to each other. There are times, when you have sought out reconciliation with other person, even before I or others knew there was an issue. Your graciousness to one another is like the Proverb, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a sibling.” In this congregation, you seek to be reliable friends, as strong as siblings to one another, you often call yourself a family. When I presented my case study, the teacher has us draw pictures of the issue. One man drew a house, and in the house were some wavy lines of unrest, but the most remarkable thing to me, was that out of the chimney of the house was smoke from a fireplace. The classmate artist described what he heard as a church family, and the despite the issues of wavy lines, there was a way this church sat around a fireplace and was family together. We are like this as a church. We may have wavy lines, but there is warmth, and love in this place that surpasses all else. It reminds me of Genesis, where wisdom, a description of the Holy Spirit, is seen as a wind hovering and over the rippling waters of creation, hovering like the flames of a lit fireplace around the family of God. Proverbs can read like a list of rules, of which a millennia later, we are still trying to follow, but in itself best interpretation, it read like the people God struggling, and then finding the wisdom of God, in the love of the people of God.