Sermon: Mattins 3 Feb 2013

Preacher:

Date:

Sunday 3rd February 2013

Service:

Mattins

Readings:

Job 28:1-11

Acts 14:6-17

Some of you may be watching Howard Goodall’s “Story of Music”.  For the professionals behind me, it’s all familiar territory. For me, it’s a reminder of all those things I learnt during GSCE music; it seeks to be informative, inspirational and accessible. Immersion in the history and technical detail of the musical world can be confusing to a non-specialist. It’s another world, using another language.  One tweet described it as ‘total gobbledygook. Add a 7^th? 7^th what?! This must be how others feel when I talk about physics’. 

Our quest for knowledge and understanding permeates every aspect of our life.  When we read a newspaper or watch “Question Time” we furnish ourselves with new information and a diverse range of opinions.  Our school curriculum is more wide ranging than ever – languages, humanities, sciences, the arts and technical subjects.  David Attenborough’s work  reveals the wonder of the natural world; Brian Cox explores the wonders of the universe.  Sometimes there is a need for translation between different fields of knowledge; sometimes we have to make a cultural or conceptual leap. 

Today’s first lesson, reveals a deep interest in the physical worlds and human endeavour.  The writer of Job knows of the precious metals and ores hidden deep within the earth; these resources are only brought to the surface because miners plunge themselves into the gloom and darkness of the pit.  Photographs of men covered with coal dust are all but relegated to our social-economic history; we mustn’t forget the massive cost for those mining for the minerals, taken from the earth and now hidden in the recesses of our mobile phones.   Human engineering and physical effort, fraught with risk, recover resources we see as precious. The same earth that produces the staple food we eat – bread comes from it.  As the global population grows, we need to be mindful of what is sustainable.

A quirk of today’s lectionary means we don’t hear verse 12: Where shall wisdom be found?

Is wisdom to be found in the realms of geophysics and nanotechnology? Is it to be found in breadth of human creativity – stretching our imaginations and touching a point deep within us? Is it to be found in the gifts and challenge of different cultures and languages?  The pursuit of wisdom is generous and generative; it is unexpected and forged in making connections. It flows from divine gift and human endeavour.

Our second lesson finds Paul in a remote area of Asia Minor – a place with its own language, with its own distinctive patterns of religious belief and practice.  It is here on the margins of what was familiar to Paul that he continues to preach the Gospel.  In the hubbub of Lystra’s urban life there sits a man whose suffering transcends cultural difference.  He has never walked.  He has never stepped out to explore the world’s furthest reaches.  He watches the world go by; powerless and dependent on the generosity of family or strangers.  He waits in the hope that someone will notice him; his limited mobility means he is intently fixed on what is happening in that moment.

He listens.  And Paul sees.  In the mêlée of that which is strange and unfamiliar he fixes his attention on one person. Someone who seems to have grasped what is going on; someone who seeks the transformation that wisdom brings. The man in silence longs for healing; he desires wholeness.  Paul sees in his attention an act of faith. The God of whom he speaks is the source of salvation; the one who draws the complex diffuseness of our lives back into an integrated whole.

Paul doesn’t whisper this hope. He shouts it out with bold abandon. The gift of new life is declared; the man takes his first step; the crowd erupts.  The only way that the people of Lystra can interpret this miracle is by drawing on their own mythology.  The gods must be walking among them.  They transfer their desire to worship on to Paul and Barnabas; in horror they tear their clothes to attract attention, hoping to seize a moment to explain.

Paul appeals to their common humanity.  He appeals to their knowledge and understanding in order to lead their minds to a deeper wisdom.  The good news he declares concentrates their minds on the creator God.  In the resources of the earth – in the fruitfulness of the seasons and in the joy of human hearts – God’s love and grace is revealed to all nations. He invites them to turn away from mute idols and to serve instead a God who longs to liberate and bless us with gifts.

The pursuit of wisdom is expressed in acts of human ingenuity and creativity and skill. It is expressed in physical and imaginative effort.  It is expressed in vibrant human diversity.  It is expressed in shared endeavour for the common good.  Wisdom is sought in such a band of colour which flows from a divine light that embraces and sustains us.  It is rooted and turned outwards to the needs of the other.

This cathedral church is a place dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom, which is the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We draw on the many resources of our own tradition – in music and learning; yet God’s ways are open to the future in surprising and unexpected ways.  With our partners in the University and in the town of Guildford and across the Diocese, we can encourage debate and sharing ideas.  A commitment to a transformed future, where the one who waits powerless is not overlooked, flows from our prayer and worship.  The pursuit of deep wisdom frees us from self-destruction; it enables us to be fearless in the pursuit of justice.  Wisdom demands that we pay attention to questions and answers, to vulnerabilities and hopes. It is a gift, the open ended pursuit of which fills our hearts with joy.