Sermon by Rev Sydney Maitland for Sunday 22 September 2024.
Early Christian Catacomb painting of Jesus and his disciples, pre-third century (Source)
• First Reading: Proverbs 31: 10-31 (The wife of noble character)
• Epistle: James 3: 13 – 4: 3, 7, 8 (Two kinds of wisdom; submit yourselves to God)
• Gospel: Mark 9: 30-37 (Jesus predicts his death a second time)
They were still in the countryside but were heading for Jerusalem. The great city – centre of worship and learning, of trade and the arts. Many wondrous things to see and hear.
Many other delights, maybe best not entertained or spoken of, certainly not in conversation within the fellowship of disciples around Jesus or Jesus Himself.
This was where the big and the brash would flourish. The village braggart could proclaim his virtues and the most fashionable ladies could mince around alluringly, especially when protected by all sorts of anti-harassment and anti-discrimination laws.
The most grotesque and absurd doctrines could be proclaimed in the great city, which would otherwise be laughed at and openly ridiculed in a more staid village in the countryside.
This was always going to be true, whether it was Jerusalem or Tyre or Sidon; Rome or Alexandria. London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles and the rest.
And Jesus was heading straight for it with a message of repentance and faith, the forgiveness of sins and new life in the sight of God.
He would challenge the sceptics and the scoffers, the rumour-mongers and the power-brokers. He would debate the abuse of power and the abuse of God by human institutions. And if they took offense then so be it.
But then Jesus’ challenge was at a more critical level as well. Leadership did not grow out of public relations and a good personal story. It did not come out of aggressive self-promotion and noisy assertions.
It was to be seen in serving others and putting them before oneself. Being sensitive to the needs of others and to the things of God. There was no place for brashness or the arrogance of bossing others around and humiliating those who did not immediately follow the leader’s demands.
And so Jesus also pointed to the cross, for a second time. Hopes that the Messiah would confront and destroy the power of Rome were completely out of place, and the power of the gospel would be seen in the quality of lifestyles and of relationships shown by those who believe.
The power of the gospel would be in its power to forgive and to heal, to renew and restore as opposed to destroying and laying waste society and the local culture.
Dramatic, but in a different way. Life-affirming rather than life destroying. Restoration rather than condemnation.
New relationships, not new power structures. Walking with God rather than strutting one’s stuff in the public glare.
Now look at James. Again the stress is on the quality of life and of faith, of relationships and attitudes.
Wisdom does not grow out of the barrel of a gun or the raucous assertions of an entertainer-politician. It is to be found in humility more than ambition or self-promotion.
And he refers to some highly unfashionable qualities of life: purity, being peace-loving, considerate, submissive, merciful and full of good fruit.
These are not the qualities normally associated with the self-promoting, but they are the qualities that will be remembered.
And so James points to the life of prayer and intercession. Pray for what you need and expect to receive – but pray in the Spirit of God as opposed to personal appetites and desires.
Pray for the other person in their needs before one’s own.
So yes, there is a whole agenda of God involved in living fruitful and effective lives.
This is where the poem about the perfect wife makes sense. She is trusted for she is trustworthy, industrious and yet shrewd. Generous without being showy. Prepared for all eventualities and not afraid for winter or hard times.
In the strength of this she speaks with the wisdom of God rather than the market place or the entertainment hall.
She finds the praises of her husband and does not resent them. And yes, she lives in the will and purposes of God.
