The Intersection of Wisdom and Gratitude
When I think of an intersection, usually I think of a location where two roads cross. Using the idea of cross streets can be a good way to give relative directions to someone. They can go down one street and turn where the other streets cross. Intersections are also used by mathematicians when plotting a line or shape. Of course, an intersection can also be where two different ideas or concepts meet; a place where different practices can come together. Today I have been thinking about how wisdom and thankfulness can be complimentary if not two sides of the same coin.
When Bo asked me to speak today, I went first to this week’s lectionary. Now for those of you who do not know, the lectionary is a series of Scripture readings for specific days of the year. The United Methodist Church uses the Revised Common Lectionary, which is a three-year cycle of readings. Each Sunday, four passages are recommended, usually two from the Old Testament and two from the New Testament. Thus, over a 3-year period, much of the Bible is covered. Until I took some classes on Lay Speaking, I had never heard of it. And full disclosure, when I first read this week's scripture selections, I really was not sure what God was telling me. The first scripture talks about Solomon, King David's Son, and the text from Ephesians is about being thankful. In fact, when I looked for ideas on a United Methodist website for preaching this week, the suggestion was to talk about Thanksgiving in August. The idea was that on the fourth Thursday of November, we usually say a prayer of Thanksgiving and maybe share at the table what we are thankful for from the year. Of course, however, for many of us, we forget to be thankful throughout the year for what we have received. Many of us find ourselves realizing that we should be thankful always, not just before carving the turkey.
One Methodist commentary I found online, reminded me of playing three wishes games as a kid. I am sure you know how they go; a lamp is found, and a genie offers three wishes. Most of the stories come down to the idea that one must be rather wise with their wishes. Let's see, have you heard this one?
A young man finds a magical lamp. He rubs the lamp, and a genie appears and says: "What is your first wish?"
The kid says: "I wish I were rich!"
The genie replies: "It is done! What is your second wish, Rich?"
I found this one that I thought might be a little more accurate for the last year and a half;
a man stumbles across a genie's bottle and is granted three wishes;
§ He tells the genie, "I am a simple man. All I wish for is to spend more time with my family, have a shorter commute to work, and since I like a beer now and then, how about a case of Corona?"
If you didn’t get that. Corona is a Mexican beer company. Totally different meaning nowadays.
In our first scripture, following his father’s death, the new young king Solomon has made some rather significant sacrifices to the Lord. In the night, he dreams that God asks him what Solomon would like the Lord to give him. It is interesting to look at the structure of Solomon's reply. Before making his request, he first states his thankfulness for God's steadfast love for his father David and for himself. He thanks God for the gifts that he has received. Solomon then explains that he is a child as far as being a leader and that he has a great deal of responsibility to lead all the people of the kingdom. And so, he asks God to Give him an understanding mind to govern God’s people and the ability to discern between good and evil. The scripture goes on to tell us that this pleased the Lord, and He replied that "Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches, or for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, I now do according to your word. Indeed, I give you a wise and discerning mind; no one like you has been before you, and no one like you shall arise after you. The legendary Wisdom of Solomon, Wow, that was quite a gift. But consider how the scripture shows that it was Solomon's gratitude that pleased the Lord. He did not ask for treasure or wealth. He asked for help in being a good leader of the people of Israel.
The second scripture from this week's lectionary is found in the New Testament, in Ephesians. Verse 5:15 says to "Be Careful then how you live, not as unwise people, but as wise, making the most of the time. Verse 5:20 says to give thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The author is saying to be thankful and to live carefully, wisely.
I think most people would agree that this is good advice. But honestly, for me, at least, sometimes it is easier said than done. Sometimes, it's hard to be thankful. I just shared an online joke about the Corona Virus, but let's be honest, the last year and a half has been hard. And really, this virus is no joke. My family has lost two if not three to this ugly virus. Around the world, as of July 30th, 4.2 million people have died; in our country, 612,000 have died, with more than 6000 from our state. It is a vile, awful disease. It has wrecked lives, crushed the world economy, and left so many struggling educationally, emotionally, and socially. I am not thankful for this disease.
And yet, it is true that there have been some things that I am thankful for in the last year. On August 4th, oud kids Serena and Braydon had a beautiful baby Rosalie Noelle Selby Smith. She is truly beautiful And yes, I am quite biased. But she is. My family has been able to spend a lot more time together. This last Christmas, we were able to have an online Christmas that included all of my side of the family celebrating and unwrapping presents from six different homes. My very non-tech-savvy parents participated and joked and unwrapped presents along with the rest of us. Not just my family, I have read that the environment in some places has rebounded slightly with the reduction of smog as many have worked from home, our technology in many places including networking has grown exponentially, many districts like Prosser have gone to providing every student a computer and done what they could to provide all families access to the Internet. In the field of medical science, the money and research that was injected into the development of the vaccines have demonstrated potential gene science that hopefully will help provide a quicker response to future diseases. As a community, it seems that we have put more value on hygiene and appreciation of essential workers, and many of us are finding new ways to connect with ourselves, our families, and our loved ones. By the way, I hear that the dogs and cats of the world are a lot happier too.
For me, I think of wisdom as an understanding of Christ’s teachings, and I think of gratitude as a joyous appreciation of those teaching. I believe that where such wisdom and gratitude intersect, we will hopefully find the divine meaning of the scripture.
Of course, this intersection of wisdom and gratitude has been described by many people. The Greek Stoic Epictetus wrote: "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has." And Dietrich Bonhoeffer said: "In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich." The Old West Pioneer author Mike Ericksen wrote "I truly believe we can either see the connections, celebrate them, and express gratitude for our blessings, or we can see life as a string of coincidences that have no meaning or connection. For me, I'm going to believe in miracles, celebrate life, rejoice in the views of eternity, and hope my choices will create a positive ripple effect in the lives of others. This is my choice.” I particularly like what Alan Alexander Milne, the creator of Winnie the Pooh, wrote when he said that "Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude."
Piglet’s quote reminds me of an old story my dad shared with me, about a miraculous pitcher that forever pours out its contents into the world, but remains forever full. Maybe the human heart was designed to be like that, forever pouring out gratitude, while remaining forever filled with it.
When looking through the scripture, Kila found a story that I would like to share with you. The story takes place in a college classroom.
Upon entering the classroom, a professor told his students that he was about to spring a pop quiz on them and handed out the tests, text facing down. Then he asked his students to turn over the paper. To their surprise, they were staring at a blank sheet graced by a single red dot. Puzzled, they looked at their professor, who calmly instructed the class to write a short essay on what they saw before them. The students went to work. They wrecked their brains. Uneasily, they scribbled down a few sentences. The task was tough. They tried to describe the location of the dot, its size, and its color. After all, what can you say about an unexplained dot on a piece of paper? When the allotted time was up, the professor collected the papers and proceeded to read the answers out loud. After all the papers had been read, the professor spoke again, "I am not going to grade you on this. But I want you to ponder something. Did you notice that each of you focused on the dot? Not one of you wrote about the empty part of the paper. The same applies to life. Life is like this large piece of paper. Ready to be written on. All of life is there to enjoy. Yet, we tend to focus on life's limitations and imperfections, which may be the dot on the paper. Instead of enjoying the good things that surround us – home, family, friends, and nature – we zoom in on the unexplained dots – issues concerning health, relationship, work, or finances. Even though the dot is tiny in comparison to the blank sheet, it becomes the focal point of our thoughts. As we embark on a new year, try to pay more attention to the good things in your life, enjoy each moment, think outside the box and keep the other dots in perspective."
I believe that the professor’s unexplained spot on the blank sheet can be a metaphor for life as we live it. And it ties in with what I am saying, wisdom helps us to deal with the troubled and concerning side of life, while gratitude enables us to fill the emptiness with joy. To put this much simpler, in the words of my older brother, perhaps a person cannot truly be wise unless they can feel gratitude.
What spots dots do you see in your life? Consider lifting them up to God. In a few moments, when we pray together, I encourage you to offer them up to God. But also, think about your blessings. Wisely think about that open space. What are you thankful for? In the words of the author of Ephesians, as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts, give thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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