Sunday, January 2, 2022

Second Sunday after Christmas Day
1 Kings 3:4-15
Psalm 119:97-104
Ephesians 1:3-14
Luke 2:40-52

Give your servant therefore an understanding heart to judge your people, that I may discern between good and evil; for who is able to judge this great people of yours?

Our Old Testament lesson for today begins at verse four, but it is helpful to begin at the beginning of the chapter. Solomon inherited the throne of his father David, who ruled for forty years, but it was not easy an easy transition. Others, like his older brother Adonijah, sought the throne. Some of David’s key men sided with Adonijah, but Solomon was God’s chosen heir. Unfortunately, like all God’s people, Solomon was imperfect. At the beginning of his reign, Solomon took as wife Pharaoh’s daughter, making an alliance with Egypt, against the command of God. God knew this type of alliance would lead the king to worship foreign gods, which it eventually did with Solomon.

Yet, the writer of 1 Kings tells us that Solomon loved the LORD and that he walked in the statutes of David, his father.

We are bothered by the beginning of today’s passage because it says that Solomon sacrificed at the high places. We understand that the high places are where those foreign gods were worshipped. Why would God bless a king who so quickly turned from Him?

Gibeon was the site of the tabernacle and the brazen altar made by Moses in the desert. It was not in Jerusalem as you might expect. In the days when David was fleeing from Saul, the Tabernacle was in Nob. David went there to seek help and when Saul discovered the perceived treason, he had Doeg the Edomite slaughter the priests and all the people of Nob. The tabernacle could not longer be kept there because the ground was soaked in blood. The Ark of the Covenant was lost during the reign of Saul and was never restored to the Tabernacle of Moses. When David finally moved the Ark back to Jerusalem, he placed it in a new tent he had erected for it. Therefore, there was no central place for Israel to worship for a time, so the people worshipped at high places that were dedicated to the LORD, including Gibeon. Solomon burnt his offerings on the altar made by Moses. It wasn’t Jerusalem, but it was an appropriate place for Israel to worship at the time.

In today’s text we see that the first thing Solomon did after he received the gift of wisdom was to go to Jerusalem and make sacrifices there before the Ark of the LORD. Solomon was a young man when he became king and he needed God’s wisdom to do what was right, including the right way to worship. While we are bothered by the idea of the high place, we are reminded that God was gracious to His chosen king. If Solomon did not love the LORD and walk in the statutes of his father David, God would not have appeared to him in that high place to offer him anything he wanted. Solomon’s heart was definitely in the right place because he asked what pleased the LORD, so much so that God gave him much, much more.

Many of the beaches in England are covered with small rocks and pebbles, made smooth by the constant beating of the waves on the shore. I once visited such a beach and as I walked it, I remembered the scripture from Genesis about Abraham’s descendants being as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. I realized that the rocky beach showed this truth in a more enlightening way. On a sandy beach, every grain looks alike. However, on that beach, every stone was unique: some large, some small, some gray, some colorful, some flat and some round. I even found a stone that looked like a nose. Not only has God made the children of Abraham too numerous to count, He also made each of us original.

During that trip I heard a story about King Canute which is said to have happened only yards from where we stood. King Canute was a Danish man who was king of England for nearly twenty years. There was war and controversy over his reign, but he became the first king to rule over all of England. He also ruled over Denmark and Norway. He was a harsh ruler, but England succeeded under his reign. He was so powerful that his people claimed he was like a god, able to control even the sea. He knew that was not true, so he proved it to his people on that beach at Thorpeness. King Canute took a chair and set it at the water’s edge at low tide. As the waves rolled inland, he said, “Stop.” The waves did not stop. The water level rose, to his knees, to his waist, to his neck. Finally, it became impossible for him to continue. As he left the water, he said, “See, I cannot control the sea.”

The scriptures tell of the same sort of humility in Solomon, the son of David. By his time in Israel’s history, God’s promise to Abraham had been at least partially fulfilled. His descendants were too numerous to count. Solomon was only twenty when he took the throne of Israel, and he was uncertain of his abilities to govern.

The story of King Canute may not be true, but we learn an important lesson from the stories of both Solomon and Canute: even great and powerful kings must submit to the Lord. God is pleased and blesses our lives with far more than we ask when we submit to Him. Jesus died and rose again so that His children might have life. Through Christ we are made one of the children of Abraham. We are unique individuals like the countless rocks on the beach, constantly touched by the hands of God, made smooth under His power. Let us ever remember that we cannot control God, but when we submit to Him, we will be blessed. He is our Father and we are the children He has created, redeemed, and called to bless the world with our gifts.

Art Linkletter was known for being able to make people so comfortable in his presence that they were willing to be themselves, which is when people are the most humorous. He was especially able to make children feel at ease.

William Grimes wrote Art’s obituary for the New York Times in which he wrote, “Television critics and intellectuals found the Linkletter persona bland and his popularity unfathomable. ‘There is nothing greatly impressive, one way or the other, about his appearance, mannerisms, or his small talk,’ one newspaper critic wrote. Another referred to his ‘imperishable banality.’” Yet, Mr. Linkletter was exceptionally popular with the American public. He was well known for what he did; I’m sure there were few people who had to ask, “Who is Art Linkletter” when the news broke yesterday about his death. Say, “Art Linkletter” and almost everyone thinks, “Kids say the darndest things.”

He was good at what he did because he was willing to go eye to eye with whomever he was dealing with. The most common memory of him is in a room with a short table and children’s chairs, with Art sitting right next to the children. He listened. He got into the dirt. He played with the toys. He did whatever it took to make his guest (or victim) feel like he was their friend. When he asked his questions, they were ready and willing to answer.

In the obituary, Mr. Grimes quotes Mr. Linkletter, “I know enough about a lot of things to be interesting, but I’m not interesting enough in any one thing to be boring. I’m like everybody’s next door neighbor, only a little bit smarter.” He led an interesting life. His story if filled with adventures on freight trains, hitchhiking, jobs wherever he happened to stop, and times as a merchant seaman. He went to a teacher’s college, planned to become an English teacher, but discovered radio during his last year. He worked as a spot reporter at the California Pacific International Exhibition in San Diego and at other fairs. He learned to work without a script, filling time with whatever entertaining person happened his way. He made mistakes but found his nitch; he’ll always be remembered for his way with people.

Solomon was young, but we know that children can sometimes be the wisest people we know. That doesn’t stop us from holding our breath when they go forward for a children’s sermon. You never know what they are going to say; it is risky to give them an open forum to share their thoughts in front of the congregation. They say shocking things, embarrass their parents, and often make us laugh. One pastor invited the children up front and noticed one girl with a very pretty dress. He asked her if it was her Easter dress. “Yes,” she answered, “and my mom says it’s a bitch to iron.” We have all probably heard something similar from our own children; they repeat what they hear and share what they know, even if we’d rather they never used those words.

Their comments might be embarrassing, but they are just as often amazing. We don’t think that children really understand faith or the bible, after all, we have our own questions and doubts. Surely young children couldn’t possibly know more than the adults! Yet, when asked about the things of faith, many can answer in ways that seem far beyond their years. The lessons we learn from the children’s sermons don’t often come from the pastor; they come from the children themselves. They know Jesus is the heart of the Gospel and they know the Gospel is about love. They are honest and innocent, unstained by the cynicism or intellectualism of adulthood, so they share God’s grace in the most simple and pure form. We have much we can learn from them. We laughed with those children on Art’s show, but we were also amazed at their wisdom.

It is odd for a twelve-year-old to go into the Temple on his own to learn and talk about the scriptures. Yet, when we think about the things our children really know about faith, it is not so unusual. Perhaps if our own children were given the same opportunity, they too might be able to share a bit of wisdom with their elders. Jesus was certainly unusual, He was the Son of God, the living Word in flesh, and had all the wisdom of God written on His heart. As adults we tend to know the scriptures in our heads, but children know it in their hearts.

We often think of Jesus as some extraordinary child. Though Jesus was God incarnate, He was also fully human. We should not think of Him as the perfect child, never crying or getting dirty. He needed his diapers changed like every other baby. He fell when He was learning to walk, skinned His knees when He played. I’m sure He even dragged mud into the house after jumping in puddles, just like the other kids. He went through the terrible twos and every other stage of life, learning and growing every step along the way.

But Jesus was different, too. He was the Word in flesh, the physical incarnation of the Lord God Almighty. His Father was not a carpenter; Jesus was the Son of the Creator of all things. When Jesus’ mother taught Him the scriptures, as was practice in Jewish homes, the words had a deeper, fuller meaning for Him. He understood what they meant. One day He decided to test His knowledge by seeking the teachers in the Temple. His mother and father loved the Lord and they knew His word, but He needed more.

In this story, Jesus overstepped His parents’ authority by staying in Jerusalem without their knowledge. We have heard for the past few weeks how Mary and Joseph heard the word from so many people and how they pondered and treasured those words, but they did not fully understand their son Jesus and His purpose on earth. To them, He was their twelve-year-old son testing His independence. When they questioned Him, He explained it was where He needed to be, but He was obedient and returned with them to His home in Nazareth.

The children’s sermon can certainly provide fodder for our sense of humor. Some of the children’s answers are very funny, embarrassing and shocking. Yet, there are times when they have something very real and very important to say. We should listen to our children when they want to share something about faith. There is an innocence that we lose as we grow older; there is a foundation of faith that gets buried under our maturity and knowledge. We make things so much more complex than it really needs to be. It is not that we should stop growing and maturing in our faith. We should, however, remember that God speaks through the weak things of this world. Children have faith too, and we should not suppose that they have nothing to share about the Gospel of Jesus Christ just because they are young and unlearned. They are also children of the Father, and we should not be surprised when they want to be in His presence and share what they know about Him.

While the focus in the scriptures this week seems to be on children, this Sunday is all about Wisdom. Solomon knew that he needed more than health and wealth. He needed wisdom. Solomon was humble; he was so young, and he knew that he was not qualified to lead the people of Israel. The nation had grown so great, fulfilling the promise given to Abraham so many generations earlier, that God’s people would be as numerous as the stones on that beach in England. How could a boy, barely twenty years old, lead a people so great? We might think that health and wealth are exactly what we need to accomplish our purpose, but Solomon knew that he needed something much different. He needed wisdom, and with wisdom came the rest.

The psalmist sought wisdom, too. Psalm 119 is a devotional on the Word of God. It is divided into twenty-two stanzas, each focusing on a specific letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Each line of each stanza begins, in Hebrew, with the letter of that stanza. Throughout the psalm, the writer repeatedly uses eight different Hebrew terms, which can be translated as “law,” “statutes,” “precepts,” “commands,” “laws,” “decrees,” “word,” and “promise.” Though these may seem redundant, there are subtle but distinct differences. The psalmist recognizes the importance of knowing the Word of God and living it obediently.

The world will be back to normal Monday. Some of my neighbors have already taken down their Christmas lights. Vacations will be over; children will be back to school and workers will be back to the old grind. For Christians, however, the holiday does not end when the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. We celebrate the birth of Christ through Epiphany. Even though the wise men have been in our nativities from the beginning, they don’t actually show up in the church year until January 6th. That’s why we have twelve days of Christmas.

The scriptures for this Sunday do not include the story of the wise men, but since most churches no longer celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6th, it is worth mentioning in today’s message. Epiphany is defined as “a sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something.” The story of Epiphany talks of wise men that saw a star rise in the east and they followed it in search of a fulfilled promise. The journey ended in Bethlehem where they saw the true Light. Isaiah wrote, “Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Jesus Christ was the rising light and His birth was the dawn of a new age.

Wherever the wise men began their journey, they likely would have entered Jerusalem by the East, or Golden Gate. It was the largest and most impressive gate into the city; an impressive caravan with wise men would likely have entered by this gate. It was the only gate that faced east, and is the gate through which the Messiah was expected to come. The gate leads to the Temple Mount and is just opposite the Mount of Olives. It is the gate through which Jesus entered on Palm Sunday for His triumphant parade into Jerusalem. The Muslims walled up the gate in 810 A.D. to halt the coming of the Messiah. The gate remains closed today, although we know that no walls will keep the Messiah from coming again.

What is it about these wise men that set them out on a strange and difficult journey? They may have had some knowledge of the Jewish scriptures, but their understanding was imperfect since they went to Herod’s palace rather than to Bethlehem which was prophesied to be the birthplace of the Messiah. They took gifts that had great value, not only financial but also spiritual. Did they know they were giving gold to the Great King, myrrh to the Great High Priest and frankincense to the perfect Lamb who would be slain? Perhaps they had knowledge, but what makes us wise?

I often joke about my gray hair being a sign of wisdom. It is a signal that I’ve lived a long life, and that I’ve experienced many things which gives me knowledge about how the world works. It might be somewhat true, but the psalmist writes, “I understand more than the aged, because I have kept thy precepts.” Wisdom is not necessarily something for the old; the young, like Solomon and the children at the feet of their teacher, can be wise. Wisdom comes to those who seek God, who humble themselves before Him, and who live according to His Word.

It is that kind of wisdom we see in today’s Gospel story. Jesus, only twelve years old, sat with the elders in the Temple to discuss the things of God. It is hard for us to imagine a twelve-year-old theologian, but that’s exactly what Jesus was in this story. He was sharing with the learned men His thoughts and understanding about God. As the Son of the Living God, Jesus had more knowledge than the others. In this story, though, we see Him also being humble before the elders, asking questions. They were amazed, not only that He was interested, but that He knew the right questions to ask and that He had an understanding far beyond His years. Jesus had the wisdom that is more than knowledge and experience.

It was risky for those wise men, perhaps not even very wise, to go chasing after a star to find a baby born to be the king of an insignificant nation. It is risky for us to chase after the same star. After all, Jesus never sat upon a throne, and He died on a cross. What sort of king is that? The world certainly rejects Him, and it rejects those who follow Him. They call us foolish for believing and give us plenty of reasons why our faith is misplaced. The wise man of the world is the one who has great knowledge; he is the one who follows the ways of the world. The wise man of the world would never chase a star or believe a fairy tale.

But the wisdom of God is much different than the wisdom of the world. Solomon knew that he needed more than health and wealth. He needed God to give him a discerning heart so that he would rule rightly. We don't rule over a kingdom, but we do rule over our own little corner of the world, our own flesh and lives. We need wisdom as much as Solomon to make the decisions that will affect us and those around us. We would do well to be like Jesus in today’s Gospel lesson, humble enough to sit at the feet of those who have come before us, asking questions and learning about the God who has called us out of darkness into the Light. We would do well to seek the wisdom that comes from God our Father, to seek Him and to listen to His Word.

Paul reminds us that we have everything we need to live according to God’s Word. Sometimes we think we know what we want or need, but Solomon and Jesus remind us who to live our own spiritual journeys. They were young, but they had the mind of God. They were humble and willing to learn; they sought wisdom above all else. They understood what was truly needed to do what God was calling them to do.

Though Jesus was in many ways an ordinary child, He was also extraordinary. He was the child of Mary and Joseph, but He was the Son of God. The stories of His early life are filled with unusual circumstances: visits from shepherds and wise men, a journey to a foreign land and then home again, prophets who sang for joy at His presence, and a lesson in the temple. Mary, His mother, watched Him grow through the normal phases of life, but she also witnessed all these things. She treasured and pondered them in her heart and encouraged her son as He grew into His mission and ministry.

We aren’t Jesus. However, as children of the Father, we can be like Jesus. We can be like Solomon and seek His wisdom, trusting that He will provide everything we need. As we trust God we will ask the right questions; He will answer according to His good and perfect purpose for our lives. His answers will be transformative to the very depths of our souls. Then as we live according to God’s Word, we will see the changes that not only make us healthier and more responsible, but even more so, more faithful to God. It will take a lifetime and we will fail time and again, but God will continue to work in us and through us making us into the people He created and redeemed us to be. Until that day, let us be humble and faithful, recognizing our need for God’s grace and constantly seeking the word and will of God for our lives.