Christ Lutheran Church: Welcome

Title

Wisdom

1 Kings 3:7-8, Luke 2:41-52, Philip 2:5-8

January 3, 2010

Rev. Dave R. Garwick

This morning’s sermon is based on the Gospel Lesson from the third chapter of Luke which tells the only thing we know about the growing up days of Jesus.

Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you." "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.
Luke 2:41-52

Since neither of my sons-in-law is here today, I’m going to tell you a little story about one of them. The name shall remain anonymous to protect the guilty. The other day we were together for our family Christmas. One of them asked me what I was preaching on for Sunday. Now, I thought, that was nice: my son-in-law wondering what I was preaching on today. So I answered that I was preaching on wisdom. “So, who are you getting to help you with THAT?” he asked. Of course, he was only kidding. I think.

But if he were wondering about his father-in-law getting wisdom, I’ll go one better than that. What’s this about JESUS growing wisdom? Here we have the Son of God – the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, very God himself, the One through all things in the universe was made ..... and HE grows in wisdom?! How does THAT make any sense at all?

It makes about as much sense as God becoming a human, in fact becoming a human baby, no less. Do you imagine that He came out of the womb speaking full phrases like, “Hello there, mother, I’m God.” Do you think He was able to walk?

In all these and a hundred other ways, when God chose to come to earth as one of us, He voluntarily made the decision to humble Himself and to temporarily curb what He naturally could do a million times over .... including the things of wisdom.

I am not going to presume to suggest that God NEEDED to be like us in order to relate to us. After all, He MADE us, and every second of every heart beat, that same God is all that sustains us. As God He does not NEED do anything. But it is clear that, even though He did not NEED to do so, He did choose to humble himself and walk in our shoes .... or sandals as the case was back then.

In fact, this may well BE the essence of wisdom – to humble yourself and put yourself in someone else’s shoes, especially when you do not need to. This is what the apostle Paul was saying to the new Christians in Philippi, Greece when he wrote that,

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very natureb of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross! Philippians 2:5-8

In the Old Testament Lesson, the new King Solomon was asked by God name anything in the world he wanted. Solomon asked not for personal power or wealth or long life, but for wisdom ... which I think indicates that this was already something of which he had a fair amount. But it was the way that Solomon asked that also catches my attention. He replied to God’s offer by saying,

"Now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. 1 Kings 3:7-8 “I am only a little child.” Wisdom from the humility from a mighty king. Humility from the wisdom of Jesus Christ.

Now of course, none of us are either King Solomon or Jesus Christ and nobody will probably write any of us into the Bible as a giant of the faith known for our wisdom. So, what has THIS got to do with the likes of you and me?

Well, whenever you are faced with a difficult choice and you don’t know which to choose ... but maybe even more when you think you DO know what you want to do .... stop and be Solomon for a moment: simply call out to God for HIS wisdom. You can play Solomon because you have Jesus who HAS walked in your shoes, who IS present wherever two or more are gathered in His name, who promised to leave the Holy Spirit to guide you in all things. Humble yourself, put yourself in the other person’s shoes, ask God for HIS wisdom ...... and then listen. Simply listen.