Sometimes, I come to a passage
and I wonder where it will take me, I wonder how I can possibly preach it. Any
of you who have followed my “Sermon Sketches” know that I always look for where
Jesus fits in the picture, and I have to admit that on my first reading of this
passage, I was a bit stumped. But—as is true for many of you—I have wrestled
with this passage over the last few days, and there may be something here that both
brings us to Jesus and speaks to our world.
As we look at this passage together,
let us remember why we are following these ancient stories—stories that began
with Creation, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; stories about Moses, Ruth, and David.
We are following the story of God’s people; we are following our
story. The moment we were baptized into the Church, the day we confirmed the
faith, the occasion we decided to say ‘Yes!’ to Jesus and follow him, we
entered this very story of life and faith. In that moment, the men and women
I’ve just named became our ancestors—every bit as real as those folks named on
your family tree. Your family tree follows our blood-line; the Bible gives us
our faith-line.
So, today we come to that chaotic
time in the history of Israel just after King Solomon has died. Solomon was the
son of David…who was the son of Jesse…who was the son of Boaz and Ruth. Yes,
the connections are all there…and we’ll keep connecting the dots of this story
until we arrive at the birth of Christ’s Church. Just stay with us!
David, as you may recall, was the
one who was able to unite the tribes and form the first ‘united kingdom.’ His
reign was one of peace, and war, and trade, and more. His son, Solomon, came
after David’s death, and we are told that his reign was spectacular. Israel
shined like a beacon under his rule. The kingdom is rich. The borders are
fairly secure. And then he died. Enter Rehoboam, son of Solomon…eager to ascend
his father’s throne. Also enter Jeroboam, returning from his Egyptian exile, a former
public servant of Solomon who had to flee the kingdom when he decided to ‘go
for the gold.’
As we hear in this reading,
Rehoboam places his confidence in his young friends, his comrades…rather than
listening to the words of his elders. He has the whole kingdom before him, and
they are gathered either to give him their loyalty…or walk away. He has the
chance to shine to like his father. He has the opportunity to solidify and
strengthen what has been passed on to him. All he has to do is listen to the
right voices. And he doesn’t. Then the kingdom falls apart.
Jeroboam returns from exile just
in time to benefit from Rehoboam’s foolishness. He gratefully steps in to lead
the northern tribes who are having nothing to do with Rehoboam. And then he
makes a smart move—he moves the center of faith and religious life to the
Northern Kingdom. This will solidify the Northern alliance, and further separate
them from the Southern Kingdom of Rehoboam. While this may be a divisive act,
destructive to Israel, for his own purposes, this a politically shrewd.
Jesus tells us two parables in Luke
that speak to these kings and their issues. When Jesus tells his disciples
about the “cost” of following him (Lk.14:25-33), he uses the example of the
king preparing for battle—" Won’t he first sit down and consider whether
he is able…?” Rehoboam doesn’t sit down, doesn’t count the cost. He ignores the
words of wisdom of his ‘elders’ and listens instead to the untested thoughts of
his peers. He rejects wisdom.
Jeroboam—sort of the ‘bad guy’ in
the story, the usurper, the king-wanna-be—is the one who actually acts wisely.
Jesus tells that troubling story of the “shrewd manager” (LK. 16:1-9), called
the parable of the “Unjust Servant” in some places, but Jesus holds this fellow
up at exemplary: “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had
acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with
their own kind than are the people of the light” (v.8) Jeroboam proves to be
this kind of fellow—smart for moving the centers of worship out of Jerusalem.
Obviously, he ignores the commandment concerning idols, but for the consolidation
and strengthening of the Northern Kingdom, he is shrewd in deed.
This passage is a passage about
the rejection and embrace of wisdom. Wisdom. It’s one of those soothing words
like ‘peace.’ And, like peace, it’s one of those things our world sorely needs.
We have information unlike any generation in history—we can access information,
data, charts, graphs, history and more through our smartphones and devices. But
wisdom…ah, that’s the thing we don’t have, don’t see, and have a hard time
teaching in our schools and universities. How do we make good use of our
information? What information is worth having or using? What do we do with the
kingdoms we’ve been given (perhaps the small kingdoms of our home or job or our
own bodies)?
The call today underlying this
reading is a call to seek wisdom, to listen to words of experience, to take counsel…and
Proverbs reminds us:
“The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7)
Also,…
“Listen, my sons, to a father’s
instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound warning, so
do not forsake my teaching. For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and
cherished by my mother. Then he taught me, and he said to me, ‘Take hold of my
words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live. Get wisdom, get
understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Do not forsake
wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you….’
(Prov. 4:1-6).
Rehoboam provides us a negative
example—who not to live like. Jeroboam provides us a positive example—shrewd and
wise. Perhaps it's time to revisit the book of Proverbs--just a chapter each day for a month. Perhaps there we'll begin to find the wisdom we and our world craves.
May we learn from the story of our spiritual ancestors and embrace the gift
of wisdom that God offers to us.
Amen.
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