"Tight lines" is a blessing fishermen offer each other, a wish for lines taut with the weight of good fish. May God grant that the lines written here be taut with His blessings.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009 | |||
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Gentle Wisdom | |||
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I just got back from a conference at Notre Dame that brought
together philosophers and Bible scholars to talk about how to respond to
the issue of God's violence in the Old Testament. This conference was a
wonderfully congenial discussion of a hard subject, even though some of
the speakers were outspoken, critical atheists. Yet the setting and the topic reminded me of another conference at Notre Dame many years ago when I heard a Christian philosopher and a Bible scholar enter into a heated exchange. In a room full of supposedly wise people, almost all Christians at that event, it was surprising just how much sarcasm, venom and simple hatred could be expressed in just a few words. For a moment it seemed so vicious that a fist fight might actually break out. As we look backward at last week's text (which Mike Fargo shared wonderfully with our congregation), warning about the dangers of an uncontrolled tongue, we go on in James 3:13 - 4:3 to hear him calling for a "gentleness born of wisdom" ["gentleness" is a better translation than the NIV/TNIV's "humility"]. Wisdom is deeper and fuller than mere academic accomplishment and learning, as the two combatants at that long ago conference demonstrated. True wisdom should issue in a gentle demeanor, rather than in an arrogant combativeness. I'd like to think that the scholars in the room this past weekend had learned some lessons about gentleness in the intervening years. Such wisdom has certainly come late to me and I would echo what I heard an old friend say as we were talking about this text a couple weeks ago, "One of my regrets is that if I could do some things over, I would be more gentle." As we learned at the conference, it's certainly difficult to reconcile some of God's war and violence as it appears in the Old Testament with the gentle loving-kindness we also find Him displaying in both the Old and New Testaments. But the person of Jesus Christ certainly shows us that the ultimate truth about God rests much more on the side of gentleness than with violence. May He grant us grace that the same might be said about you and me. | |||
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I am the pastor of Valley Covenant Church in Eugene, Oregon. I love to flyfish and hike along the beautiful rivers in our area. I welcome your comments as I share sermon work in progress and occasional other thoughts.
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Susan Gillespie Thanks for a great corrective in the midst of many un-gentle conversations in our world. May we grow in such gentleness, and so demonstrate Christlikeness. (09/16/09)
Susan Gillespie Thanks for a great corrective in the midst of many un-gentle conversations in our world. May we grow in such gentleness, and so demonstrate Christlikeness. (09/16/09)
Ann Farley-Rolle' Thank you, Steve. I remember speaking with a Fuller professor about our shared background with the Society of Friends. He made a remark that has always stuck with me. My memory's paraphrase of his words is, "They are pacifists and protest wars as a tool to achieve peace, but they kill one another with their words." It struck me because he was reflecting exactly what I've mourned about many Christian scholars and church members. We fail to love and honor one another with our words, and so we harm the whole Body of Christ. May our lives and words evidence the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control! Ann (09/17/09)