I’ve heard people say that a sermon can be “three bullet points and a poem.” I remembered that description when I read Margaret Aymer’s commentary on today’s scripture. She argues that it is an odd choice, or at least a choice that complicates preaching, to put these verses together as one reading. She says that this chunk of verses is really three introductions to three arguments that will be expounded upon later in the letter. When you were learning to write an essay, were you ever told to construct that essay by “saying what you’re going to say, say it, and say what you said?” I was... in fact, I was told that a good model for sermon writing, too.

     The letter that we know as the book of James is a letter that, according to Cain Hope Felder, began as a sermon written by James, Jesus’ brother, probably in the months before he was killed. Then, someone who was a very good writer and editor took that sermon and added to it. The editor then shared it with churches who shared it with other churches 20 or 30 years later in the late 80’s or 90’s. This was an era when the line between Judaism and Christianity wasn’t yet very clear, and many of the people who understood themselves to be followers of Jesus also understood themselves to be Jewish. Some churches of this era were predominantly Gentile. Some were a mix of Jewish and Gentile. And some were predominantly Jewish. The churches that circulated this letter were predominantly Jewish churches. Felder argues that this was a challenging time for those churches and it was useful and helpful for them to hear from a leader of the Jerusalem church. James, as leader of the Jerusalem church, would have been respected by Jewish Christians who lived in other parts of the Roman empire. So much so, that a letter credited to him would eventually become Holy Scripture.

     The letter that started as a sermon from someone nearing the end of their life, possibly knowing that they were in danger, written to uplift their own church, became a message to several churches about how to develop what Felder calls a “courageous faith that will help them cope effectively with the trials of life.” The ultimate goal for each Christian in developing this faith is to foster a deep integrity that leads them to acting lovingly and justly in the world. In James, there is a strong sense that your faith in Jesus is supposed to change how you behave in the world. James 2:17 says “[f]aith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” You might recognize, as Felder points out, that this is a different view of the place of good works from other parts of the Bible, particularly the letters of Paul. Paul is very much concerned about what people believe. James is very much concerned with what people do because of their faith.
I told you earlier that I learned that one way to construct a sermon is to say what you’re going to say, say it, and then say what you’ve said. So far, I haven’t done that at all. I haven’t given you much a clue at all about what my point will be, have I. This is another way to write a sermon, by the way: Invite people to hear what you’re saying and hope they trust you enough to hang in there while you make your way to your point. I imagine that you might have gotten one hint from my sermon title: Do something. I actually think James is making a significant and important point here. Your faith should not just inspire you to think something. It should inspire you to do something.

     Our reading for today is an introduction to James’ ideas about how faith inspires action. First, we should consider ourselves children of God first, not simply products of the things we desire. As Margaret Aymer points out in her commentary, God has given birth to this community through grace. God is not tempting us as a test, because God does not give us what can harm us. God gives us what can give us life. That which destroys us is not from God. God gives us a word of truth that grows in us, as a blossom becomes a fruit on a tree. Our faith, first and foremost, is a gift, not a burden.

     Secondly, we who are inheritors of a word of truth, are to let that word bloom into relationships through faithful communication. Our first actions inspired by our faith are listening, thoughtful and care-filled speech, and patience. In acting in humility, according to Aymer, we cultivate righteousness with God. In attending to our communication with others, we are showing people something about how we understand what it means to be faithful to God.

     Thirdly, in understanding ourselves as having been given gifts by God as tools to build relationships, we are to use those tools in service of others. Our faith does little good in the world if it stays as a thought or feeling inside of us. Faith is to be expressed in the world. To be a doer of the word is to help create a world that looks like God wishes. That’s how Margaret Aymer describes a world shaped by God’s law... seeing things as God wishes. And, God wishes for the most vulnerable people in a community to be cared for. In the language of scripture, God calls for care for orphans and widows. These are people without relationships that will sustain their lives. To follow Christ is to build sustaining relationships. Blessings will come to those who live out this life-sustaining faith by being moved into action on behalf of neighbor.

     What are the relationships that are sustaining your lives these days? Who are you being called to listen to more patiently? What is God calling you to do in this moment? This present moment is one that requires great care, deep listening, and real relationships. I think James is a useful word in helping us navigate our current complexity. Because this is a moment that needs faithful doers of the word invest in care for those who need it most. May we remember that our faith is born out of holy generosity. And, may we cultivate a faith, with Christ, that grows more love and justice in this world. It is time to do something. Let us pay prayerful attention while we discern what that something is.
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Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
Margaret Aymer: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-22-2/commentary-on-james-117-27-6
Cain Hope Felder's introduction to James in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocryphya, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)

Proverbs 9:1-6  Wisdom’s Feast

Wisdom has built her house,
   she has hewn her seven pillars.
She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine,
   she has also set her table.
She has sent out her servant-girls, she calls
   from the highest places in the town,
‘You that are simple, turn in here!’
   To those without sense she says,
‘Come, eat of my bread
   and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
   and walk in the way of insight.’

     In his introduction to the book of Proverbs, Harold Washington describes the purpose as “transmit[ting] insights whereby one might learn to cope with life.” This is a book of wisdom collected from elders and from life experience to pass along to younger people, particularly young men who are approaching the age of adult responsibilities. Washington notes that while this collection of knowledge is attributed to Solomon, it was likely collected from many sources over many years before it became what has been passed down to us. A key instruction in Proverbs is to seek God’s Wisdom above all things. And, Wisdom is quite appealing.
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     Wisdom is a woman at work. In just six verses, she builds an entire house. It sounds like it’s not a very small house either. She needs a big space to host all the people she has invited. You see, Wisdom’s invitation is open to everyone. She will always make more room at her table. To make sure she can host everyone, she directs her staff and works alongside them. Her home will be both practical and beautiful.

     I learned a while ago that the seven pillars mentioned here are more like monuments than simple structural elements in the home. They would have been hewn from trees or carved from stone with the intention of honoring God and marking this home as a site of something holy and good. This is skilled work, work done with years of training and practice. They were crafted, beauty drawn out of raw material to give glory to God and show hospitality to her guests. Her work didn’t stop with construction though. Next, she started cooking.

     Close your eyes and imagine a good host at work in a busy kitchen. How many of you are imagining a woman? Who are some of the women you are imagining? That is how I picture Wisdom in this story. She asks for help if she needs it and will give you a job if you walk in the door.  Wisdom brings out the good wine and the sparkling grape juice for the guests in recovery. The table is set. I know the whole house smells good.

     There is a home. There is a space to honor God. There is food and drink. All that is left is the guests. She sent the girls from her household out to bring the neighbors. Then Wisdom herself went out with the girls, and started shouting an invitation from the highest places in town. I have often wondered if this reference to “the highest places in town” is supposed to remind us of the places in the Bible that are called high places, that is, places where altars have been built to honor the various gods of the region. People also worshiped this God in those places. In 1st Samuel 9:12-24, Samuel makes a sacrifice to Yahweh at Ramah. So, in this introduction to Wisdom, she starts at the place of worship and then invites people to her home. There is an increased measure of intimacy in going from a public place of worship to a cozy place for a meal.

     She is not just inviting the wealthy or the powerful or even people she knew particularly well. This is not a dinner party for the well-connected and important. She invites strangers, people she’d never met before, especially the people with the greatest need... this translation calls them “the simple” or “those without sense.” They are issued a special invitation to this dinner. The great thing about Wisdom is that she always has enough to share. The kind of Abundance Wisdom offers is used to help the ones who need it most first. And, Wisdom will make sure there’s enough insight ready so that anybody can have some if they ask. 

     Several years ago, I read a commentary on this text by Dr. Wil Gafney who offered what I think is a useful explanation about what this Bible usually means when it’s talking about “wisdom.” She says that wisdom is not simply intellect. It is also skill, expertise honed by experience and practice. A person who is wise does not come to wisdom immediately. Wisdom is cultivated in the same way that an apprentice learns a skill from a master. Wisdom is your grandmother showing you how to add enough flour to dough to keep it from sticking as you roll it out. Wisdom is the one who makes sure to teach you to point the knife away from your thumb, not towards, when you whittle, so you don’t slip and cut yourself. Dr. Gafney calls this kind of knowledge “heart-and-head knowledge.” So, when we read about wisdom, we’re reading about teaching, practicing, listening, and knowing all wrapped up together.

     Dr. Gafney also made a list of some people who are called wise in the Hebrew Bible: the people who build a resting place and home base for God in the book of Exodus; in Deuteronomy, the people of Israel who keep the Torah, God’s commandments, are called wise; the shrewd woman who leads her people and saves them from death in 2 Samuel 20:22; and King Solomon, in 1 Kings 4, who was able to build a country because he uses his wisdom to build up his people. With their lives as examples, Dr. Gafney crafts a definition of wisdom that is what she calls “craft: statecraft, Torah-craft, craftwomanship, craftsmanship and craftiness.” Wisdom is using all your wit, all your training, all your intuition honed by experience, to honor God and to save your people. Your wisdom is not just for you, it is for your community. But, you have to want it. You have to seek it out.  The portion of Proverbs that we read today is about teaching people to crave insight and understanding the same way they crave a good meal in a lovely home crafted by a strong and smart woman. When Wisdom invites you over, you would do well to accept that invitation.

     From the earliest days of our faith, well before there was anything called Winthrop Congregational Church United Church of Christ, well before there was even anything called Christianity, there was Wisdom and there was an invitation. Our faith began with hospitality and practice and people working together to build something beautiful and useful. We who read these words in this day are returning, yet again, to Wisdom’s table when we hear her call. May we ever learn to build with her... to craft a table of welcome, to offer a meal of compassion and care, to construct monuments in our hearts to God’s love and justice. May we be inspired by the girls of the household, servants who take to the streets to invite others to the feast. We can always add another leaf to the table and pull up another folding chair. Let us not forget that the model of our faith is a full table and a full house where there is always enough to eat if you but ask for it. May we share Wisdom’s invitation, God’s invitation, with others who need some space at the table and a little food to eat. Wisdom is building her house. May we pick up our tools and work along with her. 

     Sometimes, you just need a nap and a snack. That, I think, is among the greatest lessons from today’s reading: sometimes, you just need a nap and a snack and then you can keep going. Elijah has found himself laid up under a tree in a foul mood after a tense, but ultimately victorious, run-in with the prophets of Baal. He was a prophet during the reigns of two different kings, Ahab and Ahaziah. His primary antagonist was a queen named Jezebel, who was married to Ahab. She was Phoenician and as devout to her god Baal as Elijah was to his God. In fact, as Cheryl Exum notes in a brief introduction to Jezebel, we might consider Jezebel to be a “a zealous missionary” for her God. She exerted a fair amount of influence on her husband, much to God and Elijah’s annoyance.

     Ahab and Jezebel, in opting to worship Baal, set the northern kingdom of Israel, also called Samaria, on a course towards great conflict with God. There was a great famine called down upon the nation due to what scripture called Ahab and Jezebel’s sinfulness. Unfortunately, all too often, regular people suffer due to the actions of their leaders. Elijah was able to hide out and survive the famine due to God providing food for him, first by ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and evening (does that sound familiar to anyone?) then through an empowered widow who shared what she had with Elijah.

     When we read about the conflicts between Elijah and Jezebel, Ahab, and the priests of Baal, we are also reading about a conflict between gods. Part of Elijah’s role as prophet is to demonstrate that his God has the true authority over Israel. The conflict came to a head when God told Elijah to go see Ahab, and, once there, Elijah told Ahab to assemble four 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah at Mt. Carmel. Ahab also called up everyday Israelites to observe the showdown, hoping to entice them to following Baal. They show up but seem to ignore the king. Then, Elijah describes the competition he is going to have with all of the hundreds of other priests. Him versus all of them. 
       
     If it was a Western movie, this would be the showdown in the main street of the town. Instead of a shoot-out, it’s a complex, hours long ritual involving asking the gods to set some sacrificed bulls on fire. Baal’s priests tried first, shouting for Baal to answer them while walking around their altar and even offering sacrifices of their own blood. All their effort was to no avail. Elijah, however, had great success. Inviting the Israelites to crowd around him and help him, he prepared his altar and bull, even inviting the crowd to soak the butchered animal with water.  When he prayed aloud, “ O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your bidding. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” And, of course, God’s fire falls onto the bull that has been butchered as offering, as well as the altar, and burns it up. The fire even burns up the water that had pooled around the altar.

     As always, the miracles have a purpose, and this is to show that God is more powerful that Baal. The Israelites in attendance are duly awed by what they see. Then Elijah orders something harsh. He has the crowd round up his opponents and they kill all of them. As a Christian pastor who is aware of our long history of killing people of different religions specifically because they don’t follow the same one as ours, I find this mass killing disconcerting, especially as it is celebrated as a sign of God’s provision and power. I don’t think a large force killing a smaller group of people is a sign that God is standing with the people who won. But the people who compiled this story and wrote it down and passed it along as holy certainly saw this battle as a sign of God’s power. We modern readers must contend with that.

     For now, though, in order to get to the tree where we first encountered Elijah, I will offer that the text finds this battle of the priests to be a good thing, and a sign of how empowered Elijah is. Even though Jezebel threatened him with retribution after the massacre of her priests, you still might expect someone who had just had such a resounding win to feel optimistic about his work and his capabilities, and, frankly, God’s willingness to show up and support him. But, as Iain Provan points out in his notes on the first few verses of chapter 19, Jezebel is made of tougher stuff than her husband, and Elijah takes her threats to heart, and flees to south out of Samaria into Judah to hide.

     If we were going to psychologize this ancient story, which I don’t always recommend we do, we might note that lots of people describe feeling down after achieving a major goal. I’ll share an article about this phenomenon when I share the sermon later in the week. David Garber, in his commentary on this text, notes that this contest with the priests of Baal and Asherah one of the most memorable and important events in Elijah’s life as told in 1st Kings. Between the down feelings that accompany the end of a major life event and the threats from the powerful queen, it’s no wonder that Elijah ends up grumpy under a tree. That being said, if we who aren’t in the midst of the post-event crash remember the story about the ravens and the widow, we might also remember that God has always provided for Elijah, and therefore can be trusted to continue to do so.

     Last week I talked about the Israelites being hangry. Maybe that’s what happened to Elijah. Or maybe he’s burnt out. Or, maybe having so many deaths on his hands is weighing on him. Whatever ever the case, his grumbles of “take away my life,” seem dramatic and also familiar. Garber, in his commentary, notes other prophets shared similar sentiments. Jonah also sat under a tree wishing he might die (Jonah 4:8). Moses, after a big fight when the Israelites, asked God to end his life (Numbers 11:15). Fortunately, in all of these stories, malaise and despair are not as powerful as God’s word. 

     An angel brings a message from God along with a poke in the arm. “Get up and eat.” Fortunately, Elijah had the sense to listen. He got up and ate and drank, but went back to sleep. Then the angel went into what one of my friend’s called mamaw mode, prodding the exhausted prophet to wake up and eat some more. “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” Who here has had the good fortune of having someone love you enough to hassle you into taking care of yourself? That’s basically what God is doing for Elijah through the angel. This thing that felt like the end isn’t and I will keep taking care of you as I always have. Having been bolstered by a nap, food, drink and divine pestering, Elijah no longer feels like he must curl up and die. And, he has enough strength to make the 40-day journey to Mount Horeb, the mount of God.

     Horeb is also called Sinai. It was where Moses had a great encounter with God. There, Elijah will get the next part of his mission from God. God tells him to anoint three different men to be kings of different areas, and to anoint Elisha to be the prophet who will follow in Elijah’s place. Three new kings and one new prophet. Man, it’s amazing what a nap and a snack can do! This is the third Sunday in a row where our readings are about someone being fed. Miracle stories are here to show us something about the nature of God. And, the God we encounter in this story realizes that our physical needs are not disconnected from our spiritual ones. Rather than chastise Elijah for his lament, Garber points out, God just feeds him, because that’s what he needs in that moment.
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     If you are in Elijah’s place right now, I hope you find the rest and sustenance you need, maybe right here in this church. If you are in the place of the messenger, I hope you take seriously the call to offer food and respite to those who have been pushed to despair. May we have space to nap when we need it and sustenance for our journey.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
David Garber Jr: https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-19-2/commentary-on-1-kings-194-8-7

Alexander Rofé's entry on Elijah in HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, ed. Paul Achtemeier  et al (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996)

J. Cheryl Exum's entry on Jezebel in HarperCollins Bible Dictionary, ed. Paul Achtemeier  et al (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996)

Iain Provan's notes on 1 Kings in The New Oxford Annotated Bible: The New Revised Standard Version with Apocryphya, ed. Michael Coogan (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001)

About feeling down after a big accomplishment: https://hbr.org/2015/02/staying-motivated-after-a-major-achievement

The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Exodus 16:2-4, 9-15The whole congregation of the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. The Israelites said to them, ‘If only we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the fleshpots and ate our fill of bread; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.’
Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘I am going to rain bread from heaven for you, and each day the people shall go out and gather enough for that day. In that way I will test them, whether they will follow my instruction or not.
Then Moses said to Aaron, ‘Say to the whole congregation of the Israelites, “Draw near to the Lord, for he has heard your complaining.” ’ And as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the Israelites, they looked towards the wilderness, and the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. The Lord spoke to Moses and said, ‘I have heard the complaining of the Israelites; say to them, “At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread; then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.” ’
In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the layer of dew lifted, there on the surface of the wilderness was a fine flaky substance, as fine as frost on the ground. When the Israelites saw it, they said to one another, ‘What is it?’ For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, ‘It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.
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     I saw a shirt somewhere that said “please don’t be mad at me for what I said when I was hungry.” As it happens, some people get a little cranky when they haven’t eaten in a while. Some people call it being “hangry,” that is, hungry and angry. There are apparently scientific reasons having to do with blood sugar and cortisol levels that explain why some people get hangry. I think the Israelites in the wilderness are sounding pretty hangry.

     When we encounter the Israelites in the desert, we learn that many of them have grown very worried and possibly hangry out in the wilderness. Despite having experienced the great power of God... the plagues that rained down upon Egypt... the opening of the sea so they could cross unscathed... the destruction of the Pharoah and his army... the miraculous pillar of fire and cloud that led them towards freedom.... they had seen all of that, and still weren’t sure that God would care for them in the desert.  In their fear, they began to complain. The very first thing they complained about is the food... or the fear that they won't have enough of it. What is the use, they say, of escaping Egypt if we are just going to die of starvation here in the desert?

     Several years ago, while researching for another sermon on this scripture, I came across this quote from Margaret Atwood's book, A Handmaid's Tale that expressed a sentiment so similar to what I hear in the fears of the Israelites. This is the third or fourth time I’ve preached on this scripture in the last ten years, and I still think the Atwood quote is worth sharing. It is a few lines spoken to women who have been recently enslaved, who will soon be coerced into carrying children for the people who have enslaved them. This overseer-type character says, “Girls, I know this must feel very strange. But ordinary is just what you're used to. This may not seem ordinary to you right now, but after a time, it will. This will become ordinary.” The quote is from portion of the book that shows the process by which Christian fascists physically and mentally break down these women in the process of enslaving them, a process that very much mirrors tactics of enslavement inflicted on Black women throughout US history.

     I think what I appreciate about the quote in particular, and what reminds me of the Israelites when I read it is that it shows clearly that something that has been made ordinary, that is, what has been made common particularly by coercive measures, is being called good. We’ve seen this process before. Slavery was common in this country, and it was certainly not good. Racism is common, and it is certainly not good. People who are ill are discarded with no social safety nets in place, and it is certainly not good. Just because something happens all the time, that doesn’t make it good.

     And yet, even when people know that just because something is ordinary that does not make it good, it can still be terrifying to do something new. Even though humans are capable of adapting to so many difficult situations, a new, good situation that is different from a familiar, bad situation will stop people short. Sometimes it is just too hard or too scary to be in the unfamiliar place full of potential.  Some would choose the ordinary, even when it is slavery, rather than reach for the extraordinary, even when the extraordinary promises liberation and grace and new life.

     In the midst of the wild and unknown desert, the Israelites crave the ordinariness of their lives of slavery. In Egypt, they least they knew what to expect in their days. As they clung to their former routines, romanticizing an oppression that was stable rather than embracing a liberation that was unpredictable, they complained to Moses and Aaron. It’s like they forgot, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that God could take care of them. Even though God was actively taking care of them in the moment, they were still afraid.

     I appreciate God’s response to the Israelites hangry complaints to Moses and Aaron. God doesn't lash out at them and call them big whiners or say “hey, if you don't like freedom, you can turn around and go back to where you came from.” Instead, God just feeds them. And, in feeding them, teaches them a new way to live guided not by the oppressive stability of Pharaoh’s slavery but by God’s ever-sustaining care.

    God asks the people to harvest their food on a particular schedule. Scholars I have read point out that this schedule is far from arbitrary. When you have lived under government-enforced scarcity, you might develop a habit of storing up more that you need because leaders control access to resources as a means of controlling your behavior. God is going to be different though. God is not be going to be an enslaver who withholds food to punish you. God will always provide enough.

     In a commentary on this text, Scholar Anathea Portier-Young offers a beautiful connection between the rhythm of the first creation story in Genesis and the rhythm of the Israelites' harvest to help show how God is helping the Israelites reorganize their lives around the liberation and interconnectedness God intended for humanity at creation. Portier-Young notes that Genesis repeats the glories of each day's creation and finishes with the statement, "there was evening and there was morning" and then counts the day. Exodus gives us different words to similar beat. There was quail, and there was bread, and then there was another day. Within God’s required harvest rhythm, there is even a reminder of the special nature of the seventh Sabbath Day of holy rest. On the sixth day of Israelite food gathering, there will be extra so that they don't have to gather food at all on the Sabbath.

     I’m not going to tell you that the manna and quail fixed everything for the Israelites. If you keep reading Exodus, you’re going to see them complain a lot more over the next 40 years. And, yet, at this point in the story, we watch them begin to shift their habits away from the habits designed to keep them alive while enslaved into the habits that will reintroduce them to liberation and connection that God had intended for them. The meaning of their labor will shift. Instead of labor that further enriched an already rich man, their work would go to feeding themselves and their people. They would have constant reminders that hoarding was contrary to what God hoped for them. And, time for rest and worship became ordinary for them once again.

     Just like the Pharaoh, there are people who benefit from us being too comfortable in living situations that do us harm. Today’s scripture reminds us that we don’t have to continue those patterns of living simply because we know how to do them. God did not create humanity to toil away for someone else’s gain. God did not create us to ignore our neighbor’s pain. We have been created to live lives marked by meaningful labor and communal care, lives shaped by trust in God’s provision and not by fear of scarcity. My prayer for the day is that we may never mistake comfort for faithfulness and that we may be confident that there is more than enough for humanity to survive without taking from each other. May our hunger for justice always outweigh that hanger that makes us afraid.

Resources consulted while writing this sermon:
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Why some people get mad when they are hungry: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-being-hangry-really-a-thing-or-just-an-excuse

Anathea Portier-Young: http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3433

Thomas Long: https://www.onscripture.com/imagining-economic-justice

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale (New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, 1986)
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