The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
Today's reading from Proverbs is part of a plain-verse poem or hymn that some
have called "In Praise of a Good Wife." There are two things that are noteworthy
about this reading. One thing is that it is very pointedly a description of a
wife who is very supportive of her husband. She not only runs a well-kept home
and family, but he also entrusts her with doing some of his business, the kind
of business that at that time was mostly done by men, such as buying a field or
selling things for profit, as in a home-based industry. For this reason, the
last chapter of Proverbs is not exactly the favorite scripture of the feminists!
Still, it describes a hard-working, wise, sensible and careful woman, and the
second thing that's noteworthy about this passage is that many commentators have
seen it as a sort of description of Lady Wisdom, who is discussed elsewhere in
Proverbs and in other books of the Old Testament...an embodiment of the Holy
Spirit, some say.
Putting together the readings from Proverbs and from the first Psalm, we get
a very clear picture of an ideal kind of person, whether man or woman...a person
who is careful to live according to God's laws, and at the same time lives in
such a way as to take good care of the family's maintenance and nuture, with
proper attention to business and community activity. I have heard that some
adult Bible study classes have asked their members to combine these two
Scripture readings and re-write them in modern-day language as a picture of the
kind of person one should strive to be. You might find it profitable to do that
exercise, yourself, at home. Certainly doing this gives us ample food for
thought and meditation on how to live at peace with God, our families and our
communities.
The Gospel reading today seems to divide naturally into two parts, and that
natural division gives us some insights for ourselves today. In the first part,
Jesus is talking intimately with his disciples, telling them what awaits him in
Jerusalem: betrayal, arrest, trial, torture and crucifixion, followed three days
later by rising from the dead. He has a clear idea of what lies before him, and
he wants his disciples to be prepared for what is coming. He also wants them to
begin to understand why these terrible things are necessary in God's plan.
But it seems that the disciples have their mind on other things, and Jesus'
solemn warnings more or less go in one ear and out the other, as the saying
goes. They do not have much to say in response to Jesus' words. You'd think that
this, the second time in Mark's Gospel that Jesus tries to explain what to
expect to happen in Jerusalem, the message would finally hit home, and they
would respond with questions and comments. But that is not the case.
They have all been thinking about something else, you see. What is on their
minds is: who's going to be the big shots among them, when Jesus comes
back to life and rules his people? Perhaps they are still thinking of
the Messiah as a political figure who will defeat the Romans and restore the
throne to the House of David. Or perhaps they just have a vague idea that one of
these days, after that messy business of dying is over with, and Jesus is alive
again, one bright day he will be taking over and installing his disciples in
positions of power, glamor and authority. And they're wondering "what's in it
for me?" And so they are arguing, behind his back, about who gets the top
billing in the future Kingdom, along with Jesus, of course.
You and I have been in that situation. A few years back, a most serious vote
was coming up at a General Convention, and one of the people who led his
diocese's delegation woke up that morning with a tremendous toothache. And so,
he skipped the vote that would make big waves in the Episcopal Church and the
whole Anglican Communion, and spent the day trying to find a dentist who would
see him immediately. It was quite a close vote, and his vote might, just might,
have made a difference, who knows? We all have times, often many times, when our
own personal needs or ideas or worries take precedence over the really important
things that we may be involved in...when we cannot get to the bathroom fast
enough, even in the middle of an important meeting, or the final exam, or a
wedding....or when the baby screams to be nursed or changed, even if we have an
important guest over for dinner. Or, maybe, like the disciples, we are more
interested in our own prospects than in the future of the world. I have often
wondered if, perhaps years after the Resurrection, those disciples looked back,
perhaps shame-facedly, at that conversation they were having as they walked with
Jesus, listening with half an ear to his discussion of crucifixion and death,
and wondered, "What on earth was I thinking that day?"
At any rate, the readings today give us much to think about in terms of
setting our own goals and priorities, and also in terms of thinking and planning
for the kind of person we are now, and the kind of person we would like to be,
someday. The key, I think, is to go beyond our own likes and preferences and
"comfortable areas" and see the whole picture, and try to figure our where we
belong in it, and work towards doing well in that place, when that time comes.
God, you see, has a plan for the world, and each of us has a part to play in
that plan. That's why Jesus was telling the disciples what would happen in
Jerusalem. And what that means for all of us is that we need to listen to God,
both through our daily Bible study and the sermons that are part of our
liturgies. And then we need to think and pray about how and where we fit into
that picture that God is designing...not where we want to fit into
the picture, but more about where God needs us to fit into the
picture...and then, do our best to prepare to do the part that has been
designated for each one of us. Amen.
