The Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity (October 16, 2022)

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be alway acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, our Strength and our Redeemer. Amen.

St. Boethius lived from 480 to 524 AD, shortly after the Fall of the Roman Empire. he was a philosopher who, inspired by Plato’s Republic, decided to use his abilities for the public good by going into service of the state. He was an advisor to Theodoric, an Ostrogoth King. Boethius was good at his job because he was a just man, but acting righteously made him enemies, much like Daniel in Babylon. He was falsely accused of conspiracy, imprisoned, and put to death. While waiting for his execution, he wrote this short little autobiographical book called The Consolation of Philosophy. When the book opens, Boethius is depressed at his fate, shedding many tears and writing poetry about how unfair fate is. As he is writing, however, Lady Philosophy (who, for Boethius would have been related to the Church, Mary, and the personification of Wisdom) appears to him. As they talk, Lady Philosophy tells him that she will act as a doctor, diagnosing what is wrong with him. The problem, she finds out, is that Boethius is depressed and emotional because he has forgotten his end: he is wrapped up in the fact that he lost his wealth, his position, his reputation, and all the other things he enjoyed instead of keeping his eyes fixed on the truth. In short, the problem with Boethius was that he looked at ever-changing circumstances, the whims of Fortune, as the measure of goodness and badness, wisdom and folly. Yet Fortune is always changing and is an unreliable guide. Lady Philosophy tells him “you are wasting away in pining and longing for your former good fortune. It is the loss of which, that has so corrupted your mind.” Yet because Boethius acted uprightly and justly, she reminds him “you did not have and did not lose anything of value.” We can’t control Fortune, we can only control ourselves. Boethius may have been exiled from his home and his job, but Lady Philosophy tells him “any man who has chosen to make his dwelling [with Wisdom] has the sacred right never to be banished. So there can be no fear of exile for any man within its walls and moat. On the other hand, if anyone stops wanting to live there, he automatically stops deserving it.” Boethius had to learn what was really important; he had to learn what we are alive for. Not riches, power, or other good fortune; but to pursue the Good, pursue God with all our hearts, mind, soul, and strength.

It is this same theme that resounds in our propers today. It’s the theme of the Collect: “Lord, we beseech thee, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil; and with pure hearts and minds to follow thee, the only God.” And it’s the theme in our Epistle reading this morning from the beginning of 1 Corinthians.

It is important to realize that the Corinthian church was not an exemplary community at the time the Apostle Paul wrote his first epistle to them. The Church seems to be infected with a kind of factionalism that may have been rooted in the tension between Jew and Gentile; they also struggled with sexual immorality, even having a man sleeping with his mother-in-law; they had a litigious nature with believers taking other believers to court; further, the poor and widows in the Church seem to be ignored and excluded from the community. There is no perfect church; but the Corinthians were really not a perfect church. Yet in spite of their issues, imperfections, and unfaithfulness, Paul could still see God at work in their midst. “I think my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ.” That grace has made even a congregation like the Corinthians rich in speech and knowledge. Not because they were particularly good people; it seems like they were not, but because God is faithful even when we are not and he gives us what we need. In the case of the Corinthians, this means providing the congregation with spiritual gifts which include things words of wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, and interpretation of tongues. Much could be said about each of these gifts, but the significance is that the gifts one has been given is a divinely appointed means by which the whole Body is edified. We’re going to talk about that at the Annual Meeting following the service: we see this in our own lives; so many people here use their gifts to serve our Lord and his Church. It’s a beautiful picture of what it means for us to be the Body of Christ. And it’s proof, again, not that we should boast about our gifts or our aptitudes, but that we should rely all the more on God who empowers us to do the work he has for us.

Much like Lady Philosophy to Boethius, St. Paul ties these gifts to our end: the purpose of gifts is so that we are not lacking while we wait for the coming of Christ. God sustains us to the end. For what purpose? Why? So that we might be blameless in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we confess each week: “he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead.” And we know that this judgment will see things for how they really are because unto God are “all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid.” On the one hand, this should be something very grave reminder and warning for all of us. There will come a day when all of who we are will be laid bare and we will have to account for what we have done. That means right now is the time for us to participate with that grace God abundantly pours out on us; right now is the time for us to become who we are supposed to be.

At the same time, however, this impending judgment is a liberating reality because it frees us from the fickle and cruel wheel of Fate. We are no longer bound to the pursuit of utilitarian outcomes where what’s right is purely about what produces the most success, whether that success be financial, political, or otherwise. That’s not what our final exam with God will be focused on. What matters is whether we are faithful to what God has given us, whether we act with wisdom, whether we make obedience to him our primary mission. And the thing is, if we do this right, we will garner opposition, just like Boethius’ habit of justice caused people in the King’s court to turn on him; just like Daniel’s piety caused Nebuchadnezzar’s advisors to turn on him; just like Socrates’ singular focus on the pursuit of wisdom caused the Athenians to put him to death; just like Jesus’ singular obedience to his Father caused him to be crucified.

I have to tell you this. Sometimes God speaks to us in different ways on multiple occasions and it’s important we listen to him. Yesterday I had most of this sermon typed up and then I did Morning Prayer. Each of the readings spoke to this theme of a faith in God that transcends circumstance. The Psalm for Morning Prayer yesterday was Psalm 37 which ends with this: “Keep innocency, and take heed unto the thing that is right; for that shall bring a man peace at the last. As for the transgressors, they shall perish together; and the ned of the ungodly is, they shall be rooted out at the last. But the salvation of the righteous cometh of the Lord; who is also their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall stand by them, and save them: he shall deliver them from the ungodly, and shall save them, because they put their trust in him.” As I read this I put a note in my journal: “Add this to the sermon!” And then the second lesson for Morning Prayer came from James 1, where James says, “Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” When I read that, I had to make another note in my journal: “Add this to the sermon!” When God tells you something once, it’s good to listen; when he tells you something multiple times, it’s really really important to listen! Like Boethius, we should listen to Lady Philosophy and attend to Wisdom. We weren’t made to accumulate wealth and stuff, we weren’t made to gain as much political power, or hedonistic, fleshly happiness as possible; we were made for righteousness. Of course, acting wisely, pursuing a life that will be blameless at the end, is going to stir up opposition but the point is that in spite of changing circumstances, God will give us what we need. He always has. He always will.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.