1030am Sunday 7-5-20

I'm in thank you to all those who offered to read and we're a part of that. I advise you if you have your Bible with you to join me in our scripture reading for today from the gospel of Matthew Ruby in the 11th chapter today. We're going to begin at chapter 11 verse 16.

This is the good news according to the gospel of Matthew the 11th chapter. But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplace. I'm calling to one another we played the flute for you and you did not dance we way that we wailed and you did not mourn for John came neither eating nor drinking and they say he has a demon in the son of man came eating and drinking and they say look a glutton and a drunkard. A friend of tax collectors and sinners yet wisdom is Vindicated by her Deeds?

jumping 2 verse 25 At that time Jesus said I thank you Father Lord of Heaven and Earth for the wise and the intelligent. And have revealed them to to infants. Yes Father for such was your gracious will all things have been handed over to me by my father and no one knows the son except the father and no one knows the father except the son and anyone to whom the son chooses to reveal him. Come to me all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light the gospel of Our Lord. Please eat it.

I invite you to pray with me.

Change be broken lives be healed In This Moment Christ be revealed and the name of the father and the son and the holy spirit. Amen.

In our text today. Jesus is talking about the generation of his time and their blindness, but it feels like it feels like he's also in some way Looking Through Time and talking directly to us as well to our generation to our time to our circumstance and challenge. Jesus describes a generation that cannot recognize the truth and is right in front of them. I thought that John the Baptist was a demon. And they consider Jesus to be a drunkard and a glutton a friend of tax collectors. They described Jesus by the company that he keeps. If that's the case, then may we all be like Jesus and that we spend just enough time with the socially unimportant and unimpressive and underprivileged that people begin to talk about us as they did Jesus. The Jesus on the other hand. He Compares this generation the Pharisees people everyone. He Compares them to children. They're oblivious and they're preoccupied with their games. Right but not video games like we have today but other games and distractions of the time. the Messiah the one that they have been waiting for praying for for 400 years since the last prophet book was written in the Old Testament for 400 years. They've been praying and now finally Jesus is in front of them. And they're too preoccupied with other Pursuits. Too preoccupied with their own Ambitions to see who is there with them.

They failed to see beyond their own imaginations their own distractions and their own assumptions. Babe, assume that the Messiah will be a powerful warrior king come to kick out the invading and conquering an occupying Romans. They do not think he will be a humble. poor non militant Rabbi who believes not in an eye for an eye, but in loving your enemy. How many times? Have we made the mistake in our lives? About missing who is capable and cold to lead and written off the person who looks weaker or an impressive or isn't as flashy. Because we want on our sports team the Tom Brady. Or on our science project team. We want Albert Einstein.

How many times have we all done that? But you don't seek and you shall find. So make sure that you are seeking the right people. And not just the strongest the richest and the smartest according to human terms. The earlier chapter 11 the Disciples of John the Baptist John the Baptist had Disciples of his own. Thank they come to Jesus in the ask him. They say are you the one who is to come? Or are we to wait for another? Now it would seem that there question persist in spite of all that Jesus has done and demonstrated in his healing his teaching his forgiving his kindness the miraculous acts and works that he does. No matter what Jesus does it seems that people will always in some way shape or form misunderstand. But how easy is it for us to misunderstand someone how many times have we ourselves been misunderstood? Characterized in ways to do not truly reflect who we are or the desires of our hearts. How frustrating is it for someone to assume that they know something about you based on where you grew up or where you went to school your gender identity or your color of your skin where you worker how much money you have? We tend to do this process of making projection, right? We see the person we get a quick examination and within 10 second Suite we try to fill in the blanks. Why do we do that?

Cuz I think we we haven't gotten past our fear. That if we don't understand someone or something perfectly then they're a threat to us. And so we feel this need to fill in the gaps fill in the blanks measure you up. And in so doing we miss Who You Are. all because we're afraid of living into relationship and being curious and asking questions and making mistakes and figuring it out along the way as Jesus calls us to

None of these factors fully encapsulate the complexity of who you are or who I am. We all know this. It is disappointing and disheartening when someone does not see you for who you really are. Either because they don't care to know. All because fear or the emotional wounds of the past have caused their heart to only see Danger. So they put up the fence and they project labeled at you. Or because they aren't able to understand because your financial or your emotional your familiar cultural gap between the two of you is just too wide and you know bridging that Gap was conversation and investment of my time. It's not worth it.

If you watch the news for a few minutes. Will you be the comments sections on social media? You'll see that projection that filling in the blank that making assumption. How easy is it to misunderstand or to be misunderstood?

The gospel of Matthew is often referred to as the teachers Gospel Matthew views and portrays Jesus as this new Moses come to free us from our slavery to self and send and to give us a new teaching as Moses did for the Israelites by saving them from slavery in Egypt and then providing them with the decalogue The Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. Throughout the gospel Jesus teaches in Matthew 5 different sections of teaching right in the center of Matthew's gospel. He leaves the disciples with the directive to go into the world and to teach All Nations. in order for them to teach in order for them to teach others before they can do that. They must be able to be understood before they can have others understand them. They themselves must first understand. Jesus's teaching and his work with his disciples is intended to facilitate the birth of wisdom. In the life of his students is pupils his disciples both in the first century and still today before you seek to be understood seek to understand. You see wisdom clarifies our vision. Jesus is teaching is here to give us that wisdom. Wisdom clarifies our vision much the same way as eyeglasses clarifies our site we talked about that with the kids when Jesus declares that wisdom is Vindicated by her deeds in our text today is lifting up an important aspect of his Jewish Heritage one that ski as a rabbi is well-versed in the wisdom tradition. The books of Proverbs Psalms and job's job are part of the Jewish wisdom tradition, and they would have been books that Jesus Knew by heart. Jesus was very familiar with them all throughout the gospel of Matthew. You see Jesus quoting Psalms or Proverbs or another wisdom tradition book. easy wisdom grants us the ability to understand beyond our sensory perception abilities. So hearing sight touch sound. if wisdom is Vindicated by her Deeds then Then what are her Deeds? What are the Deeds of wizard? What does wisdom create and produce? Proverbs 8:1 of the wisdom books wisdom brings order to chaos Psalm 11 wisdom grant us humility psalm for wisdom protects and guards us the the Jewish word for wisdom. There is Sophia wisdom and it is feminine in nature wisdom is often depicted in the feminine voice in The Feminine gender of the words. I don't think I should be in a surprise to us gentlemen, right? We we all know that there are wisdom beyond our years and it seems elusive to us. And so it seems appropriate that the Jewish tradition recognizes what we recognize that. That we're not always the smartest in the room guys willing a pretty pretty darn smart, and we should listen to them sometimes if not all the time. According to the Book of James and the New Testament Godly wisdom. He says it's full of mercy and good fruits without partiality. And without the pieocracy James 3. 4 Jesus and the wisdom tradition the Jewish tradition of wisdom the results of wisdom are evident. Where is intellect is organized knowledge? Wisdom is organized living. In scripture those who like this wisdom. Are given the label and title of fools. Bulls are often considered playful disinterested distracted not focused. I saw Jesus Compares his Generation II children playing because they're foolish they lack wisdom to see and to pursue and to seek what is right. He highlights their lack of understanding in the concern for what truly matters. Wisdom must be salt and only the wise seek what they do not have for a vision that they cannot yet see.

Wisdom beckons All To The Feast that she prepares prepared and warns against foolishness. In Proverbs 9 wisdom calls to us. She says come eat of my bread and drink of the wine that I have mixed lay aside immaturity and live and walk in the way of insight. However, there is a cautionary tale because just as wisdom calls to us. So too does foolishness. And we must choose. Daily, there are consequences for the choices that we make none of us are exempt from them. Jesus likewise extend an invitation with the same word which wisdom calls to us. Earlier, we read from Psalm 9 says come eat of my bread and drink of the wine that I have mixed in. Jesus also says come and follow me.

Jesus invitation into his wisdom and his way is truth and his life is a way of wise instruction and spiritual life giving living. wisdom enables self-reflection and self-correction Getting to know Jesus helps us to know ourselves better both the good and the bad. Our pursuit of following Jesus is at the same time the pursuit of following wisdom. In a world where truth is often presented as debatable and lies are painted as truth about the world and about ourselves at times. We can become weary and disheartened by the world's lack of wisdom. By the world's lack of seeking to understand my own inability to be understood and to understand others. but the truth still matters and Truth is the beginning of wisdom. It is a starting point for us to live fruitful lies under our teacher who is himself wisdom. Incarnate the word made flesh. There is always more to learn in life and the wise will be open to learning it. We are called to seek wisdom on the one who wields it with Grace and Truth as the gospel writer of John calls it. Be open to instruction and correction to the Past become clear so that we might live peacefully with our neighbors in that wisdom living that organized living. As we learn and mature in our walk with Christ. We should grow in understanding the importance of knowing god. And the truly wise person will also seek to be known by God.

Let us pray.

Gracious God we give you thanks for your wisdom and for your truth. Can we pray for all of those who struggle to be understood today? We pray for all those who struggle to understand today. We pray that you will clarify our vision. But you will clarify our path that you will clarify our attitudes and our lives. God help us to be people of wisdom. and the secret Above All Else we pray God that in finding our wisdom. That is found in you we will find the essence and center of our very lives in living. I'm at.