5th Sunday after Epiphany (Year A)
When I was a kid, my dad liked to collect and sell antiques. He would collect antiques of all kinds—old machines, furniture, toys, jewelry, and the like. I have memories of Saturday mornings joining him as he drove to various antique shops in town. I was always curious in these shops, filled with so many things that I had never seen before, and relics of decades past.
When I was in 2nd grade my dad moved to the small town of Plattsmouth, Nebraska, and in its own way Plattsmouth is an antique in itself. Founded in 1853 along the Platte River, it started as a one street town with simple shops on either side, and to this day its main street is listed in the National Register of Historical Places. To walk down the street in Plattsmouth feels a little bit like going back in time, so it made sense that an antique lover like my dad would choose to make Plattsmouth home.
One of the shops on Main Street, of course, was an antique store. My father quickly became good friends with the shop owner, named Lisa, and we would spend many hours in the shop with Lisa and her daughter, Cami. Lisa would let Cami and I explore the various antiques, and I remember a favorite of mine being an antique radio she had.
I was fascinated with this old radio. It was from the 1930s, the kind of radio the family would gather around in the evenings to listen to the news or a radio drama. The kind of radio where someone probably listened to FDR’s chats to the nation during the Great Depression. A real piece of history. Of course, this decades old radio didn’t have the best signal compared to modern day. Most often when I turned it on I got static, but with precise and patient tuning, I could often eventually get a radio station signal. From static to clarity, music finally would come through.
Now, why on earth am I preaching to you about an antique radio, you ask? Well, in our 2nd reading today Paul is writing to the Corinthians and talking to them about wisdom, and I think tuning a radio is a good image for this. Paul teaches that God’s wisdom is different than human wisdom, and human wisdom on its own cannot get a clear signal, a clear understanding, of God’s wisdom and agency. We often try to tune our “spiritual radios” into what God is doing and sometimes we get static. God is a mystery to us, and to be honest, I don’t think we are meant to understand completely the mind and wisdom of God.
And yet, through the death and resurrection of Christ, God has revealed to us the core of God’s wisdom—radical love, relationship, and restoration of the world. According to human wisdom, the idea that the God of the universe would become human and then die on a cross is pure foolishness, a sign of weakness and even shame. What kind of God would choose to suffer and die? And what’s more, why would the God of the universe choose to do this for people who don’t even listen? It makes no sense according to human standards. To the world the Christ event is like static on an old radio, making no sense, but to the person who has glimpsed God’s Wisdom and received God’s Spirit, the Christ event is a clear signal, a clear message of God’s love and purpose revealed.
I remember once having a conversation with an old friend who considered herself to be an atheist. We were talking about the purpose of life and the existence of the world, and my friend looked at me and told me that there was no purpose, no deeper meaning. She believed that because there was no God, everything was random and without reason. We were simply born, tried to survive in this messed up world, and then died. For her, that was it. To be honest I remember feeling sad as she shared that with me. In her view life seemed to lose its richness. There was no mystery or curiosity, no hope for a better world. Human wisdom and understanding on its own brings little meaning, like static on a radio with no signal to be found.
But God’s Wisdom offers something different. In the death and resurrection of Jesus, and through the gift of baptism, followers of Christ have received God’s Spirit and been gifted with a new “spiritual radio” that tunes us in to what God is doing. We begin to see and hear and experience life and the world in a new way. It is God’s love that is revealed to us, unbreakable and everlasting. A love so deep that God would do the most unexpected thing—die on a cross and rise again—in order to offer new life and new creation to the world and to each one of us. It is God’s Wisdom revealed to us that gives us hope and purpose in our lives, and when we tune ourselves into God’s Wisdom we are transformed into a new creation.
It is God’s Wisdom that tells us in our Gospel today that we are called to be the salt and light of the earth, a city on a hill, but what does this mean exactly? To be tuned into God’s Wisdom means that we are no longer consumed or defined by the static of human wisdom and the ways of the world. In fact, God’s Wisdom often turns human wisdom upside down. When human wisdom, for example, tells us that there is no hope for the world, God’s Wisdom gives us hope for a better future. Similarly, when the world tells us that we are not good enough, not lovable enough, it it God’s Wisdom that proves otherwise—after all, the God of the universe loved us enough to die on a cross. God’s Wisdom trades our brokenness into wholeness and brings the value out of each of us. God’s Wisdom tells us that we were each made in the Image of God and gifted with God’s gifts. It is God’s Wisdom that makes us new and we are chosen—as wonderfully imperfect as we are—to play our part in God’s work in the world.
When we are tuned into God’s Wisdom, we cannot help but lived transformed lives, to be light and salt of the earth. We live in the example of Jesus, who guides our steps and helps us to live according to God’s ways. We see God’s Kingdom breaking into the world, and we participate in bringing God’s goodness to others as God works in and through us. God’s light dwells within each of us and we are called to live in a way that reflects that light to others, to add our own splash of flavor into the world around us. Think about it this way: God has equipped you with a unique personality, unique passions and unique gifts—how are you using them to reflect God’s light and love? How are you glorifying God and serving the neighbor? How are you pointing back to God and to the hope of God’s promises?
So, to ask again, what does it look like to be tuned into God’s Wisdom of radical love, living transformed as salt and light? It looks like trusting in God’s promises even in challenging times. It looks like choosing kindness and hospitality to the stranger or choosing forgiveness in moments of anger. God’s Wisdom of radical love looks like speaking against injustice and doing what is right even when it is hard. It looks like each one of us, beloved and created in the Image of God, using our gifts, talents, passions, and stories for the sake of others. God’s Wisdom of radical love looks like this community, gathered on a Sunday morning to worship and do ministry together. God’s Wisdom is love, and we are salt and light when we reflect that love in our daily lives.
So today I give thanks for the gift of God’s Wisdom, God’s radical love that defies human understanding. This Wisdom of love is revealed to us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a clear radio signal of who God is and who we are called to be in Christ. I give thanks that God creates all things new and equips us to be salt and light. May God’s Wisdom of love continue to guide each one of us. God’s ways are good, so let us live according to God’s ways and glorify God in all we do. Thanks be to God for God’s Wisdom. Amen.