"Living Straight Ahead
"
Sermon Preached by
The Rev. Dr. Andrew Stirling
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Text: Proverbs 4:20-27
I reached up to the very top shelf on my bookcase to pull down a book for my research, a book that I hadn't opened in recent memory. As I pulled it down dust fell all over my head, clearly I hadn't read it for a very long time! I pried open the pages to the appropriate piece and all of the pages stuck together, another sign. I couldn't get to the page I wanted, I could only get to the very beginning and the cover, I peeled back the inside of the cover and to my astonishment there was an inscription in my father's handwriting. To make me feel a little old, I realized that this had been written 25 years ago on the day of my ordination. My father had presented this book to me but I had never seen what he had written. In it were these words:
Dear Andrew, Proverbs 3:5-6: 'Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.' And then from Proverbs 4:20-27: 'Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.' Your father.
Simple words: Why did he write them? Twenty-five years later as I read them it was as if he was speaking to me again, but this time from the grave. What is it about those words that is so powerful he wanted me, at the very beginning of my ministry, to comprehend? I started to read those words in the context in which they were originally written and I realized that my father was sending me a strong message for my ministry. He could have written something poetic: “May the road rise up to greet you” or something like that. But, no, he wrote from the Book of Proverbs. Why? Because the Book of Proverbs was written to young men who were going to live in the court of the king. They were words of instruction to young men at the beginning of their lives and service within the court. They were words of wisdom. the Book of Proverbs is a compilation of proverbs that were written by many people, from Solomon to Agur to the scribes of King Hazekiah to King Lemuel. Many different people wrote them, but they were words or wisdom, clearly designed for those who have a choice: to understand that you can either follow the path of folly or you can follow the path wisdom. You can decide to follow your own path and your own pilgrimage - the pilgrimage of folly, or you can go on God's pilgrimage - the path of wisdom.
It is amazing that these words are eminently practical. They are not philosophical, they are not nice ideas whereby one can live, they are concrete. They speak about politics and business and economics and relationships, of sexual fidelity, of morality, of truth, of being a fair exchanger of goods. But more than anything else, these words that are nearly 3,000 years old, speak about faithfulness to God. “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.” Clearly these were words of instruction then, words of guidance to help people in their daily lives. But there was another component to them, the writer of Proverbs wanted these words not only to resonate in the mind, but to resonate in the heart. The heart in those days was considered the seat not only of emotion but of understanding. That is why the writer says, “Trust in the Lord with thy heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.” For the writer of Proverbs then, for the young man setting out to serve the king in the court, to get ahead, to have a life of wisdom, they needed in their hearts to look straight ahead, to be resolute.
Why do I bring this before you today? Are these not just personal words from that writer to the young men in the court? Or, for my father to write to me, something that he believed in so strongly? No, they are universal and particularly timely today as this congregation is going to celebrate it's congregational meeting, a day when we look ahead to the year to come, when we plan the budget, get a sense of where the Long Range Planning Committee is going. It is also a great day because this is the beginning of our 100th year as a congregation. This is the beginning of a centenary, a celebration of the greatness of this congregation's legacy. I can't think of any words that are more timely for a congregation that is looking where it wants to go and celebrating where it has been than to listen to the words of the writer of Proverbs again. “Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.” “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and he will direct your path.” What marvellous words.
However, they are not just for a congregation, these words were delivered for individuals, for people in their daily lives and wherever you are and whatever you are doing in whatever stage of life you might be in, these words from the writer of Proverbs are words of wisdom for you. Indeed, there might be many challenges that you face today or in the days ahead but the writers encouragement to keep your eyes firmly fixed on God and on his wisdom is surely the most important thing that I can give you on a day like today.
Let's look more closely at what he is trying to say. First of all he is saying that they need to scan the future. “Look ahead, look forward.” Have you noticed that the words are anticipatory? They are looking to the future because these young men are embarking on a life of service to God and the monarch and therefore their future lies before them and knowing that there is much right here, right now that might be a source of distraction the writer wants them to look to the future. In many ways he was expressing what in classical theology we call, “prevenient grace.” That sense in which (and it was stressed by Wesley and before him by St. Augustine) God anticipates and prepares the way for us. God's grace is sufficient for the path of life that is ahead of us, God and God's way paves the way for us. It is for us to follow in it, it is for us to adhere to it.
There is this sense in Christian theology that God is always the God who goes before us, that the pilgrim does not walk into the future alone, rather one that is already prepared by the hand of the Almighty. The problem that many of us face, myself included, is that we become distracted. There are many other competing visions out there that focus on things other than God's will and intention for our lives.
I can identify three: The first is what I would call a self vision. Now, the self vision is the vision whereby we establish our own future. It is our will and purpose, we decide what we are going to do and what we are going to become. There is nothing new in this, in fact, it is very old. A classic example of this is in Shakespeare's, Hamlet. Again, it was a father giving words of advice to his son, when Polonius spoke to Laertes. Many of you know that story. As Laertes was on his way to France Polonius gave him guidance as to how he should proceed in his life. There is this famous line, repeated over and over again in new age books and gurus all over the world love to quote it: “This above all to thine own self be true.”
In other words, be true to yourself, be true to your own way. There is only one problem as you read the story, Laertes is someone who goes off that very path. He is conned by the king and kills Hamlet. The sword used to kill Hamlet actually ends up killing him. He is unsure about what has happened to his sister, Ophelia and he becomes a tragic character. You see, “This above all to thine own self be true” is about integrity but if it is taken to the point where you become the source alone of your own vision it can lead to disaster.
The second is the adopted vision, by that I mean just listening to what anyone else around you is prepared to tell you. This summer, I don't want to kid you, I went to academic libraries and spent a lot of time around dusty and dirty old books, things that hadn't been read not for 25 years but at least 75 years, really old stuff. But I didn't live a life of complete piety, I also went to the bookstores, the common ones and looked in all the different sections, like the automobile section, the sports section, the Machester United section and every now and again I'd go to the theology section and even the self help section.
Have you noticed how all the self help books, almost without exception say that you create your own world, you make your own future, you design your own path. I think to myself, “Do these people live in reality?” I know people who are good and wholesome and who try to do the right and good things yet still disasters come their way, they experience illness over which they have no control. Things happen, you don't make your own future. You might make some wise decisions that help your path, but let us not kid ourselves, no matter who the voices are that say you make your own path, it is not only impractical it is also wrong. It is wise to listen to good advice, yes. It is wise to be true to yourself and your own convictions and to stand by them but they are not enough.
The writer of Proverbs knew that. He knew that what was needed was third option: God's vision. “Turn your eyes not to the right nor to the left… fix your gaze on the very one who knows your future who is your source of life, who is the path of wisdom.” The writer of Hebrews picked up the theme and put it within the context of our faith when he said, “Look to Jesus Christ who is the author and the finisher of your faith.” The one who knows where to lead you, what path you can tread. That is what is needed: Be true to yourself, yes, by all means. Listen to good advice? Yes, but most especially, fix your eyes on the Kingdom of God and what God wants for your life. Seek to follow in that path and in all your ways acknowledge him and he will guide you. What a way to move into the future.
The problem with distractions is that they force us sometimes not to look at that final thing. Even churches become distracted by worries about our property, our finances, our image and what people think of us, about recruiting new people. We think about many different things and important as they all are, they can be distractions if we do not focus on God's will and purpose for us as a people. If we follow in that path, what does the writer of Proverbs say? “He will direct your path.”
That is why John Calvin defined sin in terms of the Greek word: “telos” which literally means, “the goal or purpose of your life.” John Calvin suggests that if we lose a sense of that goal we sin. Ultimately that is what sin is, it is taking our eyes off the very purpose for which God has called and preordained us. That is why that goal, both individually as a person and as a congregation needs continually to be refined and renewed and restated. Look straight ahead, let your eyes not wander to the right or to the left, scan the future and walk towards God.
No doubt you're saying, “That's all very well, Andrew, but life isn't quite as sweet and rosy as all that.” No, there are obstacles that we must overcome, there are challenges that we have to endure, there are things to which we must rise. That is why there is this phrase that is so important in the midst of what the writer of Proverbs said: “Let thy ways be established.” In other words, let God help you find that way. It's not you on your own, it's not just you deciding to walk on the path of wisdom, but it is you asking God to help you on that path and there are two components to that. The first is to have a real sense of purpose. The purpose of the church ultimately is to praise, glorify and serve God. That is the purpose of the church. We do that by our love for one another; we do that by our works of justice and truth, we do that in our compassion for our neighbours and we manifest the love that God has for us by our love for others. Believe you me, all of this stems from the purpose of knowing that we must walk straight ahead to the established ways of God, to do that we need to have a strong sense of devotion in our lives.
I was reading Christian Leadership Magazine - articles by Christians about how they are able to live their Christian lives. One of them really struck me. It was about how he maintains his devotion during his commute. Now, I'm sure many of you commute to work. Well, he talked about what he does to maintain his devotion and his focus on God every day when he is in the car. It was amazing: On the first day of the week, he prays, he closes his eyes (at stoplights only) and prays to God. The second day of the week he listens to a Bible study CD. On the third day of the week, he listened to his iPod with downloaded hymns and Christian devotional music. On Thursday he does far and away the most important thing: he listens to preachers giving their sermons on cd. On Friday, he plays an electronic game in which you punch in a word and it gives you the biblical context. Can you imagine if a police officer were to pull him over while he was doing that on the road? Never mind cell phones, can you imagine the danger of punching in words and looking down. The police officer pulls you over and you say, “Oh, Officer, it's okay I'm reading my Bible, and look it's Proverbs Chapter Four: 'Keep your eyes straight ahead. Look not to the right of the left.' Well, Officer, that's what I'm doing.” I don't think it would win the day, do you?
The idea behind the article was that he knew that every day he needed that sense of devotion and purpose, he needed to keep his eye firmly fixed ahead on the things that really matter, not to move to the right or left of what God would have him do. In other words, “Let thy ways be established.”
But finally, you need a guide. I thought about what my father wanted me to have. Did he want me to have wise words? Did he want me to know the Bible better? Did he want me to have wisdom? Yes, but more than anything else he wanted me to know the guide for the future, to know the one who would ultimately take me to where I needed to go. The first word was “Trust in the Lord,” then “Keep your eyes on the path.” The guide is the most important thing for a church, an individual, for anybody out there.
This summer I didn't watch many movies, but one of the times I stepped to one side and watched a movie, it was one of the most touching things I've ever seen. Some of you have probably seen it, The Soloist. It's a story about a reporter from the Los Angeles Times who by virtue of an accident runs into a homeless man only to discover that he plays a violin with only two strings. The reporter is so taken by him and so interested in his gift, playing the most incredible music with only two strings that he decides to help him. The homeless man's name is Mr. Ayers. The reporter goes out and buys him some strings so he can play the full complement of notes and Mr. Ayers is ecstatic.
The writer then finds out the Mr. Ayers was once a cellist and so he arranges to get him a cello. Mr. Ayers has to take this cello around on a cart, under the overpasses of the streets of LA at night to keep it safe. He goes into a shelter but he's mentally ill and finds shelters very difficult to handle, as many homeless everywhere feel. He is worried about losing his cello. The writer continues to befriend him and despite setbacks and arguments and disappointments finally arranges for Mr. Ayers to have a recital in front of peers but when Ayers shows up, he is so mentally ill he cannot perform. The writer doesn't give up on him, he knows that this man loves music and that his passion for it is so strong it will keep him alive. At times on the streets when he was close to death it was the music that kept him alive and it was the friendship of the writer who gave him the music to play. At the end of the movie they are sitting in an auditorium listening to the Los Angeles Symphony play Beethoven, Mr. Ayers' favourite composer. The writer from the LA Times, his wife and Mr. Ayers are listening to this magnificent music. The movie ends with the writer expressing his sentiments and I think they are marvellous:
There are people who tell me I have helped him. Mental health experts who say that the simple act of being someone's friend can change his brain chemistry, improve his functioning in the world. I can't speak for Mr. Ayers in that regard, maybe our friendship has helped him, maybe not. I can however, speak for myself. I can tell you that by witnessing Mr. Ayers courage, his humility, his faith, I've learned the dignity of being loyal to something you believe in, of holding onto it above all else, of believing without question that it will carry you home.
My father was right, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lead not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct your path. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.” Why? Because God goes before us and it is He who leads us home. Amen.