The Sermon
By Siobhan H

Walking in the Way of Wisdom

This morning we hear two invitations in our scripture passages:
“Come leave your simple ways and walk in the way of insight and wisdom so you may have life.”

and

“Come and eat the bread of life so you may have life eternal.”

Both of these invitations reveal the infinite love of the Creator of all things, the source of life, who sustains us, and feeds us. Baptism marks the beginning of a journey with God which continues for the rest of our lives, the first step in response to God’s love. The words of the liturgy remind us that...
‘As children of God, we have a new dignity and God calls us to fullness of life’.

At communion we receive spiritual nourishment for the journey….
“The body of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Which was given for you,
Preserve your body and soul to everlasting life.
Take and eat this in remembrance that Christ died for you,
And feed on him in your heart by faith with thanksgiving.”

After death at the funeral service, we hear the words ‘I am the resurrection and the life’ says the Lord. Those who believe in me, even though they die will live.’

How different would our existence look if we were to accept the invitation to leave our simple lives to walk in the way of insight and wisdom?
Wisdom in my experience is not sentimental. At times it has challenged me to face difficult truths about my life and relationships. It requires me to be honest in my thoughts and hold integrity. It utilises knowledge, experience, deep understanding and insight. By becoming curious, asking questions, reflecting more deeply we can allow the wisdom that lies just beneath the surface of our daily lives to emerge.

I’d like to share a personal example with you.
Recently, on retreat I visited a walled garden where I noticed three doorways.
The first doorway was blocked by bricks, the second had a mirror attached to it reflecting the roses in the garden, and the last had a gate ajar.
Initially, I was drawn to the mirrored door, the roses beautifully inviting. Then came the realisation there was a deception here because the reflected image of the roses was not real. It led me to consider that in life sometimes we can look at situations through rose tinted spectacles or events can look rosy in retrospect.
The doorway with the gate ajar somehow offered the invitation to seek God’s will, truth, and wisdom to embrace a fuller, yet more uncertain life. I sense that when we choose to seek wisdom it is then that our doors of perception open more fully, and we can begin to imagine and dream of new possibilities, allowing the seeds of life we carry within us the potential to germinate, grow, and flourish.

Returning to our context, how would it be if we were to seek God’s will, truth, and wisdom as a church, if we opened our doors of perception more fully, and began to imagine and dream of new possibilities?

Collectively as a church we are called to leave our simple ways, to discern, seek wisdom and sense where the new seeds of life lie. Wisdom for me is founded on the insight that we are all children of God, and the miracle that God who lies within and beyond us knows each of us by name and loves us. This leads me to tell you about a new course “Living in Love and Faith”, which the Church of England is inviting us to engage with, and in doing so to play our part in discovering what God is saying to the Church today. It invites us to engage in a listening process and have wisdom to discern how we can offer dignity and fullness of life to the whole children of God.

The course asks…

How do questions about identity, sexuality, relationships, and marriage fit within the bigger picture of the good news of Jesus Christ?
What does it mean to live in love and faith together as a church?
The church acknowledges that issues of gender and sexuality are intrinsic to people’s identity, their lives and the loving relationships that sustain and shape them.

The hope is that as we engage in listening to the people’s lived experiences, deeper relationships will be forged and the process of examining afresh our lives and shared learning will deepen our knowledge and understanding about what it means to be human in relationship with others in the face of difference and diversity, and each of us will grow in wisdom.

In today’s gospel passage we witness the Jews arguing amongst themselves, ‘How can this man give us flesh to eat?’ Jesus makes it clear later in this chapter that he is speaking metaphorically; ‘The spirit gives life, the flesh is nothing’ Yet those who misunderstood him were offended by his talk of eating flesh and blood because they were stuck in a physical mindset, ignoring the things of the Spirit. Sometimes, because we are human, we become stuck in a certain mindset, certain doctrines, or teachings.

Wisdom includes true listening, being present, open, and responsive. It is about being open to the Source of Mystery, the Spirit moving within us and the world.
Wisdom is inhibited when prejudice, silence, ignorance, fear, hypocrisy and power dominate. We can all have our bias, and prejudices that we need to be aware of and as I reflected earlier wisdom can challenge us. If we are to be a church of welcome and belonging, we need to take down barriers that divide us and do as Jesus does. He simply invites us to ‘Come and eat the bread of life’ that we may have eternal life. The table of the Lord is open and inclusive to all who believe in him. It is my belief the relationship we experience with the Risen Lord when we receive bread of life at communion is transformative both personally and as the body of Christ.

I invite you now to listen to these invitations.

Come leave your simple ways and walk in the way of insight and wisdom so you may have life.

Come and eat the bread of life so you may have life eternal.

Come and join one of our Living in Love Faith Groups so that we may discern how we truly embody the Good News of Jesus Christ and celebrate our shared humanity.

Amen