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St. George's Episcopal Church Roseburg, Oregon Proper 19, September 17, 2006 Go To St. George's Home Page

Proverbs 1:20-33
Psalm 19:1-14
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
Collect of the Day
From the Revised Common Lectionary as Adapted for Use by the Episcopal Church
and Authorized by the 74 th General Convention of the ECUSA

Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.”(Proverbs 1:20-33)

The Connections of Ones and Zeros
The Rev. Dr. Bill Stroop

     Depending on the order and number of them, the numerals “1” and “0” can be used to spell your name, detail your family history, list your address, give out credit card information, describe the biology of the alligator lizard, provide the poetry of Emily Dickinson, portray pictures of the artwork du musée du Louvre, and encode literally every other thing that can be electronically scanned or entered into a computer data base. That’s it. Ones and zeros can do all of that.

     In front of the rectory are two metered parking spaces. I am amazed at how often I see people talk to the parking meters. Sometimes people curse at them, although not because they not are a good deal; I mean really, 25 cents for 3 hours is waaay cheap! Soon though, people will be able to talk to these parking meters in other ways. There are now parking meters with electronic chips in them that allow you to call the meter from your cell phone and buy more time.[1] I wonder if the grim reaper has heard of this!?!

     Currently, the parking meters at the University of California at Santa Barbara are part of a large network. To be added to this system will be smart chips that will allow the parking meters to communicate with each other and report to a web site. If you want to know where there is an open spot, simply access the website from your cell phone and violá, you know where to go. Soon, it is believed that the system will allow you to ask the meter to display a reserved sign for you that will theoretically hold the space for you for five minutes. Ones and zeros. That’s all there is to it.

     Gadgets with computer chips are making our lives better all the time. And these gadgets can keep us connected with each other and with our stuff. Swim goggles right can keep track of time and laps and display this information on the inside of the lenses. I have a friend who has a bath scale that can save the settings for two different people, and then tell those people their weight and the percentage of their weight that is body fat (too bad there’s not a way to eliminate some of those ones and zeros!). Runners watches can keep track of the time of each section of a course, as well as the total elapsed time of the whole run. Shipping crates can call their owners for help if they get lost. Some gas pumps are running Microsoft Windows® which allows you – in states where you can pump your own gas – to order coffee, download music into your MP3 player, and check traffic while you fill your tank. And all of this is by combinations of Ones and Zeros.

     Today, many advances in chip technology are all about communication. There is a system called Home Heartbeat™ that can monitor the systems in your home and let you know what’s going on. Wireless sensors check the pulse of your home, and no codes, no third party monitoring or complex manuals are required. Unlike a home s ecurity system, the Home Heartbeat™ system is there to guard against breakdowns. You just use the keychain-sized controller or your cell phone to see the current status of your house at a glance, no matter where you are. By text message, this system can alert you when your kids come home from school and when they turn on the TV.

     It seems that the Ones and Zeros in our gadgets are beginning to approach the kind of complex interconnectivity that makes up our world and our universe. Earth scientists and mathematicians have long known how immeasurably connected all things are to one another. In the esoteric field of Chaos Theory, this is best described as the “Butterfly Effect.” We all recognize that many things in our world and in our lives seem beyond our control. Sometimes we might feel that our world is more chaotic than organized. But experts in chaos theory say that that is just our inability to see the big picture. Even in chaos – even when things seem totally random and out of control – there are predictable patterns of interconnectivity between things that produce predictable outcomes. The “Butterfly effect” suggests that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings over Tokyo might create tiny changes in the atmosphere, which could over time cause a tornado to occur over Texas.[2] Chaos Theory seems to me to be the one field of endeavor that comes closest to grasping the complexity, breadth, and depth of God’s creative genius.

     Our reading from Proverbs this morning describes Wisdom as a flesh-and-blood woman who speaks directly to you and I about God’s desire that we stay connected to God through Wisdom. She walks the street and speaks her message at the busiest, most chaotic entrance to the city. And in the seeming chaos of day-to-day life Wisdom confronts and challenges us with simplicity itself: “ How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple?” She criticizes our tendency to focus on the small, grabbing at the easy answers and simple solutions. She challenges us to embrace the full complexity of the world that God has created. She wants us to plug ourselves into a network of people who seek to embrace the richness of God because it is in that community that we can connect with each other and with God. This kind connection moves us to think of community, not ourselves; of wholeness, not our separateness. It makes us see our part in the whole, big picture. It makes us see that we are each butterflies whose wings can have far reaching effects on our world and the lives of people we do not even know.

     This lies at the very heart of stewardship. A good steward recognizes that all that she has and all that she is is not really hers. Rather it is really part of a much larger entity – the Body of God. He realizes that for some very short period of time, certain resources of that body are within his control. Not forever, but just for a little while. That means that what is temporarily held is, well, temporary; not really hers at all, but just hers to manage for a while. The real owner of everything is God.

     Today we begin the fall stewardship drive. In the Narthex there are boxes with envelopes with your names on them. In those envelopes are several pieces of information. What your Vestry and Wardens want you to do is closely examine the gifts you have been given and then seriously consider giving back to your community in proportion to what you have received. I want to emphasize that what we are talking about here is proportional giving – giving back in relation to what you have been given in terms of your own time, talent, and treasure. Your vestry is committed to this, and they have signed a pledge to return to God a proportional amount of their own time, talent, and income for the work of God and the spread of God’s kingdom. A copy of their signed statement is enclosed in your packet. And lest you think that I am not as committed to this parish as I have always been I want to assure you that I will be continuing to honor my personal pledge to this parish even after I have moved.

     Last year we emphasized proportional giving and conducted a supplemental summer campaign drive. Together those programs increased our pledging by 11% over the previous year – which is truly remarkable. That kind of giving resulted in our church being able to continue its programs and operations without tapping the non-renewal savings accounts we previously referred to as the endowment. It also shows how much can be accomplished when we all move just a little bit toward seeing the whole picture instead of smaller more individual pictures.

     But in order to continue the growth of St. George’s, and to ensure that we can attract the very best rector candidates possible, we need to accelerate; not coast. In your packet you will find a blue brochure labeled “Imagine.” Inside that is information about how you can help to grow this parish, starting by looking into your own life and growing in ways that puts God first, that emphasizes prayer and study, and many ways to love yourself and your neighbor. There is a chart to help you take a bite-sized step to increase your financial giving by a small amount. With bite-sized steps we can all grow in God’s service.

     In the same brochure you will also see how you can take a Step of Faith. The steps of faith are based on the national average of giving of about 3% of income. This 3% level is considered foundational. If you have not yet reached the 3% level, we are asking that you consider this step to establish a foundation to build on as you grow in the grace of giving.

     Finally, in your packet you will find a brochure with a sunset. The brochure is entitled, “When you think of our church, ‘Imagine’.” And it basically asks the same question that Wisdom asked: “Can you imagine life without God, without community, without your church?” Your pledge card is inside that brochure. We want you to prayerfully consider your giving this year, and then make a thoughtful and reflective pledge for 2007.

     God wants us to be wise and connected. God also wants us to be committed. God wants is to be knowledgeable about God and the created world. And one way we can gain that wisdom is by gathering together in God’s presence week after week where we can all learn from one another; where we can serve as each other’s mentors, friends, parents, and teachers. Through Wisdom, God will pour out God’s thoughts to us.

     God will make God’s words known to us. God’s wisdom is not cryptic or secret. It is clear and available. But we need each other to help us hear, and be sure what we hear is God, and not just an echo of our own desires. That takes a community. That takes connection. That takes this community. Lady Wisdom wants us to listen to her and to each other. “Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof” – well then, Wisdom says, “I [simply] laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.”

     If we choose to stand alone, to stand still, we will be like a lone parking meter stuck in the concrete. We will receive only what happens to come our way, and we will be disconnected from the network around us. Our pattern of Ones and Zeros will remain just what it is.

     But, if we heed Lady Wisdom, our patterns will change, and we will grow. We will respond in keeping with the gifts we have received, and we will have become wise.

     Being wise and connected is not just going to be good for us. The twelfth Century Theologian Thomas Aquinas once said that the “search for wisdom is the most perfect; it is more sublime, more profitable, more full of joy.” So being wise can give us joy. We can be like the Celestron SkyScout telescope that uses its chip and global positioning technology to tell exactly what heavenly bodies it is focused on. Or like my new washing machine that senses how many clothes I put in and adjusts the water level accordingly. Or like the new microwave that reads the bar code from food packages, and downloads information in order to set the right time and power setting for cooking. It’s all in the Ones and Zeros.

     Being wise is being connected. And being connected means being a good steward. It means sharing your Ones and Zeros with faith and confidence that God will do so much more with our common gifts than we could possibly do alone in the service of God’s people and God’s creation.

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Proverbs 1:20-33

Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks: “How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded, and because you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when panic strikes you, when panic strikes you like a storm, and your calamity comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you. Then they will call upon me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but will not find me. Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD, would have none of my counsel, and despised all my reproof, therefore they shall eat the fruit of their way and be sated with their own devices. For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them; but those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease, without dread of disaster.”

Psalm 19:1-14

1 The heavens are telling the glory of God;
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

2 Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.

3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;

4 yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun,

5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them;
and nothing is hid from its heat.

7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul;
the decrees of the LORD are sure,
making wise the simple;

8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eyes;

9 the fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
the ordinances of the LORD are true
and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey,
and drippings of the ;honeycomb.

11 Moreover by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

12 But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.

13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
do not let them have dominion over me.
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable to you,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

James 3:1-12

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes. Anyone who makes no mistakes in speaking is perfect, able to keep the whole body in check with a bridle. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we guide their whole bodies. Or look at ships: though they are so large that it takes strong winds to drive them, yet they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. For every species of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no one can tame the tongue--a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers and sisters, yield olives, or a grapevine figs? No more can salt water yield fresh.

Mark 8:27-38

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?” And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life? Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Collect of the Day

O God, because without you we are not able to please you mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

[1] Timothy F. Merrill. “Smart Stuff.” Homiletics18(5):21-25, 2006.
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaos_theory

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Copyright © 2006, William G. Stroop - All Rights Reserved.
14 September 2006

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