SERVICE IN CARLOPS CHURCH
18 September 2018

 KEVIN SCOTT

PASSING OUR PLANET ON: GOD’S GIFT TO US

Introduction

Throughout September Christians around the world will unite to pray and focus on Creation. Within the Church of Scotland this year the theme is:

“Passing our Planet on: God’s gift to us.

It reflects on our planet passing from one generation to the next – and focusses on the gifts given to us by God to support and guide us in our care for His creation.

And within this overall theme – this week we will specifically consider Wisdom – and our passing on of the gift of Wisdom.

But in a wider sense this Season of Creation is a particular opportunity for us all to worship the Creator and maybe personally address the protection of the gift of Creation. Christians of all denominations, from remote mountain villages in Peru to busy streets in the Philippines, will unite to pray and act for this our home.

So during this time – we can join together with them to give thanks for the gift of Creation and reflect on how we care for it. It offers us an opportunity to pause in the midst of our own lives and think about the fabric of life into which we are all intricately woven.

Readings

Psalm 19

God’s Glory in Creation

19 How clearly the sky reveals God’s glory!
    How plainly it shows what he has done!
² Each day announces it to the following day;
    each night repeats it to the next.
³ No speech or words are used,
    no sound is heard;
⁴ yet their message^[b] goes out to all the world
    and is heard to the ends of the earth.
God made a home in the sky for the sun;
⁵     it comes out in the morning like a happy bridegroom,
    like an athlete eager to run a race.
⁶ It starts at one end of the sky
    and goes across to the other.
    Nothing can hide from its heat.

The Law of the Lord

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect;
    it gives new strength.
The commands of the Lord are trustworthy,
    giving wisdom to those who lack it.
⁸ The laws of the Lord are right,
    and those who obey them are happy.
The commands of the Lord are just
    and give understanding to the mind.
⁹ Reverence for the Lord is good;
    it will continue forever.
The judgments of the Lord are just;
    they are always fair.
¹⁰ They are more desirable than the finest gold;
    they are sweeter than the purest honey.
¹¹ They give knowledge to me, your servant;
    I am rewarded for obeying them.

¹² None of us can see our own errors;
    deliver me, Lord, from hidden faults!
¹³ Keep me safe, also, from wilful sins;
    don’t let them rule over me.
Then I shall be perfect
    and free from the evil of sin.

¹⁴ May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to you,
    O Lord, my refuge and my redeemer!

Proverbs 1: 20 -33

Wisdom Calls

²⁰ Listen! Wisdom is calling out in the streets and marketplaces, ²¹ calling loudly at the city gates and wherever people come together:

²² “Foolish people! How long do you want to be foolish? How long will you enjoy making fun of knowledge? Will you never learn? ²³ Listen when I reprimand you; I will give you good advice and share my knowledge with you. ²⁴ I have been calling you, inviting you to come, but you would not listen. You paid no attention to me. ²⁵ You have ignored all my advice and have not been willing to let me correct you. ²⁶ So when you get into trouble, I will laugh at you. I will make fun of you when terror strikes— ²⁷ when it comes on you like a storm, bringing fierce winds of trouble, and you are in pain and misery. ²⁸ Then you will call for wisdom, but I will not answer. You may look for me everywhere, but you will not find me. ²⁹ You have never had any use for knowledge and have always refused to obey the Lord. ³⁰ You have never wanted my advice or paid any attention when I corrected you. ³¹ So then, you will get what you deserve, and your own actions will make you sick. ³² Inexperienced people die because they reject wisdom. Stupid people are destroyed by their own lack of concern. ³³ But whoever listens to me will have security. He will be safe, with no reason to be afraid.”

Reflection

Proverbs 4:5-9 (New Living Translation)

⁵ Get wisdom; develop good judgment.
    Don’t forget my words or turn away from them.
⁶ Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you.
    Love her, and she will guard you.
⁷ Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!
    And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.
⁸ If you prize wisdom, she will make you great.
    Embrace her, and she will honour you.
⁹ She will place a lovely wreath on your head;
    she will present you with a beautiful crown.”

Wisdom – the precious gift of wisdom.

For everyone – but for Christians in particular – wisdom – is absolutely foundational – and we should have no excuse for not pursuing wisdom.

God, in His word, is unequivocally clear about the importance – to us – of wisdom.

We should “get wisdom.”  For Godly wisdom will protect us and guard us. Wisdom will honour us – presenting us with a beautiful crown.

And in the getting of wisdom we should – simply – shape our efforts to become wiser tomorrow than we are today.

Which doesn’t sound too difficult if you say it quickly – wiser tomorrow than we are today.

But to be wiser tomorrow than we are today we have to seek knowledge – and then we must gain an understanding of that acquired knowledge – and then – putting those two together – we must know what to do next.

In preparing for today I’ve had this picture of our lives as a continual process of learning – which they are – and of our individual lives being built on a foundation of bricks of knowledge – built on the facts – basic building blocks.

Proverbs 18:15 tells us:

¹⁵ Intelligent people are always eager and ready to learn.

But – if we just have knowledge alone – then the bricks we’ve acquired will be un-cemented – and very wobbly – they will not be a firm foundation for our lives.

So in continually seeking knowledge we have to also match this with also getting the required understanding to go along with the knowledge – making sure we have the ability to translate real meaning from the facts we acquire.

Again scripture guides us – in Psalm 119:130 

¹³⁰ The explanation of your teachings gives light
    and brings wisdom to the ignorant.

So these two together – knowledge and understanding – should give us a firm foundation for our lives.

But if – having acquired knowledge and understanding – we then want to move forward in our lives – to take positive steps – to be active – to take action – whatever it might be – we also need the final – crucial – gift of wisdom – the knowing what to do next – the knowing what to do next with a clear understanding of the facts and circumstances.

Ecclesiastes 8:1 

8 Only the wise know what things really mean. Wisdom makes them smile and makes their frowns disappear.

And also on this theme – Charles Spurgeon – the 19^th Century English Baptist preacher – wrote:

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge.

To know is not to be wise.

Many men know a great deal, and are all the greater fools for it. There is no fool so great a fool as a knowing fool.

But to know how to use knowledge is to have wisdom.

As I think I may have mentioned before I used to be a scientist – I am no longer – and haven’t been for some time – but my basic training – my trade if you like – was in the acquisition, understanding and application of knowledge. I studied for 4 years at Edinburgh University in Biological Sciences and then worked for 6 years as a junior research scientist.

And while the application of science isn’t front and centre in my life any more – the embedded nature of these truths still resonate profoundly within me.

I value knowledge – it’s a treasure – I enjoy looking at and trying to understand the evidence that substantiates the knowledge in front of me – to make sense out of new experiences and new information that is presented to me – and I am increasingly careful about not taking everything I see at face value.

It’s just part of what I am.

So much so that 20 years ago at the end of the 2^nd Alpha Course I’d attended – when I accepted the offer to receive prayer – for the very first time – I believe God applied what he – obviously – knew about me to that situation. And He provided me with evidence – or cementing understanding – to go along with knowledge.

I sat down and the Minister and one of the Course leaders laid their hands on my shoulders and started to pray for me. I remember a wonderful sensation of peace but then realised that I was sitting with my hands just resting on the outside of each leg – and I thought – being very new to all this – if they’re praying for me maybe I’m supposed to have my hands together – it just seemed to me at the time that it was the right thing to do with a prayer – even though I was the one who was being prayed for.

So my brain sent an instruction to my hands to move together – in prayer.

And I couldn’t – my hands would not move – I could not physically make them move together.

When the prayer was finished I didn’t say anything to Victor and Colin but I knew – that for me – something very profound had happened.

I guess you might say that it made no sense – that there was no way of explaining what had just happened – or not happened – but I believe that God helpfully provided me with the ‘evidence’ He knew I would probably need to take the next step with Him.

I’d received all the knowledge I needed during the Alpha course itself – but to take that next step I was going to need something more tangible – that was who I was – that was the way I was made – something that would allow me to understand the knowledge from a different perspective – and propel me forward.

The knowledge I’d received was all fine – it all made sense to me – but without this final piece of personal understanding – this personal evidence for the reality of God – my blocks of knowledge would have been un-cemented and very insecure.

In that precise moment – my blocks of knowledge were cemented – very firmly – and I immediately knew that God was real – and my life took a new and exciting path.

So that cemented belief in my God is foundational for me – it’s what I always come back to if life turns into a bit of a struggle – and when I get there – I place my feet firmly on that foundation – steady myself – and then go again.

And with God as my sure foundation I am a pretty hopeful person – but I do have to admit that – while trusting God – I find the times that we’re currently living through sometimes troubling.

Times where – if the accepted world view – if the established knowledge and understanding – doesn’t match with that of some of our leaders – it is somehow deemed to be fake.

Just because it doesn’t fit with their particular view or their particular agenda.

Times where – even our own politicians can casually dismiss the value of experts – dismiss the value of carefully – thoughtfully – acquired knowledge and understanding.

Suggesting that we’re as well just to trust our own individual judgement.

Times where – the overwhelming body of evidence for the damage that man has wrecked and is wrecking on God’s Earth – is often treated with outright scepticism and even casual apathy.

The earth is God’s creation – a wonderful and glorious creation.

We’re partly reminded of this in the first part of our reading from Psalm 19 today:

19 How clearly the sky reveals God’s glory!
    How plainly it shows what he has done!
² Each day announces it to the following day;
    each night repeats it to the next.
³ No speech or words are used,
    no sound is heard;
⁴ yet their message^[b] goes out to all the world
    and is heard to the ends of the earth.

The passing of each day – and the glory of the sky as it wraps its arms around the earth – should plainly remind us of the glory of the creation that God wrought for us.

And God called us to – take charge of Creation – to be responsible.

Genesis 1: 28 (The Message)

God blessed them:
        “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge!
    Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air,
        for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth.”

God called us – to be stewards of His creation.

And yet – unless you’re a denier of climate change and are blind to man’s pillaging of the earth – its wildlife and its resources – our stewardship does not look great.

Do we lack knowledge? – do we lack understanding? – do we lack wisdom?

Our second reading today from the 1^st chapter of the book of Proverbs cautions us:

Proverbs 1: 20 – 24

Wisdom Calls

²⁰ Listen! Wisdom is calling out in the streets and marketplaces, ²¹ calling loudly at the city gates and wherever people come together:

²² “Foolish people! How long do you want to be foolish? How long will you enjoy making fun of knowledge? Will you never learn? ²³ Listen when I reprimand you; I will give you good advice and share my knowledge with you. ²⁴ I have been calling you, inviting you to come, but you would not listen. You paid no attention to me. 

Wisdom calls out – loudly and clearly – here – in biblical times – in the streets and marketplaces and at the City gates – those particular places where people met to talk and to gather information.

Wisdom still calls to us today – loudly – in many different ways – through many different channels of information – we have absolutely no excuse – for not listening – and for not hearing Her.

And in the context of God’s creation in particular – Wisdom is out there still – exhorting us not to be foolish – still giving us good advice – still sharing Her knowledge – but do we pay attention?

Do we pay the attention that Wisdom deserves?

Elsewhere in this passage

At verse 25:

²⁵ You have ignored all my advice and have not been willing to let me correct you. 

And again at verse 29:

 ²⁹ You have never had any use for knowledge and have always refused to obey the Lord. ³⁰ You have never wanted my advice or paid any attention when I corrected you. ³¹ So then, you will get what you deserve, and your own actions will make you sick. ³² Inexperienced people die because they reject wisdom. Stupid people are destroyed by their own lack of concern. ³³ But whoever listens to me will have security. He will be safe, with no reason to be afraid.”

We ignore Wisdom – by choice or by indolence – at our peril – at the peril of the Earth – at the peril of the legacy we leave behind for our children and our grandchildren – and all those to follow.

Clearly – as we are warned in this passage – we cannot live foolishly forever without reaping disaster – and when the inevitable disaster comes – it will be too late to backtrack.

The threat of climate change – is real – backed by extensive – detailed – science.

Pleading ignorance is no defence: Wisdom’s voice still carries to us – strongly and clearly – just like that of the market trader!

So if we ignore Her voice – amid the busyness of life – or just shrug our shoulders with indifference – then we will reap the consequences – but reap them for our children – our grandchildren – and our great grandchildren.

But if we listen – if we embrace Wisdom – if we acknowledge the reality of the plight of the earth – if we access and accept the knowledge and understanding that is so freely available to us – and embrace Wisdom – and take our own positive steps to address these wrongs – Wisdom will bless our endeavours.

But this is something that you all understand and which you have actively embraced – as the first Church to receive the Eco-Congregation Scotland Gold Award – I believe this may be known in the trade as ‘preaching to the converted’!

I noted that back near the start of your journey you selected – The Power of Small Choices – as the theme for your 2^nd Eco Service.  Where you reflected on small actions that could be taken privately and individually but which – when added together could lead to significant change.

Because the scale of the global challenge appears so daunting that the majority of people just shrug and leave the action up to the Council – or the Government – or some Global organisation – because any individual change that they might make appears so insignificant as to make no difference.

But the truth is – as you all know – is we can all make a difference – and that difference should – and must – start with us as individuals.

And Wisdom demands it.

So this is Wisdom – that we would take the knowledge and understanding we’ve been provided with – and apply it here – to this situation – apply it to our acting as true Stewards of God’s Creation.

And while – this may be one specific – and very important – example of Wisdom – it is clearly not the only Wisdom that we’ve received – that we hold – individually – and collectively – within us.

Our congregations may not – at the moment – contain as many youngsters and children as they should – but – amongst the many other gifts that we do collectively hold – our years have surely blessed us with a treasure store – full of Godly Wisdom.

And this Wisdom has value – precious value – often hard learnt – and wrought from sometimes difficult and costly experience – but precious – with a real and practical day-to-day value.

It might not seem special to us – because to us – it’s just us – but nevertheless it is treasure – priceless treasure.

A treasure not to be stored up and unwittingly coveted – but to be shared – with whoever has need for it – and ears ready and willing to receive it – whatever their age – but particularly to be shared with those with less experience of the world around them.

So as we think a bit more directly this month about passing our planet on to the generations that will follow us let’s ensure we also – thoughtfully and prayerfully – reflect on the precious gift of Wisdom – and be open to every opportunity God presents us – to pass it on!