sermon excerpts: "Knowing What We Know"

In the scripture from Matthew we hear the rumblings against John the Baptist, that because he didn’t eat or drink much of anything – apart from honey and locusts in the desert – he was possessed, unbalanced, and a lunatic. So when Jesus appears on the scene and actually does eat and drink, maybe goes up for second helpings, he comes under fire for being a glutton and pig.

So if we’re waiting for Sunday worship and church involvement to become mainstream and popular again with society, these verses suggest even that would not make a difference. People will always find something to find fault with anything of value, although not without consequence....

It is said that true wisdom is knowing how little we know. Jesus goes so far as to offer a unique prayer that seems to give thanks for the confusion and dull-mindedness of his followers. He praises that the learned and wise do not have the answers, that truth lies with children.

Children live with wonder, with open minds and vivid imaginations. These are the qualities that Christ wanted his followers to embrace and adopt. Children are ready to learn because everything is a new and valuable experience. Even though we know that answers are fleeting, human knowledge is flawed and that there will always be more questions.

... We all know how unpredictable life can be. We all know that we don’t know how our day will turn out. Sure, we can make pretty accurate guesses based on our past patterns and our established plans. We don’t know for sure exactly where we’ll be or what we’ll be doing this afternoon.

As the disciples of Jesus kept learning, a life in Christ is no assurance of answers or benefit or blessing in the way that we can understand. We can ask God for signs, for some hint of a plan or attempt to make sense of things, but we likely won’t understand or appreciate the bigger picture. Because often we’re asking our questions centered on a very small part of creation, a single person maybe or small community. Even the wisest and most learned of scholars cannot untangle all the connections that we have through time and space through families, friends and chance acquaintances.

The lesson concludes with the promise of Jesus that there is rest, that burdens will be eased and that loads will be lightened. In him, we do not face life alone but are teamed with a spirit of care and compassion, a source of strength and guidance that walks with us as a partner in life. This is what we know, this is what our faith tells us.

Still there is much that is kept from us. As Jesus mentioned, it is the infants and children that have knowledge of God and spiritual matters. Children know a lot. They sleep when they’re tired, they eat when they’re hungry and they know if they are in a good place or not. By being so connected to the simple needs of their lives, they are connected to God’s spirit. These are things that we do not do as well when we get older. We have other priorities to tend to, we push and extend our limits. (This says the guy who stayed up too late last night and woke up too early this morning).

So what is the church doing? How will it be able to share what it knows? How can we offer a lighter yoke, a place of genuine rest and restoration? How might we truly to be an expression of Sabbath in our topsy-turvy world? These might be some of those that things that are known unknowns.

Maybe we don’t have the words to explain this vision of our faith community. Yes, we have mission statements that are corporate expressions of who we are, but they’re often wordy and hard to remember or share with others. Maybe it is turning to our children and seeking their knowledge to shape our time together.

Former US Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, followed up his now-famous comments about what is known and unknown to the government, the very next day: “I believe what I said yesterday. I don't know what I said, but I know what I think... and I assume it's what I said.” Here’s hoping that we know more than that.