The Wisdom of Encouragement

Some years back there was a entertaining movie by the name of Short Circuit in which a robot accidentally was subjected to a massive jolt of current and “came alive.”

The robot ran from here to there soaking up “input”, reading stacks of books at a glance, seeing and experiencing everything that it could, while eluding the authorities who wanted to shut it down or kill it.

“Need input” was the enlivened robot's continual refrain.

“Input” is accelerating today at a pace that none of us can manage.

There is so much information coming at us in print, video, email, instant messaging, twittering, “googling” and who knows what other kinds of
“-ings” will be next.

I heard yesterday that it is estimated that half of what college freshmen learn in technical courses will be out of date by the time they are juniors!

Information, information, piling up, spilling over, threatening to drown us in bits and bytes.

But wisdom... now that is a different matter.

There is lots and lots of information, but how much wisdom?

Wisdom may be in much shorter supply.

It takes time and reflection,

it takes thought and effort,

One of the assignments that we give catechetical students each year here at St. Mark's is to choose one of the saints, living on earth now or continuing in heaven, and to dig into the question of why we should remember this person.

What is so special about this person that you might want to know and to perhaps emulate in your life in some way.

Sometimes the students will actually struggle with the question and pick out a notable aspect of the person's life.

Too often, however, they will take the easy way out, quickly downloading something through Google, full of words that they don't know and can't define, write that they “like” the person and call the project “done”.

Information? Yes. Wisdom? Little.

No matter what field we consider, we need persons who will take the time to search out wisdom, glean out the chaff, and to share the wisdom with all who will listen.

I've always had the impression that Art has been one of those persons;

one who will look for what is true and good, and contend for it, cherish it, and share it.

And it starts at home:
Listen, children, to a father's instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, says the writer of Proverbs.

And I gather that there have been lots of vigorous conversations at home across the years.

What is truly important?

Where should one spend one's time?

About what, and whom, should you be passionate? and on and on.

I've only heard bits and pieces, second-hand, but I can imagine much more.

And it no doubt continued in all of the other venues throughout his life.

How few persons there are who get to share the joy they had playing in Little League with a career in the organization itself!

How many kids have benefited from the “uncles” who volunteer to offer the town's hospitality to teams from around the world,

showing them what is best in American life and steering them away from the poor choices and excesses.

How many persons have benefited from a kind smile and cogent answers to questions posed by puzzled visitors to the city who have wandered into the information center?

How many persons have benefited from gentle encouragement given by Art as they have struggled to understand the world of computers in the Senior-Net?

Let your heart hold fast to my words; keep my commandments, and live.

Get wisdom, get insight; do not forget or turn away, said the Proverbialist.

What is needed is not just information, but also insight into the power and proper uses of technology and all of that information.

How we need people like Art for that!

And what is the deeper purpose of theatre, but the search for wisdom;

for Art and Jane and others to insist on spending their time in its advancement, it must be more than ephemeral entertainment.

We know these things are true, and the writer of Proverbs has pointed in their direction, and he says yet one more thing:

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

Here we have arrived at the center around which all of these other bits of wisdom coalesce.

Honor and respect us due to God, and also a strong dose of plain fear;

we are not ourselves God, and cannot act as though we are.

So breathing both ordinary life and new life in Christ are God's good gifts to us,

which we can either use well or abuse, until that day when we return them to the God who made us and entrusted those gifts to our care.

We'll borrow the line from an excited salesman:

“But wait, there's still more...!”

God has announced that he is not done with us; his work continues until we are completely made-over and ready for the heavenly chorus.

No matter if our singing voice here has faltered, in heaven I'm sure we'll be singing Bach, perfectly, and loving it! ..whether or not you've sung it before.

Soli Deo gloria was Bach's motto;

“To God alone the glory”

It is our eternal refrain, and the goal of all of our work even now.

How can that be so?

Because our proper fear of a just God is tempered by the knowledge of a merciful God who reaches out to us in Holy Baptism with a promise

I will hold onto you,

I will be with you,

I will be Advocate for you

I will be your God and you shall be my possession, my instrument for praise and service, forever.

There is deepest wisdom, there is truth, there is a promise under which we can live, there is our commissioning so that we are not hiding ourselves away but are out there pitching!

On this earthly side of the communion banquet-table,

we'll miss so many things about Art as husband, father, and grandfather, co-worker and companion, student, athlete, mentor, and other roles.

We'll rejoice over the good gifts that he has passed on to us,

and sigh a bit over the contrary corners of his life as well.

We'll laugh and cry in remembrance...

... and also we'll laugh and cry in anticipation that God has gathered up everything that Art has been, and is using it to good effect in the fullness of the kingdom.

Since he has been an encourager all these years, we can imagine that God continues to keep him busy in that very way.

That's about Art; what about us?

Art the encourager is not available to us in the same old way.

So, who among us will discover that gift of God and take up the tasks that Art has laid down?

...for we surely need that gift and those persons.

“Input, input,” the robot in the movie exclaimed.

We need even more than mere input.

We need an encourager who will help us find wisdom for every facet of life in the midst of all of the information we're receiving.

Lord, thank you for Art.

Raise up many more to carry on his tasks.

Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.