Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 20, September 22, 2024: Proverbs 31:10-31; Psalm 1; James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a; Mark 9:30-37
Today’s reading from Proverbs is one of the ones which makes me want to respond with various snarky comments. A “capable wife” is “more precious than jewels”. No kidding, I want to say. As Proverbs continues with a list of all she does, up at dawn and working into the night, buying land, producing goods, I want to take a nap. She is endlessly industrious, for the good of the family. She is generous to the poor. She is working hard so that her husband can be “known in the city gates, taking his seat among the elders of the land”. He can do so because of her work. But then towards the end of all this busy-ness and activity, comes this: “She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue”. Somewhere in all this activity she finds wisdom and kindness.
We do not often see wisdom linked with kindness: when we talk about wise people they know a great deal, but we do not often reflect on how they treat others, or the values that are part of their wisdom. But James is on the same page as the writer of Proverbs as he admonishes his readers to , “show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom”. James knows that this is counter to wordly wisdom: the conflicts he sees come from “envy and ambition”, from covetousness and greed.
James knows that turning away from such ambitions is a challenge; it was as counter-cultural in the first century as it is in the twenty-first. As if to remind us just how hard it is to get out of that ambition/competition mindset, today we have the account of the disciples arguing with each other as to which of them was the greatest. This, as Jesus is trying to explain that he will be killed and will rise again after three days. Jesus slaps them down, telling them that “whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all”. In welcoming a little child, Jesus continues, they will be welcoming him, and welcoming God.
I’ve been puzzling over that: why is welcoming a little child so important? Little children are needy, and can’t care for themselves. Because of their needs, the presence of children makes it difficult to plan, as parents can all attest. So maybe the magic of welcoming children in Jesus name is welcoming the ways we are not fully in control.
If we are honest, it is almost impossible to let go of all the cultural messages we receive about status, money and possessions. I certainly have not done so! But we can work to keep them from governing all our actions. The disciples, after all, ended up traveling long distances to preach the gospel, and faced terrible deaths. We don’t have to be so extreme, but the little children are a big help. By accepting their unpredictable and often immediate needs, we can cultivate wisdom shaped by kindness and gentleness.