The Foolishness of What We Preach

by Robert Hamerton-Kelly

"For since in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of what we preach to save those who believe."

-- 1 Corinthians 1:25

I return again and again to this paradoxical passage of Paul’s, especially when I must preach but don’t know what to say. I cannot ignore the horrible conflict between the Arabs and the Jews in Palestine/Israel, but what more might one say than has already been said? The wisdom of the world has been lavished on the problem but in vain. It seems to me that the rebuff of Secretary Powell and the humiliation of President Bush by the Jewish leadership, along with the precisely timed recent terrorist act by the Arab side, expel the last hope of a civilized settlement, remove all middle ground, and leave only the struggle to the death between two blind and terrified adversaries.  Since we must not ignore this great event of our history, must not avert our eyes from the ugly sinfulness of it all, what shall we preach about today?

I have invited Kathleen Namphy from the Stanford English Faculty, who leaves tomorrow for the West Bank with a group of Christians to help as they can, to talk to us briefly here in the Sanctuary after this brief sermon, and to be available for a longer communication in the Guild Hall after worship. She has lived and worked in those lands and knows Palestinians by name. She and I have known each other for many years, and I have long been in awe of her deep Christian devotion and selfless service to the students of Stanford.

She will tell you of facts and events, but what shall I tell you? I shall tell you of the foolishness and weakness of the Cross, which Paul claims is wiser than the world’s wisdom and stronger than the world’s strength. The message of the Cross of Jesus Christ, he says, is more profound than the formulations of the diplomats and more powerful than the tanks of the generals. If this is so why do I feel foolish right now?

Firstly, I feel foolish for reasons extrinsic to the nature of the divine wisdom itself, but nevertheless currently more humiliating than usual, namely the disgrace of the Christian clergy spread across the front pages with evident relish. It is a sad record of human failure but I do not believe it warrants relentless exposure. It seems as if the world in its moment of extreme need is bent on destroying its own best hope, its own spiritual resources. When humanity determines to wound itself it does so ruthlessly, emasculating all sources of spiritual solace and choosing resolutely the way of war. It’s not as if there has not been corruption hampering all our spiritual institutions all along, - not to mention other institutions, like business, the markets and the accountants pledged to morality and probity - but now in our time of deepest spiritual need there are forces relentless in their demand that the church be humiliated.

Secondly, I feel foolish because of the long disunity and rivalry of the different denominations that make up the universal church. How can we act as peacemakers who are ourselves at war with one another? I’m told that Eisenhower’s Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, who was an active Presbyterian layman, once said of the Middle East, “What those Jews and Arabs need is to be more Christian!” I wish that were a solution, even in its fatuity, but if they were more Christian they might be more contentious than they are.

Nevertheless, I must preach the message of the Cross, which Paul ironically calls the foolishness of God. Last week the NYT published the suicide letter of a man named Baxter who took his own life rather than face the consequences of the Enron scandal in which he was involved. It said to his wife basically, “I love you. Please forgive me. The pain is unendurable.” Oddly, perhaps, it reminded me of the advice John Wesley gave to his early Methodist preachers, “Preach every sermon as if it were your last.” I take that to mean that every sermon should be a farewell note saying what is most important for me to leave with you. If this were the last communication I were to make in this world what would I say? In that spirit let me say that the sum of the wisdom I have gained in this life so far is the same as Paul the Apostle sets forth here: “Jesus is the Christ; he has gone through all the sufferings the human race is heir to and has transformed them into peace and joy by his Resurrection. Jesus crucified and risen is the wisdom and power of God. Faith in him is the key to all goodness, beauty and truth.” Now you know the only important thing I have to say, but how might we apply it to our present need?

As we believe this more and more we enter more and more into that new order of God, which seems foolish because it can only be appropriated by faith but this divine foolishness is wiser than all of human wisdom, and stronger than all of human strength. The question is how to draw upon that wisdom in our present crisis, and to that question I have no answer, I need your help. So let’s try to think how we might apply the foolishness of God, which is the deep wisdom of peace, to check human wisdom, which is the shallow wisdom of war.

How to translate such faith into action is the work of a lifetime, and of every day. Here are some suggestions (They are suggestions not directives; we need to think together about these things): It seems evident to me that the USA must change its policy towards the state of Israel to a more even-handed approach in the region. I am ashamed of how Sharon, whom I regard as a cruel bigot and a reckless gambler, is leading the USA around by the nose. He insults our President, colonizes our Congress, and uses our weapons to murder civilians, and we simply swallow the insults and allow ourselves to be used. It makes me embarrassed to be an American. Let’s write to our Congresspersons urging a new Israel policy. Let’s do what we can to make the media more honest. On the day that 200 Arabs were killed by the Israeli Defense Forces in Jenin the headlines in the NYT were, “13 Israeli Soldiers Killed!” I remember such headlines from my growing up days in Apartheid South Africa. In fact much about current Israel reminds me of the old racist South Africa. Thirdly, Kathleen has chosen to go there to do what she can. We cannot do that, so what shall we do? As I asked you last week, so I ask you again, please put the Arabs and the Jews of Palestine/Israel at the top of your daily prayer list, and now add Kathleen and her group of Christians who are going there to do what the Holy Spirit shows them to do, to bring the wisdom of the Cross and the power of the Resurrection into a situation shaped by sin. May they recognize the risen Christ as they break bread, pour drink, bandage wounds, comfort and caress the least of his brothers and sisters. And may we too find the way of the Spirit for us in our own places in these especially demanding times.