In Praise of Folly

 

In Praise of Folly

A sermon by Brent J. Eelman

 

Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15

 

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of King Zedekiah of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar. At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and the prophet Jeremiah was confined in the court of the guard that was in the palace of the king of Judah,  where King Zedekiah of Judah had confined him. 

 

Jeremiah said, The word of the Lord came to me: Hanamel son of your uncle Shallum is going to come to you and say, "Buy my field that is at Anathoth, for the right of redemption by purchase is yours."  Then my cousin Hanamel came to me in the court of the guard, in accordance with the word of the Lord, and said to me, "Buy my field that is at Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, for the right of possession and redemption is yours; buy it for yourself." Then I knew that this was the word of the Lord.  And I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel, and weighed out the money to him, seventeen shekels of silver.  I signed the deed, sealed it, got witnesses, and weighed the money on scales. Then I took the sealed deed of purchase, containing the terms and conditions, and the open copy;  and I gave the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel, in the presence of the witnesses who signed the deed of purchase, and in the presence of all the Judeans who were sitting in the court of the guard. In their presence I charged Baruch, saying,  Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these deeds, both this sealed deed of purchase and this open deed, and put them in an earthenware jar, in order that they may last for a long time.  For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.

 

 

1 Corinthians 1: 18–25

 

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
    and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of the proclamation, to save those who believe.  For Jews ask for signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. 

The title of this message is not mine, but was coined by the 16^th century Dutch philosopher, Erasmus.  It was a satirical essay that he wrote attacking the superstitions and traditions that plagued Europe. These traditions were particularly present in the Catholic church.  Erasmus never intended it to be an iconic masterpiece, but it became just that, and was one of the philosophical works pointing to the Reformation.  I confess that this message is not a philosophical masterpiece, but Erasmus’ title did fit the message….. and so I borrowed it. 

 

Folly or foolishness is often seen as the realm of children, adolescents, and those who never mature.  Our puritan ancestors certainly eschewed all things foolish.   But, I believe, there is value in foolishness and the world we inhabit could benefit from some.

Foolishness was valued by previous generations. In the royal courts of many realms, there was a fool or joker who was present in the halls of power.  He had the ear of the royalty, and his antics were a reminder that those in power can take themselves too seriously…. Humor has a way of reminding us of our humanity and limitations. 

 

My wife, Karen, an elementary school teacher, used to dread April 1^st… April Fool’s Day.  The practical jokes and the silliness of the day often got old quickly.  But there is one strand of thought that believes that April Fool’s Day had theological origins.  It was a way of celebrating the teachings of Jesus that the “first shall be last.”  The prophet, Isaiah declared, “A child shall lead them….”  Consequently a child was placed upon the throne, and the king and queen became beggars.  It was a great reversal. Foolishness ruled the day.  

 

Paul, in his letter to the church at Corinth made an astonishing statement.  He asserted that the Christian faith he espoused was utter foolishness to the sophisticated and knowledgeable people of the world. 

“…we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to gentiles…”.  (Greeks)

In some ways, not much has changed.  Modern sophisticates politely sneer at the foolishness of present-day followers of Jesus.  How do we respond?  We often get involved in apologetics, spending time arguing for the reasonableness of faith and our beliefs.  That is a good thing…. But I believe that we also need to recover our rich tradition of foolishness.  

 

Many of the early Christians were called “holy fools” because of their willingness to share their belongings, often divesting themselves of all wealth to help those who were in need.  Holy fools!  But this tradition of holy foolishness had its roots in the Old Testament prophets.  They made “foolish gestures” to communicate the love and faithfulness of God for God’s people. 

·      The prophet Hosea married Gomer, a harlot, to show God’s covenant love and faithfulness to an unfaithful people. 

·      Isaiah walked around naked and barefoot for about three years, predicting a forthcoming captivity in Egypt.

·      Jeremiah could be seen walking around Judah with the yoke of an ox around his neck, symbolizing the upcoming captivity at the hands of the Babylonians. 

 

This morning I would like to spend some time with the foolish prophet Jeremiah. Sometimes things are not what they seem.  Jeremiah was the prototype for the “prophet of doom.”  Yet I (with others) find him, along with Isaiah, to be one of the most hopeful of the biblical prophets.  The narrative that I read from his prophecy, on one level, is a foolish tale.  But it is also a message of hope to a world that was coming apart… a world that was divided.  

 

3 points:  First, the historic setting of Jeremiah’s land purchase.  Second, the foolishness of faith.  Third, some investment advice. 

I

 

“A fool and his money are soon parted.”   It is a well-known 16^th century proverb, first penned by Thomas Tusser, a British poet and farmer.  “A fool and his money are soon parted.”  It could well have been written about the prophet Jeremiah and the land he purchased.  Anyone who observed it would have rightfully commented that Jeremiah was acting like a fool.  Sure, God told him to do it, but maybe he didn’t hear God correctly.  He paid full price for a field while in the distance the conquering army from Babylon held the country in siege.  He received his deed for the land, but in truth, the deed was absolutely worthless, because the land was about to be conquered and taken by the Babylonians.  A fool and his money are soon parted.  Jeremiah certainly appears foolish, but let’s take a closer look.

 

The text the picture quite well.  It was the tenth year of Zedekiah the king of Judah.  Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon was in his 18^th year of reign and was building an empire.  The Northern Kingdom of Israel was long over-run and now Nebucadrezzar’s troops were laying siege to the capital of Judah, Jerusalem.  It was only a matter of time.  Sooner or later the siege would tighten and Judah would capitulate and become part of the Babylonian Empire.  This could very well be the end of the story.  The Hebrew Bible could end with the conquest of Judah, and the subsequent captivity of the Hebrew People. 

 

Jeremiah was in jail during this time.  Why?  He was never one to bite his tongue and he said some things that offended the king.  Jeremiah challenged the values of the royal family.  In the name of God, he condemned a nation that didn’t take care of its widows and orphans.  He condemned the priests and the established religion of his day, saying that it was more concerned with externals and looking good than worshipping God and, most importantly, fostering justice. //  It was the truth, but do people really want the truth?   Paraphrasing the movie “A Few Good Men,”  “We can’t (often) handle the truth!”

 

Prophecy was a tradition in Israel and Judah.  The prophet (like the medieval fool) had the ear of the king and would speak God’s word to the king.  Often that word would be troubling. 

·      You will recall when Nathan went to David and accused him of being a murderer and an adulterer. 

·      Amos challenged the leadership of the kings who concerned themselves with luxury while the dispossessed were ignored. 

Jeremiah was part of this great prophetic tradition, but apparently the King didn’t like what he was saying, so he found a prophet (Hananiah) who preached a message that the King liked. (There are always preachers who hew the party line and pander to people, saying what they want to hear.)  Jeremiah didn’t and consequently he ended up in jail.

 

Things were coming to a head and Judah was about to be conquered.  Judah would become part of the Babylonian Empire.  The land would be owned by Babylonians and would be exploited to feed their nation.  Thousands of educated Jews would be carted off to Babylon in captivity so that they could not foment a rebellion.  It was the beginning of the end for Judah and everyone knew it. 

 

I am assuming that the people acted in typical ways:  hiding the things that were valuable to them, and making provisions so that they might possibly survive.  That is the sensible thing to do when you are about to be occupied by a foreign power….  What did Jeremiah do?  He purchased a field from his cousin: a field that in a few days would be owned by the Babylonians.  Did he get a bargain?  No.  He paid the full price.  What a fool. 

 

 It seems to me the last thing that you want to do when the world is collapsing around you is to buy a field.  What was Jeremiah thinking?  What a fool!  What motivated him to buy land that would soon be worthless?  

 

He was motivated by faith.  He was motivated by the belief that “houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land.”

II

The foolishness of faith! The absurdity of hope!

On one level, this is a very silly story and might well illustrate the maxim that a fool is soon parted from his money.  But we do not perceive this story merely from the perspective of a financial investment.  We hear this story from the perspective of faith.  This foolish act was a symbol of hope built upon a foundation of belief.  

 

Here is the irony of this story.  Jeremiah was not a very positive individual.  He was one of those disturbing preachers that we sometimes complain about, always talking about sin, things that are wrong, and problems in the world.  He didn’t back down from political controversy and that is what got him in jail.  And here is the worst thing:  instead of affirming his people and telling them things that would make them feel good about themselves and the world, he had temerity to preach the message that God wanted them to change how they were living. Change??!!  Jeremiah was not a popular preacher with a positive message.  No. 

 

That was why his land purchase was so amazing.  His message of doom and gloom was exactly right.  It was the truth… but there was also another message of truth, and that was, even in the midst of all the destruction and turmoil.. God was still God.  In God’s time the land, that was about to be over-run, would once again be tilled to feed God’s people.  People would once again build homes and raise families there.  Jeremiah bought the field as a powerful message of faith to his people….

”This land is still God’s promised land.”

On one level it seemed like a foolish act.  But from the perspective of history, it was an act of faith that has been proven right.

III

 Jeremiah’s purchase of the field was also bold.  It was a bold declaration of hope in the future, when the world appeared to be falling apart.  That is the nature of faith.  It is bold.  It is this boldness that is often mistaken for foolishness.   Purchasing real estate while your country is being invaded appeared foolish, but it wasn’t… it was a bold statement about the future.  Think about it, this prophet, who heretofore had nothing but doom and gloom to proclaim, was able to see beyond the momentary crisis, and by his actions he communicated that the future would be good.

 

Our world today needs foolish Christians.  It needs bold women and men of faith.   You and I read the newspapers.  We hear the news.  There are no shortage of whiners, complainers, and chicken-littles who are dominating the public discourse.   That is not what this world needs. 

·      This world needs women and men of faith, who dare to appear foolish.

·      This world needs women and men of faith who are realistic about the present, yet hopeful about the future.

·      This world needs women and men of faith who will are willing to invest in the future, because they believe that the future is ultimately in the hands of God and it is good.  

 

Jeremiah teaches us in this story that faith calls us to invest,  not merely our resources, but our whole being, believing against all belief, that this world is God’s and the future is good.  God will redeem God’s creation.  This may be folly but it is also bold faith.  History has ultimately shown us that Jeremiah’s investment bore fruit.  Houses and fields and vineyards were again bought in the land. 

 

This text challenges us. Are you willing to believe in the face of all the evidence to the contrary, that God’s future for this world is good?  Are you willing to invest in that future?  Now? Amen.