Trinity 14
Text: Proverbs 4:10-23
+INJ+
The popular song “Life is a Highway” was first published in 1991 (at least it was popular in the house I grew up in). The songwriter was not Rascal Flatts, who made a cover of the song for the popular kids’ movie Cars, but the Canadian Tom Cochrane.
When reflecting on the song's meaning, Cochrane reminisced that he had just returned from a famine relief trip to Africa. He was trying to make sense of the turmoil and poverty he encountered but also giving himself a “pep talk…saying you can’t really control all of this stuff; you just do the best you can.”
Certainly, one can relate to Cochrane's words. But what happens when your best isn’t good enough? What happens when the road and highway of life lead you down a path of sin, or when illness strikes and leaves you on the side of the road as the Lepers in today’s Gospel, forcing you to wait to get back on the free-flowing path of life?
These are tough questions for man. But there is also cause for us to reflect on the path of life, what it is truly, and how we ensure we don’t simply throw caution into the wind and hope for the best.
For this reason, we will mainly focus on the Old Testament reading from the book of Proverbs this morning.
The words of Solomon reintroduce a metaphor for life as a path or, as the song I first mentioned, a highway. It’s in the construct of a father leading his son down the path of wisdom. (Concordia Commentary, 141) Solomon writes,
Hear, my son, and accept my words,
that the years of your life may be many.
I have taught you the way of wisdom;
I have led you in the paths of uprightness.
When you walk, your step will not be hampered,
and if you run, you will not stumble.
Keep hold of instruction; do not let go;
guard her, for she is your life.
Alright, so what is the wisdom being taught and given to the son?
Well, Proverbs chapter 2 can help us with this as Solomon wrote,
“For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
The world we live and breathe equates wisdom with human knowledge meant to be gained and mastered through the art of education, much like the knowledge one gains from reading a history book or learning fractions.
However, the wisdom that will lead Solomon’s son and you down the path of life without being hampered is the wisdom that comes from God’s mouth – it’s His Word.
This Word of God, in turn, creates faith within you, entrusting you with His very life, so you will never let go of it.
To phrase this differently, reflect on the words of Jesus from the Gospel of John, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
In light of this, Jesus is the path you are to follow – so do not let go of Him, do not lose sight of Him, because He will continually call you to Himself.
But this is where the challenge begins, doesn’t it, especially when we naturally spend more days at work or school than here surrounded by other Christians, praying, singing, and hearing God’s Word of wisdom and life?
For this reason, Solomon cautions His son by saying,
Do not enter the path of the wicked,
and do not walk in the way of the evil.
Avoid it; do not go on it;
turn away from it and pass on.
For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;
they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.
For they eat the bread of wickedness
and drink the wine of violence.
The Epistle reading is helpful as we discern what riddles this path of the wicked. Paul wrote,
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5: 19-21)
This is quite the list of evil and perverse sins. Notice how the Apostle Paul ends the list with “and things like these.” The list was not meant to be exhaustive. Instead, it is intended to reveal that those who have wandered down the path of the wicked, who find themselves in sinful patterns, will not receive eternal life.
But I want to pause here and first remind you that the works or sins of the flesh are those of the body or human nature that are opposed to God’s will. These are the works and evil desires inherited from your first parents, Adam and Eve – we call this original sin.
And one of the things this corrupt nature does is that it works to conceal the works of the flesh from man and God alike. Yet, the simple search history of a person’s phone will still reveal the heart of man and the works of flesh that continue in you.
But like Paul, Solomon sets up a dichotomy, two opposing and contrasting roads, as he says to his son,
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day.
The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;
they do not know over what they stumble.
Here, the path is either one of light or darkness.
Jesus said in the Gospel of John,
“Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”
The challenge for one walking in the darkness is that they cannot even see what is causing them to stumble; they have become blind and cannot see their way. It’s as if you awake in the middle of the night to help a crying child, and the way has been littered with toys that hamper you in getting to where you want to go.
But again, there are two contrasting paths, and the other is that of a dawning light. Just as Jesus is “the way, the truth, and the life,” (John 14:6), He is the one that continues to illuminate your way, as we sing in Evening Prayer, “Jesus Christ is the light of the world.” (John 8:12)
It’s His Word and voice that illuminate your way and impart heavenly wisdom. In fact, as you return to God’s Word, the road you travel becomes brighter and brighter, like the dawn of day, finding its fulfillment on the last day when all darkness is banished forever, and all we can do is bask in His everlasting light.
Alright, Solomon writes these concluding words to his son in the Old Testament reading today,
My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
Let them not escape from your sight;
Keep them within your heart.
For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
We have a reminder here that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17)
The child of God who receives this precious Word of faith is to guard and keep it at all costs. This means not simply going with the flow of life and throwing caution to the wind. It means being disciplined in the way of the Lord and remaining focused on His cross, no matter the earthly costs, because the heavenly reward is greater.
In many ways, I love the ending verse from Proverbs today as it reads,
Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.
From the home of the heart, our faith springs forth as the Holy Spirit works within us. And to understand this spring of life is to know how a natural spring continues to bubble from below the surface – to flow out of the heart.
Likewise, the font of Holy Baptism continues to bubble as a spring of heavenly life. As you enter the sanctuary, you are reminded of the words the Apostle Paul wrote, “[That you] who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” He has taken your wickedness into the darkness of the font’s grave, yet now you are raised with Him to the light of His new life.
The font then sets you on the path of true Wisdom from above, leading you to hear His Word with all eagerness and diligence, to gather around this altar with the angels, archangels, and the whole company of heaven as Jesus comes to feed you the heavenly medicine of forgiveness and immortality.
And then, as you depart this morning, be reminded once more as you pass by the font of the path of life you have been called to in your Baptism, the path that now guides you in what Paul wrote as the “Fruit of the Spirit.” He says, “The fruit of the Spirit is [first] love,” but it may be best to understand that out of this love comes “joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control.”
This is the life you have been and are called to live. It’s anchored in your baptism and the very Words and life of your Savior, Jesus Christ.
As you depart today, walk by the font, be reminded of your Savior’s love for you, take your children (and grandchildren) to it, and teach them the path you have been taught to walk, show them the way to their Savior, Jesus Christ. +INJ+
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
