“THREE WISE
MONKEYS”
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carving on the stable of Tosho-gu Shrine,
Nikko, Japan 見ざる、 |
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A Sermon preached at the Mint Methodist Church,
Exeter, by the Minister, Rev Andrew Sails Readings: |
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"Give us no more
visions of what is right!
Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions”. (Isa
30:10b)
“Teacher, let me see
again” (Mk 10:51)
Three monkeys sit on a wall –
one with his hand across his eyes – “See no evil” –
one with his hands to his ears - “Hear no evil” -
and one with his hand to his mouth – “Speak no evil”.
They are often called the three wise monkeys –
but are they wise??
It is surely wise and loving to speak no evil –
but to act the ostrich, to refuse to hear or see
things which are hard or difficult,
that is not what the scriptures call wise.
In that passage from Isaiah,
the people of Israel are wilfully and determinedly blind to the truth -
“Give us no more visions of what is right” they say –
“tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions”
Isaiah, and the other 8th Century prophets,
spend much time telling the Children of Israel
that they must not run away from the hard truths
of evil guilt, suffering and corruption in their society -
– they must confront these things and learn from them,
or their blindness will lead to disaster.
Such perverse and willful blindness is sadly to be found in
every age.
Maybe you know Adrian
Mitchell’s searing poem
“To whom it may concern”
often known as “Tell me lies about Vietnam”
Talking about the poem, Mitchell says
it not really about Vietnam as such –
rather he says it is meant as a much more general poem
“about sitting comfortably in a safe
country,
and sometimes wishing the news of the murderous world would stop
…about the times when we wish to be cut off from the truth.”
So let me quote the opening lines
and then the final stanza:
I was run over by the truth one
day.
Ever since the accident I've walked
this way
So stick my
legs in plaster
Tell me lies about Vietnam.
Heard the alarm clock screaming
with pain,
Couldn't find myself so I went back to
sleep again
So fill my ears with silver
Stick my legs in plaster
Tell me lies about Vietnam.
Every time I shut my eyes all I
see is flames.
Made a marble phone book and I carved
all the names
So coat my eyes with butter
Fill my ears with silver
Stick my legs in plaster
Tell me lies about Vietnam……
….You put your bombers in, you put your conscience out,
You take the human being and you twist
it all about
So scrub my skin with women
Chain my tongue with whisky
Stuff my nose with garlic
Coat my eyes with butter
Fill my ears with silver
Stick my legs in plaster
Tell me lies about Vietnam.”
(Voices
for Peace, Scribners 2001 p.85)
And of
course when we play this game –
when we put our hands to our eyes so as to “see no evil”
we are not actually showing wisdom,
we are like the Israelites wallowing in the false security
of a corrupt and failing society asking only for
happy oracles with plenty of positive theological spin –
the very reverse of wisdom..
Someone once said to Helen Keller, who of course was
blind,
"What a pity you have no sight!" Helen Keller replied,
"Yes, but what a pity so many have sight but cannot see!"
If you are a fan of the Simpsons,
you may recall the local Church Sunday School
which Bart goes to when he hasn’t been expelled -
and the children asking their teacher terribly difficult questions
about suffering and evil – why do train crashes happen? they
ask.
In exasperation the struggling teacher replies
“Is a little blind faith too much to ask?”
(Pinsky, The Gospel according to the Simpsons,
WJK 2001 p.66)
To which
of course the answer is
“Yes it is too much to ask – because true faith –
like true wisdom and true love - is not blind –
whatever the monkey may say.
Rather a
truly wise and faithful and loving response to the world
does not involve sticking our head in the sand like an ostrich,
it involves looking the world in the face,
and if
that confrontation leads us to a cross, then so be it –
that is what Christ did and does for us
and what he calls us to do for others.-
to see evil and face up to it unflinchingly.
I recall an old episode of MASH,
which you may recall was set
in a US hospital unit in the Korean war.
In this episode a rather cocky young pilot is brought in
because his plane has been shot down,
though he is not seriously injured.
He tells everyone in a rather boastful voice that flying is fun –
he is really enjoying the war.
Then one day a Korean child is brought to the MASH unit
and her arm has been horribly mangled in an air attack.
The young pilot is taken aback.
Even though it was not his plane that did it,
for the first time he must face his own complicity in the brutality of war.
For the first time he sees things
not from the perspective of 10,000 feet,
but from the bedside of a suffering child.
Of course
there are children in need
in every continent & every age.
This morning’s headlines are about the way global warming
threatens African agriculture –
So Sue’s words to us earlier about the needs of children in Uganda
today are particularly timely
– I hope you’ll give to the appeal as you leave.
And Rachel is organizing a Children
in Need event here next Sunday.
Please sponsor that if you can as well.
Near or
far, there are always children in need -
we have a choice - to turn a blind eye,
or dare to gaze unflinchingly on the evils & needs of an unfair world
where so many children depend on our help.
And of
course young or old we are all God’s children.
Today those
of you who are Pastoral Visitors
come to rededicate yourselves for your work.
And this
is a chance for every one of us here
to reflect on how we can best support each other
in mutual pastoral care and concern.
I recall in a previous Church talking to a lady who had
been bereaved –
she was so upset because she said she saw one of her best friends
coming towards her in the street
and then crossing over to the other side to avoid her.
Later she said the friend apologised
and confided that she felt embarrassed and unable to face a conversation
when she didn’t know what to say,
so she had pretended not to see her friend
and had crossed the road to avoid a meeting.
In
pastoral care we are called to be the Good Samaritan
who does not pass by on the other side,
we are called to be the good shepherd alongside people in their need –
to see sorrow, to share suffering and fight evil,
not run away or pretend there is no problem.
Our
prayer as we face the sins and sorrows of our suffering world
should be the prayer of Bartimaeus: “Master let me
see”
“How many times must a man look up
Before he sees the sky
Yes and how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry…
… how many years can some people exist
Before they're allowed to be free
Yes and how many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see
The answer my friend is blowing in the wind
The answer is blowing in the wind”
(Bob Dylan, Blowing in the Wind)
So Bob
Dylan
Let us
pray that the wind of the Spirit may blow in our lives –
·
That
we may ask Christ to cure us of our spiritual blindness
and let us see with clear and unclouded eyes.
·
That
we may face boldly the evil & suffering of our age
& not be afraid.
·
That
we may never falter until that final wondrous day
when God shall wipe away every tear from our eyes
and we and all God’s children
shall finally see the glory of the coming of the Lord.
ORDER OF SERVICE
Hymn
508 “Praise the Lord”
Prayers
Readings: Isa 30:8-18 (p.714)
Mark 10:46-52
(p.1015)
Sue Errington: “Food for Thought”
Hymn 257 “How sweet the name”
Sermon “Three Wise Monkeys”
Hymn 697
“Just as I am”
(during this hymn the collection will be
taken)
1. 큰 죄에 빠진 날 위해
주 보혈 흘려주시고
또 나를 오라 하시니 주께로 거저 갑니다
2. 내 죄를 씻는 능력은
주 보혈 밖에 없도다
정하게 되기 원하여 주께로 거저 갑니다
3. 큰 죄악 씻기 원하나
내 힘이 항상 약하니
보혈의 공로 믿고서 주께로 거저 갑니다
4. 내 죄가 심히 무거워
구하여 줄 이 없으니
내 의심떨쳐 버리고 주께로 거저 갑니다
5. 죄용서 하여 주시고
내 마음 위로하심을
나 항상 믿고 고마와 주께로 거저 갑니다
6. 주 예수 베푼 사랑이
한없이 크고 넓으니
내 뜻을 모두 버리고 주께로 거저 갑니다
Annual Rededication of Pastoral Visitors
(Methodist Worship Book pp. 344-346)
(Pastoral
Visitors are asked to come forward
as their names are read out)
Peace
Minister: The peace of the Lord be with you.
All: And also with you.
[Young Church enter]
Prayers of Intercession and Lord’s
Prayer
Hymn 700 “Lord,
we have come”
Holy Communion
Leader: Lift up your Hearts.
People: We lift them to the Lord.
Leader: Let us give thanks to the Lord our God.
People: It is right to give him thanks and praise.
Leader: Great Creator
and Shepherd of all, you formed Israel as your chosen flock, and made them to
lie down in green pasture.
And when they turned from you, you did not spurn them, but sent another
shepherd, your only Son,
to seek out the lost sheep of Israel and of all the world and call them to himself by name.
People: Christ the Lord
is our good shepherd
Leader: And so, with all the faithful of every time and
place, we join with choirs of angels in the eternal hymn:
All (sing): Holy, holy,
holy is the Lord,
holy is the Lord God
Almighty!
Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord,
holy is the Lord
God Almighty!
Who was, and is,
and is to come!.
Holy, holy, holy
is the Lord!
Leader: In
the night in which he was betrayed, our Lord Jesus took bread,
and gave thanks; broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying: Take and eat;
this is my body, given for you. Do this
to remember me.
Again, after supper, he took the cup, gave thanks, and gave it for all to
drink, saying: This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
shed for you and for all people for the forgiveness of sin. Do this to remember me.
Every time we eat this bread and drink this cup
People: We proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes
Leader: You sent your Son to save the world
People: We thank you, O God
Leader: You send your Holy Spirit upon these gifts
People: We praise you, O God
Leader: You send us out in the service of your kingdom
People: We bless you, O God.
Leader: Look, the Body of Christ
is broken for the life of the world
[The people are seated. Bread and wine are distributed.
All are invited to receive bread & wine.
Please come forward when the Steward beckons your row, and then return
by the side aisles]
All: God of glory, We have
seen with our eyes
and touched with our hands the bread of heaven.
Strengthen
us in our life together,
That we may
grow in love for you and each other;
Through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
Hymn
66 “Great is thy faithfulness”
1. 오 신실하신 주 내 아버지여
늘 함께 계시니 두렴 없네
그 사랑 변찮고 날지키시며
어제나 오늘이 한결같네
2. 봄철과 또 여름 가을과 겨울
해와 달 별들도 다 주의 것
만물이 하나로 드러낸 증거
신실한 주사랑 나타내네
3. 내죄를 사하여 안위하시고
주 친히 오셔서 인도하네
오늘의 힘되고 내일의 소망
주만이 만복을 내리시네
후) 오 신실하신 주 오 신실하신 주
날마다 자비를 베푸시며
일용할 모든 것 내려주시니
오 신실 하신 주 나의 구주
아 - 멘
Blessing