Tevye’s dilemma

Sunday, August 18th, 2024
A sermon for the congregation of St. Stephen Summerland Anglican Church
The Very Rev. Ken Gray

Remembering the late, great, Canadian Norman Jewison, who produced the 1971 film based on the earlier Broadway musical Fiddler on the Roof, let’s sing Tevye’s song:

[TEVYE, spoken]
Oh dear Lord, you made many, many poor people. 
I realize, of course, that it's no shame to be poor. 
But it's no great honor either. 
So what would have been so terrible 
if I had a small fortune?  

WE SING
If I were a rich man
Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum
If I were a wealthy man
I wouldn't have to work hard
Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum
If I were a biddy biddy rich
Idle-diddle-didle-didle man

VERSE
I'd build a big tall house with rooms by the dozen
Right in the middle of the town
A fine tin roof with real wooden floors below . . . 
There would be one long staircase just going up
And one even longer coming down
And one more leading nowhere, just for show

If I were a rich man
Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum
All day long I'd biddy biddy bum
If I were a wealthy man
I wouldn't have to work hard
Ya ba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dibba dum
If I were a biddy biddy rich
Idle-diddle-didle-didle man

SPOKEN
The most important men in town would come to fawn on me
They will ask me to advise them
Like a Solomon the Wise
"If you please, Reb Tevye..."
"Pardon me, Reb Tevye..."
Posing problems that would cross a rabbi's eyes

SPOKEN
And it won't make one bit of difference
If I answer right or wrong
When you're rich, they think you really know

So very true . . . Tell that to Elon Musk, or Rupert Murdock, or Frank Stronach, and countless others —When you’re rich, you think, they think you really know. Tevye thinks that wisdom (of Solomon) will give him status; in the end, his prestige comes from the heart, and its expanding elasticity as time and circumstance progresses, which is in fact True Wisdom. Tevye, and everyone in every generation needs to find and access wisdom, not prestige, nor power, nor an ability to conquer and deceive. Wisdom is more than knowledge, more than human achievement, more than intellect, more than a strategy for creating wealth. Wisdom is a gift from the ultimate giver. Wisdom is the same in ancient and modern times.

The author of Ephesians today reminds us: “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise, making the most of the time, because the days are evil.” (From 5:15-20). Sounds a bit negative, but we could use a does of wisdom, socially, individually, and ecologically, now.

• In peace between Gaza and Israel
• In public health as Mpox comes our way
• In our response to the climate crisis
• As AI grows and morphs everywhere
• In the stewardship of money, and of other resources
• In just political endeavours
• In attunement to the motions of the Spirit

More than supporting just decisions in relation to the above, “Wisdom” is personified as co-author of Creation itself. An English colleague writes: “The earliest Christian reflection on the relationship between the creator and creation appropriated the notion of wisdom. Wisdom was the agent of creation (and permeated the creation itself.”

There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy,
unique, manifold, subtle,
agile, clear, unpolluted,
distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,
irresistible, beneficent, humane,
steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,
all-powerful, overseeing all,
and penetrating through all spirits
that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle. (Wis. 7.22–30)

FIRST KINGS tells the story of Solomon, the son of David who is now on the throne of Israel, the last King of an amalgamated Judah and Israel, who built the first and greatest temple at Jerusalem:

And now, O Lord my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David, although I am only a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in . . . Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great people?

Founded by the now Bishop, Anna Greenwood-Lee of the Diocese of Islands and Inlets (formerly the Diocese of BC), The Wisdom Centre at St. Lawrence Lakeview Anglican Church in Calgary continues to be inspired by the realization that traditional religion often does not meet people’s spiritual needs. Since its inception the Wisdom Centre has cast a wide net and welcomes all that embrace a path to the divine through spiritual practice.

I first met the Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault at a retreat on Salt Spring Island in November of 1993. A professional musicologist and episcopal priest, she led retreatants on a journey of spiritual discovery, inspired primarily by the teachings of Thomas Keating, from whom we received the practice of Centering Prayer. Each of these organizations and their leaders have opened up a vibrant practice of prayer and spiritual wisdom for literally thousands of Anglicans throughout Western Canada.

Another wisdom school opportunity is scheduled for the Sorrento Centre September 8-12, led by Heather Ruce, M.A., a Wisdom Spiritual Director. Heather is a regional leader and teacher of The Contemplative Society, a Victoria-based inclusive non-profit society that encourages a deepening of contemplative practice based in the Christian Wisdom lineage, while also welcoming and being supportive of other spiritual traditions.

This Sorrento Wisdom School will focus on deepening presence in our three centers – intellectual, emotional, body – and how awakening in them can support us in the transformation of consciousness.  We will also explore the practices of self-observation, self-remembering, conscious labor, and intentional suffering as a way of participating in what is needed for the whole right now. To learn more and to register, visit the centre website.

As Cynthia Bourgeault describes the result of meditative practice, “as the heart comes alive as an organ of spiritual perception, we are able to perceive the invisible kingdom of love that surrounds us – and live it into being.” During Advent, we name Wisdom: “From the mouth of the Most High, you reign over all things to the ends of the earth: come and teach us how to live.” Amen.

 –