The Wisdom of Humpty Dumpty

Isaiah 65:17-25 Luke 21:5-19

We all learned it. Although I am not so sure that kids learn it any longer.  I am sure it is not on the standardized tests, so I would not be surprised if schoolchildren today have never heard of Humpty Dumpty. They could identify Big Bird and Sponge Bob , but probably not Humpty Dumpty. But I imagine most of us here learned it in childhood. 

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again.

This rhyme dates from the late eighteenth century. The earliest known written version of it is found in Samuel Arnold's book Juvenile Amusements published in 1797. This early version is a little different than the one we all memorized. It goes:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
Four-score Men and Four-score more,

Could not make Humpty Dumpty where he was before.

Like most nursery rhymes its original context and meaning is lost. Many suspect it has to do with the political fall of a public figure in 17^th or 18^th century England, perhaps some rotund bigwig of the day. The most popular origin story is that it refers to a large short stout cannon that sat on a wall of the town of Colchester, England, in 1648. At least that is what that town says to attract tourists. At that time it was a walled town with a castle and several churches and protected by the city wall. The story is that a large cannon, which was nicknamed Humpty Dumpty, was placed on the wall to protect the town. During a battle a shot from a cannon of the attacking army succeeded in damaging the wall beneath Humpty Dumpty which caused the cannon to tumble to the ground. The Royalists, or Cavaliers, "all the King's men", attempted to raise Humpty Dumpty on to another part of the wall, but because the cannon was so heavy they were not able to do so.

Who knows if this story is true? I still like to think of Humpty as a giant egg, but it does not say that in the nursery rhyme. We owe that picture to Lewis Carroll and the illustrations in his book Through the Looking-Glass published in 1872. But the fragility of Humpty Dumpty as an egg, which when shattered cannot be put back together again, is what gives the rhyme its enduring value and wisdom.

Why am I talking about Humpty Dumpty? What does this have to do with Jesus Christ? Our gospel lesson for today teaches the same lesson as the nursery rhyme. In our passage in the Gospel of Luke Jesus is standing in the courtyard of the Jerusalem Temple as people were gathering for the Feast of unleavened Bread, known as the Passover. This was the temple built by King Herod and situated on the highest hill in Jerusalem. The temple was lifted even higher by being surrounded by a high retaining wall. Herod’s temple structure was the most beautiful temple in Israel’s history. It surpassed even the temple of Solomon. People came from all the Mediterranean to marvel at this wonder of the ancient world. As Jesus stood there in the temple with his disciples, he overheard the people remarking on the temple’s magnificence and how it would last forever.

 Our scripture lesson says: “Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, “These things which you see - the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.” Jesus said that that this great structure would be torn down, not one stone left on another, and all the king’s horses and all the king’s men would never put it together again. And this prophecy came true. Within the lifetimes of some of those who heard Jesus’ words, the Roman army attacked Jerusalem and completely dismantled this temple, stone by stone. To this day the only thing left of Herod’s temple is the retaining wall around the foundation. It is known as the Western Wall or the Wailing Wall, and is the holiest site to Jews today. That wall itself is impressive. The stones are huge. We can only imagine what the temple built above it was like.

I. Our gospel lesson this morning teaches us an important truth. It is the same point that Humpty Dumpty makes. It is the impermanence of earthly things. We could also describe it as the fragility of worldly things - as fragile as an a giant egg sitting precariously on a wall. Jesus develops this point by mentioning several aspects of life that are impermanent.

1. First is material things. That is the reference to the temple itself. If anything seems permanent it would seem to be a building made of huge stone blocks. But even that fell. Just like the Twin Towers fell. I recently read a book entitled The Harbinger. The Harbinger is a 2012 best-selling Christian novel by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn, a Messianic Jew. He is the Senior Pastor and Messianic Rabbi of the Jerusalem Center/ Beth Israel in Wayne, New Jersey. His book was recommended and loaned to me by someone in our congregation. Cahn sees recent events, particularly the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, as signs from God - a warning to America. He draws a lot of parallels between ancient Israel, especially in the prophet Isaiah’s day, and 21^st century America. I have some problems with his biblical hermeneutic, that is his way of interpreting scripture. For example, he compares King Solomon to George Washington, which in my opinion is going a bit far. But the basic message of the book is valid. The World Trade Center was our Tower of Babel and our financial temple. And it came down like the Jerusalem temple of Jesus’ day did. This has symbolic and spiritual significance and not just political and historical significance. The broader and more profound teaching involved here is that riches and power are impermanent.

2. Second is the changing face of religious beliefs. Jesus says, “Take heed that you not be deceived. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time has drawn near.’ Therefore do not go after them.” Religion is continually changing. New messiahs arise and fall. Self-styled prophets predict the end of the world and are sometimes foolish enough to actually set a date. The dates come and go and the world continues as it has. You may remember that the world was supposed to end last year 2012. New Age writers cited Mayan and Aztec calendars that predicted the end of the age on December 21, 2012. It is almost a year later and we are still here. Jesus says about such prophets, “Do not go after them.” Religious fads like this come and go.

3. Jesus mentions international instability. He says “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.” In a parallel passage he predicts that the city of Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies and destroyed. And it was destroyed by Roman armies in 70 AD. We tend to think that our American nation and our worldwide power will last. But history teaches us that like the Roman Empire fell, so will the American superpower status one day fall. Probably not in our lifetimes or the lifetimes of our grandchildren, but it will happen.

4. Jesus even talks about weather and natural catastrophes. “11 And there will be great earthquakes in various places, and famines and pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great signs from heaven.” We all know about climate change. Even though it has been politicized, as far as I can tell as a scientific layman, it is certainly happening.  How much it is manmade and how much it is the natural cycle of global change over the centuries is up for debate, but the change itself is certainly happening. We talk about superstorms now, and the regular flooding of coastal areas. A study published in July in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences predicts that more than 1,700 American cities and towns – including Boston, New York, and Miami – will be under water, although it wisely does not give a date. It does say that this trend will be irreversible by the year 2100. Geologic history tells us about immense changes in the earth’s surface - ice ages and continental drift. Even something as solid as the earth changes.

5. Jesus speaks about persecution. In fact he devotes more words to persecution than to any other topic in this passage. “12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. 13 But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. 14 Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; 15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist. 16 You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. 17 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.”

I have mentioned previously the situation of Christian pastor Saeed Abedini. He is the American Iranian pastor presently serving an eight year sentence in Iranian prisons for preaching the gospel.  He is just one example. The persecution of Christians is heating up in the world. It even makes the Evening news shows now. Churches are being burned in Syria and Egypt. These are among the oldest Christian communities in the world. They have endured for 2000 years. But now their existence is threatened.  Then there is persecution in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. In spite of the American wars, Christians are persecuted more in Iraq now more than before our involvement. Christians are still persecuted in Afghanistan even without the Taliban in power.  The United States is an island of religious freedom in a world that is persecuting Christianity at an accelerating rate. We are deluding ourselves if we think it could never also happen here.

All these areas – I have mentioned five of them – show the impermanence and fragility of the world as we know it. It is important to get this through our heads and let it sink into our hearts and saturate our souls. As the apostle Paul wrote, “For the present form of this world is passing away.” That is what Jesus was saying to his disciples as he stood and taught them on the temple mount.

II. Our response to the transitory nature of this world is to hold to that which is eternal. The apostle john wrote, “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” Jesus told a parable about a man who built his house upon sand as opposed as to one who built his house upon a rock. What do we build our lives on? In our gospel passage today, Jesus says that in spite of all the changes in the world that he was predicting, there were certain things we could count on.

He said, 8 “But not a hair of your head shall be lost.” If Jesus was referring to not going bald, then this certainly does not refer to me. I have lost quite a few hairs of my head. In the context, he was referring to the section on persecution. He did not mean that Christians would not be killed. In fact he clearly says that they will. They are now being killed. The physical hairs of their heads are being lost and a lot more than that. We read it in the newspapers and see it on the television news. Jesus is not saying that no physical harm will come to Christians. He is using a figure of speech to talk about spiritual matters.

In our lives things will happen to us. Bad things will happen. We are not immune from tragedies just because we believe in God or trust in Christ.  Some Christians do not understand this, and therefore their faith crumbles under pressure. Bad things happen to good people. Bad things happen to Christian people just like any other people. It is not whether bad things happen. It is how they affect us. Through faith in Christ bad things cannot harm us at the deepest level. If our souls are grounded in God and Christ, then the storms of life cannot shake us. They cannot move the foundation. That is what Jesus is talking about.

The last thing Jesus says in our passage is this: “By your patience possess your souls.” This little gem can easily he overlooked in the midst of talk of earthquakes, wars and persecution. “By your patience possess your souls.” Live in your soul, in that center. Possess it. Do not just visit it once in a while during prayer or meditation. Make it your home, Possess it. Live there. If we live in the world, then our lives will be tossed to and fro with the winds that shake this world - whether those be political winds, religious winds or meteorological winds. But if we possess our souls, if we dwell there in the presence of God Almighty who resides in our souls as Holy Spirit, then nothing will shake our lives. Spiritually speaking, not a hair on our heads will be harmed.

Jesus says to possess our souls in patience. ”By your patience possess your souls.” Patience means waiting. We do not need patience when everything happens how we want it when we want it. We need patience when things are not going according to our wishes. When answers to prayer seem to be delayed. When things are not going according to plan, then possess your souls by your patience. Wait on the Lord. Wait and see what great thing God will do in you and in your life. By doing this we dwell in eternal habitations. We live in eternal life. Our life is hidden with God in Christ. We experience that which is eternal in the midst of a world that is temporary. Everything passes away. Like Humpty Dumpty, things fall apart and we cannot put them back together again the way they used to be. That can be a good thing. For it forces us to find our strength and our solid rock in that which will not pass away. That is Christ, who is the same yesterday today and forever.