One of the first things I noticed when I first drove in Boston is just how crazy they all seemed to be. We drivers live (and die) on just how reliably we can anticipate the moves of nearby drivers. We depend on directional signals actually indicating which way a driver will turn. We need to believe a driver in the Left Turn Lane is not, in actuality, going to turn right. And vice versa.
I spent the first several weeks absolutely terrified.
Not so much by their bad driving —though it was truly bad— but more by their unpredictability. I had no idea what they would do next. And yet, I had to enter that fray at least twice every working day.
At some point, I shared this concern with a friend at church ... someone who was also not a “local” ... but who had lived there for several years. After hearing me go on about it for a few minutes, he touched my arm and said, gently, “I can help.” And he then proceeded to share with me the essential bit of wisdom that, in time, gave me the confidence to drive all over the Boston area without undue fear (a little fear was good; just needed it to not be paralyzing fear).
What he shared was this: in the mind of every Boston driver is one thought: “Can I make it.”
Suddenly, it all made a kind of crazy sense. What I soon learned to do was watch, not the cars, but the faces of those nearby drivers. Directional signals? Forget it. Lane location? Meaningless. Where were they looking? That told me everything I needed to know.
What did I learn? This: those Boston drivers were not going to change ... no matter how much I wanted them to change, and no matter how much they needed to change. And this: a lesson about people and imparted wisdom. Sometimes the wisdom is for them ... and sometimes the wisdom is for us. In the case of Boston drivers, I was the one who had to change, and my friend’s wisdom helped me do it.
It’s an important lesson to keep in mind while reading this week’s Lectionary scriptures (all of which are related to wisdom in one way or another). Reading these scriptures, collectively, reminded me of how easy it is to conclude that the wisdom of the scriptures is for “them” ... that is, someone other than us.
Of course, not us ... and certainly not me. None of us wants to think of ourselves as unwise. And yet ... Do you ever read a passage and immediately think of someone (else) who would benefit from adopting that code or mode of conduct? I used to do it all the time. Now, I only do it most of the time. Still some work to do, there. All of this to say: this week's Lectionary selections are about us, for us ... not them. So, I’ve been re-reading the passages with me in mind ... not them.
What it says to me: heed Wisdom's call, and choose to accept the instruction that leads to life.
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To write this reflection, I borrowed a few tiny pieces of a reflection I wrote in September, 2015, titled The Diagonal of Death.
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A hilarious read (and essential should you ever want to drive in Boston) is The Boston Driver’s Handbook. See it here: https://www.amazon.com/Boston-Drivers-Handbook-Streets-Almost/dp/0306813262/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536798162&sr=8-1&keywords=the+boston+drivers+handbook
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READINGS FOR THE COMING WEEK
Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost
Proper 19 (24) (September 16, 2018)
https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/texts.php?id=219
Proverbs 1:20-33
Psalm 19
Isaiah 50:4-9a
Psalm 116:1-9
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
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I hope you can join us Friday morning for Lectionary Breakfast. As usual, we gather at 8:00 at the Waco "Egg and I" restaurant. It's an hour-ish of visiting, reading some scripture, praying, and discussing how it might work out in our own lives.
No one is required to drive in Boston.
Enjoy the week!
Steve
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