One of my favorite poems is Jack Gilbert’s “A Brief for the Defense”. I don’t often share that because most people don’t care that I like poetry. That, and many that do are upset that I like that poem. For the third time since I’ve had a weekly blog to utilize, this week I set out to write something of a defense for “A Brief for the Defense”, but it’s just too lackluster – my stuff, not the poem – and so maybe I will try another time. Consider this an invitation for the poetry enjoyers among you to check it out and let’s talk about it. Whether or not you like it. When hitting a wall with something like this, I like to read essays or interviews to connect with what I’m working on. In one of those, Gilbert shared a then unpublished poem I’d never heard of. The title, “The Great Debate”, initially had me wondering if it was somehow in conversation with the other, if perhaps this was the moment when it would all become clear. I would have the poet’s own words to defend my defense of his “Defense”. But instead, it’s just a delightful poem, and worth sharing. Who would want to be thinking day and night? the young man said, eating his chicken in the beautiful cool shade. Me, I said before I could stop myself. Heard how it sounded but knew what would happen if I qualified it. Me, I said again, but he was already talking about how a doctor had cured his knee with magic. In our current worship series, Uncommon Wisdom, the invitation has been to consider how scripture might speak to us in new ways. How might we encounter it anew? Is it truly – not just in theory, not just in name – a living Word that continues to embrace us, move us, and challenge us? And for that to be true, scriptural wisdom needs to be more than just uncommon, it needs to be ongoing. One of my goals is to be a lifelong learner. I hope to never be content with what I know or understand or appreciate, at least not to the point of affecting my curiosity. The temptation of ignorance or apathy is real, it’s one way the “deadly sin” of sloth is sometimes described. A sinful neglect of reality not only practices brokenness but hinders our capacity to recognize the truth of others, and even ourselves. One of Jesus’ more quoted sayings is from John 8.32: “You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” To this, his disciples offered a very characteristic, “Huh?” And I love them for it. Because it’s a reminder that we need to be reminded, not just of what Jesus continues to clarify, that we are enslaved to sin even (and especially) if we aren’t aware of it, but that there was still more to learn by those who got to walk and talk with Jesus, so complacency for us is probably not a good idea, either. Fortunately, we have a living Word available to us, a community that is a Body of Christ to share in the journey, and a God whose love for us always meets us our shortcomings with grace. Thanks be to God. Ben | 
