The
Rev. Kathi Johnson
C
Lectionary 32 – 12 November 2017
Text:
Proverbs 8:1-11; Wisdom 6:12-16
Our
Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas
+ INJ +
My sermon text today is
primarily the reading from Proverbs 8.
A couple of years ago, I had
the honor of walking with a family as the matriarch’s health declined and she
prepared to die. My friend Vicki’s mother, Prue – short for Prudence – was 100
years old when she died, and Vicki asked me to lead her memorial service.
As we began planning the service
together, Vicki brought out notes, written in Prue’s own handwriting, giving us
instructions for the service. The notes were written confidently, asking us to
sing a favorite hymn of hers. But Prue added one very specific direction for
the singing of this hymn: DON’T DRAG.
And that was Prue. Up until the
last few weeks of her life, she didn’t drag, and so it’s fitting that she would
tell us not to drag, either.
There is wisdom in these words
of Prudence, telling us not to drag. “Sing it,” she’s saying, “And don’t mess
around. Don’t drag these words about Jesus out of your mouth. Sing. Proclaim.
Tell it.” There is an urgency in her instruction.
There’s another Prudence
character who appears in several ancient writings as a woman named Wisdom. One
of these documents is called the Book of Wisdom. This two thousand year old
Greek text, written by an unknown author, describes the character of Wisdom as
“radiant and unfading…easily discerned by those who love her, and…found by
those who seek her.”
As presented here, Wisdom sits
at the gate of the city, ready and waiting to be found by those who are
looking. We may not know who wrote about Wisdom in this text, but the writer
introduces Wisdom to the reader, just like I would introduce you to someone you
don’t know.
Similarly, in our own Scriptures, the book of
Proverbs introduces Wisdom as a woman walking all around the ancient streets -
streets that are filled with people. She’s raising her voice, she’s calling
out, she’s taking a stand – she really wants us to hear her:
“You are so limited in your
thinking!” she says. “If you’re lacking wisdom, you can learn from me – I am
Wisdom, in the flesh!”
Why? What does Wisdom offer to
us? Why should we listen to Wisdom?
She tells us why – because
Wisdom speaks honorably, she always speaks up for the right, and she won’t ever
lie to us. Did you hear that last one? In a world that is full of lies, Wisdom
won’t ever be untruthful. Wisdom will always say words that are just and straight
as an arrow. The words of Wisdom won’t go from truth to untruth back to truth
again.
There’s another character appearing
in Proverbs – the character that I’ll call Foolishness. Foolishness is the one
who leads our hearts off track, and eventually, Foolishness will cast us down –
way down.
Last Sunday morning, a small,
rural church community gathered for worship, not unlike how we gathered here.
Their worship of God was interrupted by horror and injury and death.
In response to this incident, a
local group called the Grand Prairie Police and Clergy Coalition held an
emergency meeting this past week. The room was full to overflowing with
officers and clergy, and one of the Grand Prairie SWAT officers gave a brief
presentation on church safety. My own heart was heavy within me as I listened
and reflected on the plans we must now discuss and implement in our churches, and in our schools, and really, in every
public meeting place - all in order to try to be more safe.
It is Foolishness who leads us
to think that all of the violence in our world will go away simply by wishful
thinking. Foolishness says that we can have all the freedom we want, without much
responsibility or many consequences.
So where is Wisdom to be found?
She’s there, too. Foolishness is seductive and is sometimes noisier, but Wisdom
is there, too. Wisdom is found in people who take a stand and say, “We have had
enough of Foolishness.” Wisdom is found in those who remind us that the choices
we make today shape our world tomorrow.[1]
Wisdom is found most of all in the very love of God for us, and in the love we
offer to those around us.
Because, if you think about it,
Wisdom walks hand-in-hand with Love. And they don’t drag – they walk
side-by-side, leading us to action, so that violence and hatred will not win
the day.
If we try to understand
Wisdom’s ways, we will learn from
them, especially if we remember that Wisdom’s constant companion is Love. There
is much in our world that calls us away from Wisdom, and much that calls us
away from Love – but we cannot allow the Foolishness of this world to seduce us
away from God’s Wisdom. Loving others depends on it.
Out of deep and abiding love
for us, God has shown us the ways of Wisdom, and God calls us to live with
Wisdom. In the Book of Wisdom that I mentioned earlier, Wisdom appears to us in
our paths, and she meets us in our every thought. And so, we find that Wisdom
is ready and willing to be a part of our everyday lives – she is ready and
willing to be a daily practice for us, to inform our every idea, our every
question, our every concern. Wisdom is there, with us.
Over the days, and weeks, and
months to come, in what ways can you grow in Wisdom?
How is God calling you to
leave aside the ways of Foolishness and to follow the ways of Wisdom?
Amen.
+ SDG +
[1] An adaptation of a quote one of my church members – Julie
Bothun - uses with the high school students she teaches: “The choices you make
today shape your world tomorrow.”
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