08/18/2024

Trinity 12 - Wisdom The Book of proverbs we heard from this morning is unusual, and I wanted to give it some context. Every culture has proverbs, sayings that seek to pass on wisdom and insight for life’s challenges and experiences. This kind of writing was common in the Ancient Near East and of course in the Greek and Latin worlds. Jesus Himself knew the sayings of His time, he quotes one which I am very fond of in the Gospels, “ don’t worry for tomorrow, let tomorrow worry for itself, each day has troubles enough of its own’. The wisdom of life and living is helpful and shows that God can and does speak to us through what we learn on our life’s journey, from our successes and failures, we are encouraged to live and learn thoughtfully through this great gift of life and relationships and experiences. Our reading this morning comes from the first section of the book which invites young men to take up the instructions of the Woman Wisdom. Wisdom sets out her stall, makes a solid home, prepares food and drink, and invites people to eat and drink of what she has to offer. And Wisdom reminds us that the wise, unlike the foolish or the mocking, learn from life’s setbacks and advice, they learn from counsel of others, taking other’s views and experiences seriously, and if necessary when rebuked do not just reject it, but seek to understand what the rebuker is trying to pass on to them. Prepared to be open, to learn from others, perhaps humble enough to know that through the shared lives we have we diverse people we are enriched. It remains true that it is easier for people to talk past each other than to listen, it takes effort and humility to learn that others have plenty to offer us, and that the wisdom based on the carefully lived lives of all around us will deepen our own understanding of the challenges and the blessings of life. In so many modern situations today we see people shouting at each other, dismissing each other, both individuals and countries and faiths. And Wisdom cannot flourish when we hold the other at arm’s length, believe that we don’t need others, or that their experiences and thoughts cannot possibly be of use to us. Wisdom teaches us that they are of use, and without them our lives are diminished. Proverbs with its shrewdness and worldliness addresses important aspects of the living of the good life, as close in many ways as the bible comes to the Greek interest in philosophy and ethics, or what today people talk of as mindfulness and attentive listening. A person who rejects wisdom will find life harder, a church or a society that turns in on itself and cannot admit to the wisdom God has spread around in the lives of others, is of necessity also less than it can be. Ephesians also addresses wisdom in approaching how we make the best use of the gift of our lives. Ephesus was a vibrant and multicultural place, and the themes of the book emphasize the need to live so that the body of Christ, ie the church can be pure and holy, not distracted by the world around it, and thus by contrast a more credible witness to the Gospel it proclaims. This can only come about by each individual Christian making life choices based on the example of Christ, and in our reading simple things like avoiding that which is likely to cause division and argument, like too much drink, and concentrate on those things which when shared build up the spiritual life of the community, psalms, hymns, songs from the heart which make a music which can soothe the troubled soul. Importantly this isn’t to say drink is evil, so many things are gifts from God, it is how we use them, thoughtfully, with others in mind as much as ourselves that is the wise approach. Ephesians reminds that early church community, that living wisely, thoughtfully, making the most of every source of advice and experience, is vital. And it is not less important now, the challenges the world faces, that the church faces require every possible effort to live wisely, to embrace every wise experience and thoughtful response, and to attend to the presence of wisdom in others, and in other cultures, faiths and the many diverse expression of life that exist on this earth. So hopefully less rambling, and a little introduction to an unusual but I believe still vital form of thinking and writing in the bible. Amen