Finding Wisdom Preached on September 16th, 2018 At Wollaston Congregational Church Focus scripture: Proverbs 1:20-33 Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice! Wait a minute, she raises her voice. Who is this she? Where did she come from? What is she doing in the middle of our Old Testament? And why have we not met her before? Yes, Wisdom is a person in our scriptures, or at least a personification. And Wisdom is a woman. The section of scripture that pays most attention to this figure of Wisdom is the Apocrypha. This is a collection of Jewish scriptures that were included in the Septuagint, the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. These books are not usually included in the Protestant Christian Bible, but almost always appear in study Bibles like mine. We meet Lady Wisdom or in Greek, Sophia, in the book called the Wisdom of Solomon: “Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned by those who love her, and is found by those who seek her.” In the book of Proverbs we read from today, Sophia speaks, saying: “When there were no depths, I was brought forth when God established the heavens, I was there playing before [God] all the while” (Prov. 8:24, 30) Author and speaker, Sister Joyce Rupp writes: “Historically, the authors of the wisdom literature began this feminine reference to Sophia between 33 BCE and 4–5 CE. There are only four other figures who are mentioned more than Sophia in Jewish scripture (the Old Testament): Yahweh, Moses, David, and Job … it is quite incredible that so few know much about her.” [1] And so, today, we are going to get to know Sophia a little better. Wisdom, no doubt, is a desirable quality. Psalm 19, as we read today, says “the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple … more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.” But how do we attain her? How do we hear her cry, in the public square in the market place, above the clamor of other voices? How do we hear her truth above the clamor of other voices seeking our attention? There is an abundance of knowledge and information in our world today. But what has happened to Wisdom? We have the knowledge we need to provide safe drinking water to all the children of our nation, but do with have the wisdom? We have the information we need about climate change to anticipate the dramatic storms the East Coast experienced this weekend. There is infrastructure that could be adopted to protect the coasts and those who live there. But do we have the wisdom? We have the technology we need to provide safe effective energy to the homes in greater Boston. But following the awful events in Andover and Lawrence this past weekend I wonder if we have the wisdom? No, there is not a shortage of information. Our media puts out many anxiety-ladened reports each day. We may have focused on yesterday’s news for a time, but now, the voices scream, something else is front and center. Our attention is constantly pulled from one emergency to another, we are becoming distracted … distracted from the pursuit of truth and wisdom. We are a far cry from the wisdom that Sophia is calling us to rediscover. It is time to regroup and center ourselves. Time to keep our focus on the things that are essential. Here is the call of wisdom: to let go of fear and anxieties that restrict our vision and prevent us from listening to others. Wisdom calls us to open up to new possibilities. Some years ago, I was trying to keep all the balls of my life in the air, as I juggled work, childcare and kids’ activities, church and community commitments, and a little time for myself and my husband. I kept abreast of the news through National Public Radio and the weekly magazine, Newsweek. I thought that if I knew what was going on, I’d somehow have a handle on things. I did not really notice that my level of anxiety had risen to an intolerable point until the events of 17 years ago struck on September 11th, 2001. My husband had left the house early that bright and beautiful morning for a business trip to New York. My parents were staying with us, for their annual fall visit and our youngest daughter was playing happily on her day off from preschool. The phone rang, and I answered the call to hear my husband sigh and say “it’s me, I’m here in a suburb of New York, don’t worry I’m OK.” I was confused. He didn’t usually feel the need to check in on a quick trip like this. Then he told me about the plane that had crashed into the World Trade Center. It had departed from Boston, Logan, like he had that morning. He had landed safely at Newark, but others on a flight to California had not. He told me he was on the phone to a car rental company and would drive home that night. He’d already figured there would be no more flights that day. I turned on the TV, and minutes later saw the second plane crash. When my husband walked into the house, late that night, he told me of the plume of smoke he’d witnessed over Manhattan as he drove the lonely road home. His car was impounded at Logan for several days and my parents had to delay their return home until the flights resumed. I put them on the bus for one of the first flights out. They wore their British stoicism well, but I was a little fearful. Otherwise we’d gotten off lightly, with just a dose survivors’ guilt. The day after 9/11 I gathered with the mothers’ group at our church. Of course, the talk was all about that Tuesday. We became fixated on information. How could this happen in a place we had assumed was safe? Who had done this to us? Were they going to strike again? How could they be found and punished? And how could we keep our kids safe at school and at home? We were looking for anything to tell us how to be in control, to get a handle on the situation. The unrest and anxiety would sit with us for many months to come. But my own journey was just beginning. That fall the mothers’ group studied the book: “Leading a Gentle and Passionate Life” by Robert J. Wicks. [2] A snippet of wisdom from this book pointed me in the direction of Sophia and away from anxiety in the months that followed. In this book, Wicks describes meeting with the renowned spiritual guide Henri Nouwen. The meeting was to discuss Wicks’ work on a book, but before the men parted, he asked Nouwen for some guidance. He wanted a blessing - a word of wisdom - for inner peace during troubling times. Nouwen had to be persuaded, but finally he said: “Take a few moments every morning in silence and solitude. Read a few passages from Scripture. If you have a daily book of biblical readings or a lectionary, use that. Then once you have read these words of Scripture, sit quietly and let them nurture you in silence. Do this every day without fail and you shall be all right.” That advice resonated with me. I found a book of daily lectionary readings and reflections that I’ve followed for these past years. Perhaps not every day without fail, but I took the advice as best I could. On the days that I have used the readings, the silence and prayer, I have felt more grounded and less anxious. I have felt more in touch with Sophia, and less in need of more anxiety provoking information. In turn, this practice allowed me to lead that young mothers’ group in a direction of Sophia wisdom, away from the clamor of the anxious daily news cycle. We can make the space for Sophia, God’s wisdom, through our regular spiritual practices whatever they might be. A run or walk in the quiet of the morning or the evening; a gentle, repetitive craft like knitting or sewing … practices are often done in solitude. The challenge, though, is to discover Sophia Wisdom in the community of faith, the church. In her study of Sophia, Joyce Rupp concludes that “There are striking parallels between the attributes of Sophia and the qualities of Jesus. There is much about Jesus that is like Sophia.”Rupp goes on “By her very nature Sophia is relational, present in the world, interacting among people and ordinary human lives.” The Rev. Dr. J. Philip Newell, minister in the Church of Scotland and celebrated author expresses this in a prayer for wisdom: “That truth has been inscribed into my heart and into the heart of every human being, there to be read and reverenced, thanks be to you O God.” [3] I am convinced that this is the intent of our congregational governance, to listen for God’s wisdom – Sophia – in the collective heart of the gathered community. Sadly, in many local churches, the discernment of wisdom in the collective heart has been lost. In these places, vocal members simply assert their opinions. The loudest and most dominant voices usually prevail. This is one way that anxiety creeps in and takes over conversations in church communities. I’ve heard some concern about the conversation on the display of the flag in the sanctuary we’ll be having today. Do not fear, though. We can listen to Sophia’s cry, for she is waiting to become have her voice heard in this community. If we seek out Sophia, and listen for her in the hearts of this congregation today, we will have heard her cry. And so may we pray, in the words of J. Philip Newell’s prayer for wisdom: “That truth has been inscribed into my heart and into the heart of every human being, there to be read and reverenced, thanks be to you O God. That there are ways of seeing and sensitivities of knowing hidden deep in the palace of the soul, waiting to be discovered ready to be set free, thanks be to you. Open my senses to wisdom’s inner promptings that I may give voice to what I hear in my soul and be changed for the healing of the world, that I may listen for truth in every living soul and be changed for the wellbeing of the world.” May all God’s people say, Amen. [1]https://www.uscatholic.org/church/scripture-and-theology/2008/07/desperately-seeking-sophia [2]Robert J. Wicks, Leading a Gentle and Passionate Life, (Paulist Press, Mahwah NJ, 1998) [3]J. Philip Newell.Sounds of the Eternal: Meditative Chants and Prayers, Audio CD, 2006
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