HEARING THE CALL OF WISDOM
Proverbs 8:1-4; 22-31 – 6/13/2004
I’d like to share with you some “Words of Wisdom” which have guided my life through the years:
When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.
Everyone has a photographic memory. Some just don’t have film.
Shin: a device for finding furniture in the dark.
Never slap a man who’s chewin’ tobacco.
Black holes are where God divided by zero.
Now here are some words about wisdom from today’s Scripture lesson: (READ PROVERBS 8:1-4, 22-31)
Today’s passage from Proverbs describes wisdom as a woman, a female figure who takes her stand in the middle of human society and cries out, “To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live” (Proverbs 8:4).
First I want to clarify something. Some people are uncomfortable with calling this divine principle a woman. (Others applaud this passage for the same reason.) Wisdom is portrayed as if it is an actual divine entity that lives apart from God, not unlike the Holy Spirit, but wisdom is more of a quality that is actually an internal part of God’s person.
The practice of speaking about aspects of God as if they were independent characters grew in popularity through the centuries as it became less and less acceptable to speak directly about God or God’s person. We are now free to embrace her again, however, knowing that to seek her is simply a means of seeking knowledge of the one God. Having said that, let’s look Wisdom as described by Solomon in this passage from Proverbs. Wisdom is portrayed as a woman who stands where she will be seen by a great many people—at the gates in front of the town--and then she proceeds to call to them, hoping to sway them to her way of living. “Learn prudence and acquire intelligence,” she says. Ho hum. I doubt if that would get too many people’s attention. One might ask, “Well, why is Wisdom qualified to grant these things? Verses 22-31 contain some pretty impressive credentials. God himself, it appears, created Wisdom before all other things and then used Wisdom to create the rest of the world. So having Wisdom is…having God.
We also hear in these verses that Wisdom offers her insights to everyone who is willing to listen, and she promises wonderful gifts to anyone who will embrace her — gifts of intelligence, truth, instruction, knowledge, justice, righteousness and wealth (vv. 5-21).
Notice that Wisdom doesn’t give her gifts only to college students or think tankers in Washington, D.C. Wisdom is generous to all who are willing to open their hearts and minds to what she offers, and she pours her gifts into:
• The auto mechanic who analyzes car problems with uncommon intelligence
• The grandmother who knows the truth about what makes people tick
• The elementary school teacher who can both instruct and inspire her students
• The counselor who shows real knowledge about the workings of human relationships
• The attorney who has a passion for justice, above a concern for billable hours
• The high-school student who resists peer pressure and practices righteousness
• The entrepreneur who finds that she or he can do well by doing good
When we look at ourselves, and at people around us, we realize that wisdom is reserved not only for people with the most distinguished diplomas and powerful professions — in fact, the nightly news reveals that there is plenty of folly and foolishness to be found at the highest levels of academics, business and politics.
True insight is available to all people everywhere who are willing to open their hearts and their minds to the wisdom of God. But what exactly is Wisdom, and how do we get it? Well, let’s just ask her:
You: What is wisdom?
Wisdom: I was created at the beginning of the world.
You: That's nice, but what is wisdom?
Wisdom: I was here before the waters.
You: Okay, but what is wisdom?
Wisdom: I was here before the mountains and hills took shape.
You: Good for you, but what is wisdom?
Wisdom: I was present at the formation of the heavens and at the groundbreaking ceremony of the earth.
You: I'm happy for you, but all I really want to know is WHAT IS WISDOM?
Wisdom: When you find me you will be very happy.
You: Aaargh!
So I guess we have to decide to take matters into our own hands and find wisdom for ourselves. The first part of the Proverbs text says that Wisdom is standing at the crossroads, right beside the gates to the front of the city shouting at the top of her lungs for folks to listen and follow her words of wisdom. So, what better place to go to find wisdom than to go to the city? Follow me on an imaginary journey:
As we begin your search for Wisdom, the first thing you notice in the city is how many voices there are, each competing with the others for attention. There are the environmental voices: the wheezing of buses and trucks, unable in their stop-and-go progress to find their full voice; the car horns honking harsh words; the ear-shattering speech of jack hammers as they insist on their own way against layers of asphalt; and added to all of this is disembodied music coming from everywhere and nowhere.
Then there is the mishmash of human sounds: scores of conversations being carried on simultaneously; instructions being yelled from foreman to worker, from storeowner to delivery person, from teacher to her students on a field trip. One thing is for certain -- if you expect to hear the voice of Wisdom, you will need to listen carefully, for hers is not the only voice clamoring for your attention.
Just as challenging as the multitude of voices is the variety of crossroads. Which one should you choose? If you were Wisdom, where would you set up shop in order to be heard? You decide to begin in the financial district of the city. If there is one thing people care about the most, it is their pocketbook. And the terms 'wise,' 'prudent,' and 'investment' seem to hang out a lot together, so perhaps this is the logical place to start.
From the sidewalk outside several banks, you see all kinds of advertisements beckoning you to “put your money here,” and “let us loan you money for that dream vacation,” enticing you with interest rates. You look hard and listen intently, but Wisdom does not seem to be here. With its volume of traffic, this is a more likely crossroad than the financial district.
You immediately notice a long line of folks atwitter with excitement queued up in front of a store called Hallmark. They are calling to one another, "They’re here! They’re new!" You think to yourself, “This is the crossroad I've been searching for. Wisdom must be here." So you join the line as it moves slowly into the store. The closer you approach the focus of attention, the more excited the scene becomes. Then comes your turn to step forward and as you do, your heart falls. You aren't in line for wisdom after all -- only Vera Bradley purses.
Nevertheless, you stay a while to watch and listen. So many stores. So much to buy. Everywhere from buyer to seller money is changing hands. A voice from the past reminds you that what you are seeing is the engine of growth -- the economic system at its best. You ask yourself, "Could such luxurious spending in a world of such need be the home of Wisdom? Could the whirring of cash registers be the voice of Wisdom?" You decide to look further.
At the university campus in the heart of the city where knowledge is celebrated and learning is prized, you are certain Wisdom can be found. As you walk through the hallways of the classroom buildings, you hear interesting, wonder-filled, exciting things: lectures about history, descriptions of the universe entwined with the passions of the heart in poetic words too inadequate to contain them.
Enchanting. But…is wisdom the same as knowledge? Is knowledge found in wisdom or is wisdom found in knowledge? Obviously, you have spent too much time in the philosophy lecture. Let’s move on.
You look for Wisdom in the courthouse, the halls of justice. You listen for her voice in the sports arena. You search out every crossroad imaginable, but she is not to be found. The day is spent, evening arrives, and you feel no wiser for your efforts than you did when the day began. Your body and spirit are weary and with no other options presenting themselves, you sit down to reflect on your day. How could the writer of Proverbs have been so wrong? Wisdom is not in the city nor could her voice be heard at the crossroads. You feel cheated.
Then you begin to alter the way you have evaluated the day just spent. What if Wisdom, unlike knowledge, is not a state of being, or a destination at which one finally arrives? What if Wisdom, like faith, is merely bread for the journey -- a companion for your pilgrim walk? Maybe wisdom is not something we possess, but something that possesses us, coming as it does at crucial moments of life providing guidance and direction -- a serendipitous gift delivered by the grace of God. If that is so, then perhaps you have been hearing the voice of Wisdom throughout the day and at every crossroad you encountered -- a voice whose silent whispers kept you from falling prey to the enticements of competing voices; a voice that kept calling you back to a reverence of God, from which all Wisdom originates.
Instead of you finding Wisdom, for one brief moment, Wisdom found you. Ponder that for a few moments: Instead of you finding Wisdom, for one brief moment, Wisdom found you. (PAUSE FOR REFLECTION)
BENEDICTION: People of God, listen! Wisdom calls, and understanding raises her voice!
We have gathered to grow in wisdom and understanding, to hear God’s word for us. Go now, allowing Wisdom to inspire you to new words and deeds, all in the name of the living Christ. Amen.
