Wisdom In the Light of
God
Paula Killough
As a person in the
middle of my sixth decade, I regularly ponder the meaning of the word
wisdom. How wise am I? Have I made wise choices? Why don’t I feel as though I have it all
figured out? Shouldn’t I? At my age I should have all the answers,
right?
Instead
of having all the answers, I struggle to simply try to seek to ask the right
questions. Does the spirit guide my
voice? How can I seek clarity in
decisions and choices? How can I stay
connected to God, to my family, my community, and my world? Essentially, how can I experience wisdom in
the light of God?
Wisdom
is defined in the dictionary as the ability to make sound judgments on what we
know, especially related to life and conduct.
The wise do not just value knowledge, but knowledge in the context of
human experience and how that translates into choices and actions. Wisdom is not finite – never totally
discovered. Wisdom is not a stagnant
pool, but a swirling river.
Daniel
Schipani expands on this powerful active concept by defining wisdom in the
light of God as possessing knowledge that is in tune with, as well as dependent
on divine will (or wisdom).[1][1] Schipani continues that from this position of
being in sync with God, we may experience the vision of the reign of God as the
ultimate normative culture in which God’ s dream for the world is being
realized now and beyond history. Wisdom
in the light of God is the kaleidoscope through which we can adjust and focus
in order to perceive more clearly who God is and what God would have us do.
How
can we seek this understanding in the light of God, to learn to fashion
together a world that pleases God? The
Gospel, the wisdom of the ages, and wise ones among us, can inform us.
Let
us turn first to our OT texts this morning.
Both are part of ancient
First
Psalm, number 111…the final verse of this psalm is echoed many times throughout
the wisdom literature, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This fear is defined as reverence to or
standing in awe of God. Knowing and
understanding who God is and how faithful is God’s love - places us where we can receive the
penetrating light of wisdom…knowledge tied to the action of faith throughout
one’s life.
1
Kings and the story of Solomon’s assumption to the throne at an early age is an
example of a second theme of wisdom literature which is human will, the choices
we make and the consequences of those choices for good or evil. The wisdom literature is full of examples of
the human dilemma in making wise choices – do we make our choices based on what
we know would please God or do we allow our baser instincts to prevail? Our
text today shows that making wise choices can occur at any age. Solomon is said to be only a child.
Another
theme of ancient wisdom was the celebration of creation. We are God’s beloved. As God’s beloved creations we have access to
wisdom. The medieval mystic, Hildegard von Bingen, wrote of this aspect of
received wisdom in her song “For the Creator.”
O
how marvelous is
The
foreknowledge of the divine heart
Which
knew all creation.
For
when God looked
On
the face of the humans whom he formed,
He
saw all his works whole
In
that same
Human
form.
O
how marvelous is the inspiration
That
in this way roused man and woman to life.
Jesus
the Christ breaks open the ancient biblical concept of wisdom. Wisdom in the light of God becomes the new
logic according to Daniel Schipani, through Jesus Christ. In and through Jesus, the incarnation of the
Word and the Spirit, we receive new wisdom through the true bread and true wine
described in our John text today. The
old norms of right choices and fear of God are not enough. Now we are to love others – even our enemies,
name and eliminate oppression, and become peacemakers through the risen
Christ.
This
is subversive wisdom from the least of these.
From the margins Jesus expanded our definition of wisdom by his own
decision to refuse to engage in political warfare with the Jewish leaders – at
least on their terms.
Jesus’
wisdom was controversial. By proclaiming
the kingdom and raising up the downtrodden, he challenged the religious,
social, and political structures and leaders.
Richard Hays reminds us that Jesus’ message was that the kingdom would
bring reversals in good fortune, health, possessions and wealth. The rich and powerful saw this as fuel for
revolt by the oppressed and powerless.
Many of Jesus’ supporters wanted to proclaim him king and called for a
violent revolution. Jesus rejected
violence even to save himself from execution.[2][2] This however is not the end of the story,
but the beginning of wisdom for living out the gospel in the 21st
century.
Seeking
wisdom in the light of God in today’s world is very challenging. At every turn, on every moment of our
journey, we are faced with other “wisdoms” – conventional wisdom, wisdom of the
market economy, wisdom of the media, political wisdom - we are barraged by all
this wisdom, which is not what we seek.
God’s wisdom, imparted to God’s people, is found by asking who is at the
center of these wise words? If God is
not the center then I would recommend walking away. Staying connected to the God center is key to
finding wisdom.
Wisdom
with God as our center also will carry the blessing of the community of
faith. Our congregation is called to
become the work of God as are each of us in the formation of the body. Making wise choices with the support of our
community is necessary to standing in the light of God.
In
the body of Christ we can hopefully discover those wise ones who will bless us
as we seek. These are people of the
spirit who have encountered God. In my
life, such a wise person is Doreen Kostyniuk, the Byzantine nun who has led our
last two retreats. I aspire to be as
wise as she. The wise know who God is,
they know God’s ways, and how God works.
They know the stories of the faith that will fill hearts with fire. The wise know when to lead and when to get
out of the way. Wise ones name the truth
and can name alternate visions, which bring forth wisdom in the light of God –
they can also name our pain. Nothing can
be healed if it is not brought into the light.
Seeking clarity of vision through the example of our wise ones is a
significant step toward wisdom. Knowing
and understanding who God is and how faithful is God’s love - places us where we can receive the
penetrating light of wisdom…knowledge tied to the action of faith throughout
our lives.
Our
Psalm today concludes with the chant “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom.” I would offer that standing in
reverence, awe and humility before our God should be our constant
attitude. With our heart focused on the
God of love, through constant prayer and adoration, we will be blessed with the
powerful spirit and gain the clear voice of wisdom in the light of God.
And now let us pray
the words of the mystic Julian of
That
we may know what it means to pray:
God of thy goodness, give me Thyself
for Thou art enough to me,
and I can ask nothing that is less
that can be full honor to Thee.
And if I ask anything that is less,
ever shall I be in want,
for only in Thee have I all.
Amen.