What is Wisdom?

What is Wisdom?

We look this Sunday at the quality and character of wisdom. Described with a feminie personality, and said to have been established before the creation of the world, she is greatly admired in much ancient literature. But what is wisdom? 

Our readings are from the book of Proverbs. Proverbs is the most characteristic of Wisdom literature from the Hebrew scriptures. Along with the book of Job it relates instruction on how to live life "wisely."

So is wisdom merely common sense writ large? Is this conventional wisdom? How do we compare or contrast this with the teachings of how we are to live out the Gospel?


Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31



8:1 Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?


8:2 On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand;


8:3 beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out:


8:4 "To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live.




8:22 The LORD created me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of long ago.


8:23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth.

8:24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water.


8:25 Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth--


8:26 when he had not yet made earth and fields, or the world's first bits of soil.


8:27 When he established the heavens, I was there, when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,


8:28 when he made firm the skies above, when he established the fountains of the deep,


8:29 when he assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters might not transgress his command, when he marked out the foundations of the earth,


8:30 then I was beside him, like a master worker; and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always,


8:31 rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race.

Imagio Dei: Pentecost and the Image of God

Michaelangelo's Creation of Man from Sistine Chapel

Lewis Lavoies' "One Blood, Many Nations" mural of Adam at the United Nations

The Sunday of Pentecost and the Tower of Babel:

Today's lectionary study comes from two passages, one from

Genesis recounting the story of the Tower of Babel and the other

from the book of Acts giving the account of Pentecost.

These lessons bring forth a great deal of possibilities regarding

our expression in both language and image

regarding who we are and who God is in our lives.

For the expression of image, as we look at Levoies' art,

we will discuss the phrase "imagio dei" (image of God) and

what that means in our present day world.

How does this affect our mission to others?

For language, what does it mean to speak with the same tongue?

What does it mean to appreciate diversity of language and people?

How has language shaped our belief?

How can we communicate with a world so multilingual?

Our readings are below:

The Tower of Babel: Genesis 11:1-9

11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words.

11:2 And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain

in the land of Shinar and settled there.

11:3 And they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks,

and burn them thoroughly." And they had brick for stone, and

bitumen for mortar.

11:4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and

a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name

for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon

the face of the whole earth."

11:5 The LORD came down to see the city and the tower,

which mortals had built.

11:6 And the LORD said, "Look, they are one people, and

they have all one language; and this is only the beginning

of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will

now be impossible for them.

11:7 Come, let us go down, and confuse their language

there, so that they will not understand one another's speech."

11:8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over

the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city.

11:9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the

LORD confused the language of all the earth; and

from there the LORD scattered them abroad over

the face of all the earth.

Pentecost: Acts 2:1-21

2:1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they

were all together in one place.

2:2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound

like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire

house where they were sitting.

2:3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them,

and a tongue rested on each of them.

2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and

began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit

gave them ability.

2:5 Now there were devout Jews from every

nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.

2:6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was

bewildered, because each one heard them speaking

in the native language of each.

2:7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not

all these who are speaking Galileans?

2:8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our

own native language?

2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of

Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,

2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of

Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome,

both Jews and proselytes,

2:11 Cretans and Arabs--in our own languages we

hear them speaking about God's deeds of power."

2:12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one

another, "What does this mean?"

2:13 But others sneered and said, "They are filled

with new wine."

2:14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised

his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and

all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you,

and listen to what I say.

2:15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose,

for it is only nine o'clock in the morning.

2:16 No, this is what was spoken through the

prophet Joel:

2:17 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that

I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your

sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your

young men shall see visions, and your old men shall

dream dreams.

2:18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they

shall prophesy.

2:19 And I will show portents in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and

smoky mist.

2:20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the

moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's

great and glorious day.

2:21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the

Lord shall be saved.'

What can set you free?

Harry Houdini

What chains bind us in our lives?

How are we set free from them?


In this weeks lectionary lesson from Acts 16: 16-34, we look at the narrative of Paul's night in prison where he is set free from the chains that bind. This narrative is an interesting association of characters and setting.

Paul and his fellow sojourners are first confronted by the female oracle or fortune teller. They then come in conflict with the economic and political values of the city square or forum once they have performed their "Christain duty" as they see it.
Punished and imprisoned for their duty, Paul and his fellows find themselves bound in chains.

But the quaking earth removes the shackles. The miracle is that both they and the prison guard find a hospitality of peace as households joined together in compassion and grace.


Acts 16:16-34


16:16 One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune-telling.

16:17 While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation."

16:18 She kept doing this for many days. But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour.

16:19 But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities.

16:20 When they had brought them before the magistrates, they said, "These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews

16:21 and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe."

16:22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods.

16:23 After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely.

16:24 Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

16:26 Suddenly there was an earthquake, so violent that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were unfastened.

16:27 When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors wide open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, since he supposed that the prisoners had escaped.

16:28 But Paul shouted in a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here."

16:29 The jailer called for lights, and rushing in, he fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

16:30 Then he brought them outside and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

16:31 They answered, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."

16:32 They spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

16:33 At the same hour of the night he took them and washed their wounds; then he and his entire family were baptized without delay.

16:34 He brought them up into the house and set food before them; and he and his entire household rejoiced that he had become a believer in God.

What chains bind us in our lives?



How are we set free from them?

Maturing in God

Journey Lectionary Lesson May 9th, 2010

How does one develop and mature in God?

John 14:15-31 (English Standard Version)

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

¹⁵ "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper to be with you forever, ¹⁷even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.¹⁸ "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. ¹⁹ Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. ²⁰ In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. ²¹ Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." ²² Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, "Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?" ²³Jesus answered him, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. ²⁴Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. ²⁵"These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Helper, the Holy Spirit,^AA)">( whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. ²⁸ You heard me say to you, 'I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. ³⁰ I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, ³¹but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

The Gospel of John is considered by many scholars as a gospel of signs. The signs are to testify to the presence of God in Jesus' ministry among the people of his day. Jesus followed the Father and considered him greater than himself. How do we aspire to be greater than we are? What are the words of God and how do we keep them? How can we know we are following the Spirit Holy in our journey to be all that God has called us to be?