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?

Have you ever had a vision? Acts 11:1-18

In today’s lesson, we look at the vision of St. Peter, recounted in the book of Acts, where he is released from the restrictions of the dietary laws of his tradition.

Why did the Jews have dietary laws in the first place? What was their purpose?

Are dietary laws all this story refers to?


As Christians, we are not fettered by the dietary laws of our Jewish heritage. But what are we fettered with in this day and time. What restrictions have we imposed that keep us from reaching out to those whom God already loves, In other words, who are the Gentiles to us?


Acts 11:1-18
11:1 Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God.

11:2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him,

11:3 saying, "Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?"

11:4 Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying,

11:5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me.

11:6 As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air.

11:7 I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.'

11:8 But I replied, 'By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'

11:9 But a second time the voice answered from heaven, 'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.'

11:10 This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven.

11:11 At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were.

11:12 The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house.

11:13 He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, 'Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter;

11:14 he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.'

11:15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning.

11:16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'

11:17 If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"

11:18 When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, "Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life."


What would you say is the most significant thing that Peter realizes during bis vision?

What does this mean for us in our faith walk?

Lectionary Lesson April 25 - The Revelation of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Revealing the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse:
Revelation 6: 1-8, 7: 9-17

How can we see Revelation as a spiritual journey, as a description of our development as a human being before God?

Revelation is a cryptic document which has been interpreted in many ways. Most of the interpretations fall into one or more of the following categories: the Historicist, which sees in Revelation a broad view of history; the Preterist, in which Revelation mostly refers to the events of the apostolic era (first century); the Futurist, which believes that Revelation describes future events; and the Idealist, or Symbolic, which holds that Revelation is purely symbolic, an allegory of the spiritual path and the ongoing struggle between good and evil. These approaches are by no means mutually exclusive, and can be (and usually are) used in combination with each other.

Chapter 6: 1-8
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

Revelation: A revealing. A revealing about ourselves as well angels and demons.
Today, the players are the same, only the names have been changed of the horsemen to distract the ignorant.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in modern attire.
Chucky, Groucho, Ziggy, and Big Al. We'll discuss these in class...

The lectionary reading:

Chapter 7: 9-17
9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God,
12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.
13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.
17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

The process of spiritual development:
God may reveal himself to us in many ways and through many avenues, our surrounding nature, our society, our psyche all on the larger stage of the cosmos. If we are to develop, we must develop in relation to all of the above. Our lives proceed not in a vacuum, but one that is fraught with peril and danger. But in the end we are faithful to arrive at our fullest stage of development where “16 We shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on us, nor any heat.” For we will be the full light in Christ, having reached our full purpose as a creature created to journey to our full calling in God. Now that’s true revelation.

What is Conversion? Journey Lesson April 18, 2010

What is Conversion?

Have you ever gone through a monumental life-changing experience? How is it different than a change that occurs slowly over time, or is it different? Just how are we converted to new life?

Three "conversion" stories

Paul New Testament

Acts 9:1-6, (7-20)9:1 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest9:2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.9:3 Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"9:5 He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The reply came, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.9:6 But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."9:7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one.9:8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.9:9 For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.9:10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." He answered, "Here I am, Lord."9:11 The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying,9:12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight."9:13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem;9:14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name."9:15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel;9:16 I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."9:17 So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."9:18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized,9:19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus,9:20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."

Medieval St. Augustine

In Milan, Saint Augustine came under the influence of Saint Ambrose the bishop; he began to go to his sermons, not so much with an expectation of profiting by them as to gratify his curiosity and to enjoy the eloquence. He found that the discourses more learned than the heresies he adopted and began to read the New Testament especially Saint Paul's writings. In the same time, the mother of Adeodatus his son left back to Africa leaving the child behind.
Saint Augustine's spiritual, moral and intellectual struggle went on; he was convinced of the truth of Christianity, but his will was weaker than the worldly temptations, and delayed his return to Christ for many months. "Soon, in a little while, I shall make up my mind, but not right now" he kept telling himself. In his half desires of conversion he was accustomed to beg of God the grace of chastity, but was at the same time in some measure afraid of being heard too soon. He realized that his problem was a moral one. The Divine truth for which he was seeking would never be his unless he first overcame his weakness.
Soon after, Pontitian, an African, came to visit Saint Augustine and his friend Alipius; he told them about two men who had been suddenly turned to the service of God by reading about the life of Saint Anthony. His words had a powerful influence on the mind of Saint Augustine. He was ashamed his will has been so weak and said to Alipius:
"What are we doing to let the unlearned seize Heaven by force, whilst we with all our knowledge remain behind, cowardly and heartless, wallowing in our sins? Because they have outstripped us and gone before, are we ashamed to follow them? Is it not more shameful not even to follow them?"
He rushed to the garden, greatly upset; tears filling his eyes, he threw himself on the grass under a fig tree and reproached himself bitterly crying out:
"And Thou, O Lord, how long? How long? Is it to be tomorrow and tomorrow? Why not now? Why not this very hour put an end to shame?"
As he spoke these words he heard a child's voice singing "Tolle lege! Tolle lege!" (Take up and read! Take up and read!). He could not remember any childhood game he played with any such words. He remembered that Saint Anthony was converted from the world by hearing a single verse. He took up Saint Paul's epistles and read the first chapter that met his eyes: "Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, fulfil the lusts thereof." (Romans 13:13-14)
When he told Alipius what he had experienced, Alipius took the book and read, he found the next words to be: "Him that is weak in the faith receive ye" and applied them to himself and joined his friend in his resolution.
This high point in the conversion of Saint Augustine took place in the September of 386, when he was 32 years old. He, his son Adeodatus and Alipius were baptized by Saint Ambrose at Easter the following year in the presence of saint Monica. She knew that her prayers were answered and died shortly after.

Modern Day Experience

The NDE story of Dr.Tony Cicoria is an orthopedic surgeon from Oneonta, New York, who experienced an unusual near death experience (NDE) after being hit by lightning on a summer day in 1994. He remembered seeing the lightning, which struck him on the mouth, but after that there was nothing. He felt himself falling backward, then he seemed to be going forward. His mother-in-law rushed past him without speaking to him and he suddenly came to the realization that he was dead. He was surrounded by a bluish-white light and he could see and hear the people around him, but they didn't seem to notice him. They were all looking at his lifeless body lying on the ground some distance from where he was standing. Tony was filled with an "unbelievable feeling of peace and love and warmth."

Return to Life
Cicoria could sense speed and direction while 'dead' and he saw highs and lows of his life pass by. His scientific mind was analyzing what was happening, and he was happy to go where where he seemed to be headed. Suddenly he was being jolted back to life by a woman who was administering CPR. He felt anger and pain, and cried out "Please don't make me come back." But he was back in his body and experiencing excrutiating pain. After some time thay were able to get him to sit up and they insisted that he go to the hospital. He refused. "When you are hit by lightning you are either dead or alive, and I was alive," he says. So he made his way back to the place where his family had gathered in a pavilion for a picnic. He was in great pain, his mind was in a fog, and he allowed them to take him home.

Classical Piano Music
Tony Cicoria was a child of the 60s and was raised on rock and roll, especially Led Zeppelin. He had no interest in classical music at all. However, after being checked out by a cardiologist and neurologist and being pronounced well after his experience, he began to have an insatiable desire to hear classical piano music. He purchased records and cassettes and spent most of his spare time listening to these artists. He says that he was possesssed.At this time his baby sitter needed a home for her piano for a year and Cicoria gladly offered to keep it. He began piano lessons and tried to play a composition he had first heard in his mind a few weeks after his near death experience. Every time he would sit at the piano this music would keep playing in his mind. On January 29, 2008, his 56th birthday, Tony Cicoria played this composition, along with two others he had composed, in a concert performance.

How would you tell the story of your own conversion?

Was it sudden? Has it been over time?

Is it a mission accomplished yet?