Wisdom

Readings for this week, from the Revised Common Lectionary:

Proverbs 8:1-4; 22-31
Psalm 8
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15

Proverbs 8 (The Message)

Do you hear Lady Wisdom calling? Can you hear Madame Insight raising her voice?

She's taken her stand at First and Main, at the busiest intersection.

Right in the city square where the traffic is thickest, she shouts: "You—I'm talking to all of you, everyone out here on the streets!

Listen, you idiots—learn good sense! You blockheads—shape up!

Don't miss a word of this—I'm telling you how to live well, I'm telling you how to live at your best.

"God sovereignly made me—the first, the basic—before he did anything else.

I was brought into being a long time ago, well before Earth got its start.

I arrived on the scene before Ocean, yes, even before Springs and Rivers and Lakes. Before Mountains were sculpted and Hills took shape, I was already there, newborn;

Long before God stretched out Earth's Horizons, and tended to the minute details of Soil and Weather, And set Sky firmly in place, I was there. When he mapped and gave borders to wild Ocean, built the vast vault of Heaven, and installed the fountains that fed Ocean, When he drew a boundary for Sea, posted a sign that said no trespassing, And then staked out Earth's Foundations, I was right there with him, making sure everything fit.

Day after day I was there, with my joyful applause, always enjoying his company,

Delighted with the world of things and creatures, happily celebrating the human family, before he did anything else.

Proverbs 8 shows us wisdom...personified.

"Lady Wisdom" stands crying out in the streets, but few seem to hear her voice.

It's too busy and noisy out there on Main Street. Besides, her advice might run counter to the things that we want to do, or the things that the world sometimes tells us we should do.

The wisdom of God runs deep. It is ancient, present at and in the creation.

Our task? Listen. Find some space before the noise begins and listen. When we get really accomplished, maybe it's even possible for us to find some spiritual space in the middle of the noise, as it's happening around us.

Not easy. The best things take time and practice. But here's the deal. God has already attended to the details. The soil, the water, the air, the trees, the delicate balance of life...it's all in place.

God made us for the purpose of being here, and being in relationship with Him.

Lady Wisdom cries out at First and Main, "delicately" calling us back home:

"Listen you idiots! Learn good sense! You blockheads, shape up!"

Grace & Peace,
Adam