Sermon "The Wisdom of God" May 30, 2010 Prov. 8:1-4, 22ff (Rom. 5:1ff)
Before there was Adam and Eve, before there were planets and stars, or anything else in existence, there was Sophia. She was God’s first creation, God’s partner in the creative process. And she continues to delight in the inhabited world and in the human race. We know Sophia by another name, wisdom. I will describe her more thoroughly after a prayer.
PRAYER
I know some of you will be greatly disappointed with the sermon this morning. You probably thought I would use the occasion of Trinity Sunday to give a thorough explanation of that mysterious doctrine of God being Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I have already stated earlier all you need to know about the trinity. "The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all."
I first want to make a distinction between knowledge and wisdom, by quoting Billy Graham: "knowledge is horizontal, and wisdom is vertical." In other words, the knowledge we accumulate as human beings comes from our own intellects and observations of the world. Wisdom has its beginning in the mind of God, and comes to us as we open ourselves to God’s presence in the world. That wisdom is revealed through God’s creation and the living word of God, Jesus Christ. In the Proverbs text, wisdom is described as God’s first creative act and partner in all subsequent creative acts.
To help distinguish between human knowledge and God’s wisdom, I will tell you a true story. One evening the church council was meeting to decide the fate of the church secretary. The church had received notice from the IRS that payroll taxes had not been paid on church employees for some time. The church owed back taxes, interest and fines. It was the secretary’s job to pay the taxes. She just kept throwing them in a drawer and ignoring them because she didn’t understand how to file them.
Some on the council had worked in the corporate world. They said that she would be fired and possibly prosecuted if she were working for a company. I pointed out she was a very good secretary and had put in many years of faithful service with the church. She had also been in treatment for alcoholism, and was now sober. The facts were laid out and the council was leaning toward dismissing her. That was where human knowledge was taking us.
Then Ted, a retired farmer, who had been silent up to that point, spoke up. He pointed out that we were representing a Christian church. He asked us to consider what Jesus might do in this situation, since we were followers of Jesus. That turned the whole conversation. It was decided to let the secretary remain in her job, and the church paid the fines and interest. She continued to be a wonderful secretary for many years afterward, because the wisdom of God prevailed.
I believe the wisdom of God permeates, is always present in the world, for us to pay attention to and guide our lives. As for human knowledge, I think the Apostle Paul was right in I Corinthians 13, we see in a mirror dimly. Our captivity to the power of sin limits our ability to make wise decisions and to truly know the heart of God. In Romans, Paul spends the first 4 chapters pointing out our sinful natures, our inability to understand and respond to God’s love in Jesus. Then, in our lesson from Romans 5, Paul points out God’s wise response to our inability to love God and each other through knowledge. We are freed from sin by Jesus death and resurrection. We are justified by grace through faith. The result is that we can have peace with God and live in God’s grace and with hope. That is all made known to us through Sophia, God’s wisdom in reconciling us to God.
Of course some could argue that God’s decision to unconditionally forgive and love us is not very wise, considering our sinful response most of the time. Human knowledge would dictate that, with sin come consequences and punishment and earning of one’s way into the heart of God. In God’s wisdom he chose to reconcile us and all of creation through the blood of Christ. Of course it defies human logic and sense of justice. I am just grateful God’s wisdom has gone beyond and trumped our knowledge.
There is Sophia, wisdom, working alongside God to create that which brings delight, in creation and in human beings. Psalm 8 praises God for his glorious creation and for humans as the pinnacle of his creative efforts. We are to have dominion over that creation, under the wise guidance of God, which always goes beyond our human knowledge.
Therefore we are given access to the spirit of truth that Jesus talked about in John’s Gospel. We have the ability to understand the truth under the spirit’s guidance, as we are open to that guidance. In faith we can see God’s wisdom in how we relate to and care for the natural world. The wisdom of God’s loving presence is revealed to us within our families as we live with one another as Jesus showed us how to live.
For instance, the oil spill that is threatening the Gulf coast and people’s livelihood happened mostly because human knowledge assumed technology could master and control natural forces we think we dominate. Wisdom has shown the tremendous limitations and disastrous results that come from such arrogance.
Wisdom also helps us understand how to interact in families, with neighbors, and neighboring nations. As we conduct ourselves at home, in the community, among nations, we need only ask one question. Are our decisions in the best interest of children? Didn’t Jesus say that, unless one receives the kingdom of God like a child, he or she cannot enter it? Perhaps it was wondrously wise for God to create in such a way that the earth and our human relationships are as God intended when they are good, safe, and a delight to children. Amen.
