Does not Wisdom call, and Understanding put forth her voice...I,
Wisdom, dwell with prudence…To you, the woman-born I call, and my cry is to all
earth’s children…The fear of the FOUNT OF WISDOM is to hate evil; pride and
arrogance and the way of evil. [Proverbs 8:1, 4, 12, 13]
Praise the LIVING GOD! I will give thanks to the ONE GOD with my
whole heart…the WOMB OF LIFE is gracious and abounds in mother-love…The works
of her hands are truth and justice…Awe of the AGELESS GOD is the beginning of
wisdom… [Psalm 111:1, 4b, 7a, 10]
Who is wise and understanding among you…through a way of life
that is good, through works that are done with gentleness born of wisdom…do not
boast and bear false witness against the truth…For where these is jealousy and
selfishness, there will also be turmoil… The wisdom from above is…pure,
peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, and
sincere.[1 James 3:13, 14, 16, 17]
Now, the disciples of John brought news…[about
Jesus raising the widow’s son] to John. And John called two in particular…He
sent them…to ask, “Are you the One Who is Coming…Jesus answered them,, “Go and
take this news to John…” Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John…more than
a prophet…the one about whom it is written “Look I am sending my messenger
ahead of you who will prepare your way before you”…Now all the people who heard
this…professed the righteousness of God, being baptized with the baptism of
John…But by refusing to be baptized by him, the Pharisees and the legal
scholars rejected God’s counsel for themselves…the people of this generation…are
like children in the marketplace…calling to one another…Yet Wisdom is
vindicated by all her children.” [Luke 7:18-20, 22a, 24a, 2729-30, 32a, 35]
The first Lesson for this week from
Proverbs 8 begins with Does not Wisdom call, and Understanding put forth her
voice? “Call” is an interesting word in religious circles as well as in
secular. We often hear and/or use the word call as in, for
example, “I/She/He/They are called to ordained ministry, working with homeless
shelters, political activism, childcare, or medical training, etc. And it
continues in verse 4 with To you, the woman-born, I call… and beyond, to
take my instruction…and knowledge. The psalm, at the very least by
inference, also issues calls throughout and particularly in verse 1 to Praise
the Living God… and to give thanks…and at verse 10 telling us that
as Awe of the Ageless God is the beginning of wisdom…we are called to
develop the Awe within ourselves.
In the Letter/Epistle from James, we are asked at the beginning
about who is wise and understanding among us and given an instruction of
how to live a wise and understanding life by Showing a way of life that is
good, through works that are done with gentleness born of wisdom. It
follows with further instruction on the don’ts and the why’s. I found myself,
and it continues with each successive reading of this Letter, very attracted to
the balance of the gentle yet firm and prescriptive cadence of the prose
in verses 17-18 with the starkness of the warnings in verses 14-16.
And then there’s this passage in Luke! What I love most about Dr. Gafney’s
Lectionary is her use of the non-preaching readings, that is, readings that are
not in the Revised Common Lectionary in any of the 3 year cycles nor in the
Daily Office. We are then moving from the “condensed” version of the Sunday/Daily
offerings of Scripture to a broader experience of learning and “digesting.” I
have done “The Bible in 90 Days” ~ more or less ~ I’ve read through one book at
a time, now and then in formal and personal or group study. Yet the memory of
the vastness of all that is available, even when read , easily escapes my
consciousness (more easily as I get older!).
This piece of Luke was one of those great moments of OH! THIS! And in my
research I discovered that Luke’s source for this account is from Matthew 11:2-19,
perfectly aligned with the label synoptic, that is, synonymous. Repeated
in Luke for us to hear and know, in this case, far more about the relationship
of Jesus and his cousin John, the messenger from God who prepared the
Way. Yet again, neither are found in the RCL or Daily Office. From this vantage
point for me, Dr. Gafney is calling us all to read and hear with fresh
eyes and ears with open hearts and minds and to have more than snippets of the familiar
texts.
There’s very little variance in
the translations of Dr. Gafney with the NRSV and other translations. Her use of
expanded titles for God, and her use of the feminine aspect of God is not
changing any of the narratives in any way. Wisdom has always been
considered feminine from its Hebrew root and attained through the counsel of
the Holy Spirit. In Hebrew the ruach means spirit, wind, or breath, it
is all of the life force and fullness of God’s Creation on all levels seen
and unseen.
The introduction of these texts highlights that which opens a larger
entry into the breadth and depth of our faith story with all of its magnitude
and immensity. Sadly, this dimension of the feminine is rarely taught or
applied by many Biblical preachers and teachers, the learned and the less so. Tragically,
it remains for some as nearly heretical and certainly offensive, as in an affront
to the vastness of God’s Plan. Many see it as violating the Canon of
Scripture cemented, supposedly forever, in the 4th century by, well,
men. See Genesis 1:127 across the vastness of Jewish and Christian translations
and paraphrases. See any and all of Dr. Gafney’s lections across many translations.
As we are told, in Scripture, John was indeed called to his role.
A dictionary defines “calling” in this context as, 1: a strong inner impulse
toward a particular course of action especially when accompanied by conviction
of divine influence; and 2: the vocation or profession in which one customarily
engages. We also use the word commission when one has
been more formally launched into their chosen path. And commissioned is defined
as, 1: an instruction, command, or duty given to a person or group of
people; and 2: a group of people officially
charged with a particular function. Ordained…
One can decline a call and quit a
job, but that divine spark, that still small voice within that nags
and niggles will continue to make itself known whether or not you accept and
act on it or try to hide it away. When a sense of a divine call is allowed to
bubble up, one may then be commissioned to engage with it
throughout the entirety of one’s life, in many and various and surprising, and
sometimes scary ways. Of course, we all wrestle and wonder if this is real
or imagined. The test is in discovering in what ways are its deeper purpose
meant to be expressed as well as how it offers goodness and rightness; and
discussion with a trusted adviser. Dr. Gafney’s work challenges us to active
spiritual listening for what calls us in and what repels us by these and other readings;
and, for us each examine the why in either case. Then, we are to work on
what comes next.
When you have those
sudden or continuing and compelling moments of oughts and shoulds and mights,
and we all do even if we wave them off…Consider, is the ID on your spiritual
listening device saying Wisdom Calling? Will we answer?
LET US, GOD’S PEOPLE, PRAY
Leader: ~ LIVING GOD, holy is your name and we give you praise and thanks
with our whole heart for your forever covenant with us. As our WOMB OF LIFE,
you are gracious and abound in mother-love in the redemption you sent to your
people. The works of your hands are truth and justice, and our awe of you is
the beginning of our wisdom.
RESPONSE: O FOUNT OF WISDOM
Open us to hear your call
~ LIVING GOD, guide all who lead the nations of
this world, this country, and this community, to lead good lives and work on
behalf of all your people with gentleness born of wisdom without selfishness
and turmoil. Your wisdom is pure, peaceable, and full of mercy. May we all reap
the peace that you and we each sow. We pray especially for: add
your own petitions
O FOUNT OF WISDOM
Open us to hear your call
~ LIVING GOD, bind the wounds and heal the hearts of all who suffer
in body, mind, or spirit, and give strength to those who give them care. We now
join our hearts to pray for those in need… add your own petitions
O FOUNT OF WISDOM
Open us to hear your call
~ LIVING GOD, brighten the shadows for all who are bereaved, as those
who have stepped from the constrains of this life, now delight in the glory and
radiance of new and unending life in Christ. We pray especially for: add your own petitions
O FOUNT OF WISDOM
Open us to hear your call
~ LIVING GOD, we pause in this moment to offer You
our other heartfelt thanksgivings, intercessions, petitions, and memorials,
aloud or silently…add your own petitions
O FOUNT OF WISDOM
Open us to hear your call
~ LIVING GOD, renew
and empower those who welcome us to the sacred feast at Your table and proclaim
the Good News of Christ’s Gospel. Together may we know, experience, and share
Your blessings and abiding love. We pray
especially for: add your own petitions
O
FOUNT OF WISDOM
Open
us to hear your call
The Celebrant adds: Jesus, Son of Woman, as
God’s Word in human flesh, You are the One who has Come and is Coming. You are
the gift of Wisdom personified. Through your words and actions in living,
dying, and resurrecting, we are called to take the news of you by all the means
our loving words and actions can reach others. Grant us strength and courage to
follow in your steps as the disciples we claim to be. We ask through the Holy
Spirit, the Sacred Breath within us; and the Ageless Creator of all we see and
cannot see; who together with You are One God, here, now, and forever. Amen.
*Readings for our Parish in this Year C are from The Rev.
Dr. Wilda [Wil] Gafney,
Womanist biblical scholar, and the Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey
Professor of Hebrew Bible at Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth, Texas. She is
the author of A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church Yr C,
and others in her series, and translator of its biblical selections. I
definitely commend her book for the complete readings, to Clergy and Laity, for
her Text Notes, and “Preaching Prompts” whether or not you will use them in
your Liturgies/Services/Preaching. There is much to learn from her work to
inform every facet of our lives in Christ. To learn more about her and
her work, see her website: https://www.wilgafney.com/
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