Proper 15.B.24
Proverbs 9:1-6
The Rev. Melanie McCarley
For the vast majority of us, Wisdom is gained through experience—it is the accumulation of life lessons. That’s why we oftentimes associate wise people with being great in years. Yet, this is not always the case. Wisdom begins young—just listen to the following gleanings from children, who may not have years on their side, yet are clearly already following the path of the wise:
• No matter how hard you try, you can’t baptize cats.
• When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don’t let her brush your hair.
• If your sister hits you, don’t hit her back. They always catch the second person.
• Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
• You can’t trust dogs to watch your food.
• Don’t sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
• You can’t hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk. And
• The best place to be when you are sad is Grandpa’s lap.
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So true.
In today’s lesson from the Book of Proverbs, we are greeted by Wisdom—personified as a woman, who offers us an invitation to her home—and a banquet from which all are welcome to partake.
As each of us has received an invitation, it’s worth taking a closer look at who this woman is who has invited you to her home—and let me tell you, she is formidable. We are told: “Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table.” Wisdom, we learn, is competent and accomplished, strong and capable, utterly capable of taking care of herself. From what we read—she is remarkably independent. And yet, she is also compassionate, calling from the highest places in town (so that people can hear her) she invites people to a banquet saying: “You that are simple, turn in here!” To those without sense she says, “Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”
With invites in hand, let’s take a closer look at the place to which we have been invited. Wisdom’s house is made by hand. We learn that she, herself, has hewn out seven pillars. There are a host of interpretations as to what these seven pillars represent. The seven days of creation, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, Seven sacraments, seven liberal arts, prophets, apostles and martyrs—on and on. But the vital thing to remember is this. Seven is an important number—representing fullness and perfection. Wisdom’s house, therefore is sturdy—it is built to last for the ages. Hail, wind, hurricanes and floods. That house is going nowhere. Wisdom is not about the business of doing things half-heartedly.
The house of Wisdom is also a place of productivity. “She has slaughtered her animals, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table.” Wisdom has purpose—her goal, to arrange a banquet—and not some mediocre meal comprised of frozen pizza and Light Beer. No, what Wisdom is doing is getting ready to host a feast, and a sumptuous one at that. How do we know this? Because meat and wine were not usually consumed by common people, which confirms that this is a special meal.
And about that meal—think of it as a metaphor for the banquet of life. By partaking of that meal, Wisdom is inviting us to walk the way of understanding. At this point, you may be wondering—what’s the catch? After all—for most of us, when we open the mail and receive one of those invites for a free dinner at a nice restaurant—we automatically know that whoever is hosting it is going to try to sell us something. Ultimately, that meal is going to cost.
But this is Wisdom—divine wisdom, at that, and Wisdom’s offer doesn’t come with a catch. Think of it—Wisdom isn’t about the business of taking our resources. Wisdom doesn’t take our time—it only maximizes it. It doesn’t suck the life out of us—it only extends it. Wisdom doesn’t take our relationships from us—it only strengthens them. Wisdom doesn’t take our talents—it only refines them. Wisdom doesn’t take our thoughts—it only enlightens them. Wisdom doesn’t take our future—it only brightens it.
Consider it from this perspective: Foolishness takes the best from us and the good out of us. Wisdom, on the other hand, leaves the best with us and takes nothing good from us. Who wouldn’t want that?
So…how do we get there? How do we become wise? Columnist Doug Larson writes: “Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have preferred to talk.”
We begin by listening—listening for the invitation, listening to the Word of God, opening our hearts in prayer and listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit. And then, we are to test what we have heard with others of great faith—to ensure that we are all hearing the same thing from God. Wisdom functions best in community. To become wise inevitably comes with a degree of humility—the realization that we don’t have all the answers. And, if wisdom is the accumulated learnings of the years—well, it makes sense then, to listen to those who have trod the hard road before us and found Wisdom to be the better path. In other words, listen to the person who tried to baptize a cat. Hear what they have to say, consider the nature of the cat, the vulnerability of your own skin, and conclude that there are some things in life better left undone. In other words, you don’t need to experience everything to know that some things are not worth doing.
Wisdom is the gift of the accumulated learnings of our past, as well as what we glean from others. And the banquet that we receive is a life well lived, one filled with love, service to others and devotion to God. Ultimately, the gift we receive is fullness and joy. I imagine it to be the kind of feeling you have after having eaten a perfect meal—not that queasy feeling you get from eating too many rich foods, and not so skimpy that you are left wanting for more. Just right. That’s the feast that Wisdom prepares. It's quite different than what is being offered by the foolish, leaving us with an accumulation of regret, guilt and remorse—supreme indigestion! Who wants that?
Wisdom, is offering the hope of a life well lived. And it begins with responding to the invitation. One found in the Old Testament, and another in the Gospel for this morning from our Savior who says: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh….those who eat of my flesh and drink of my blood abide in me and I in them.” So, what are you waiting for? Come to the banquet table and eat. In Jesus’ name. Amen.