Proper 20B, September 20, 2015, St. Stephen’s
Proverbs 31:10–31; Psalm 1; James 3:13–4:3, 7–8; Mark 9:30–37
Today’s readings continue the theme of wisdom that we’ve heard over the last few weeks. While a philosopher might say that the point of pursuing wisdom is to become wise – that is, that wisdom is its own reward, today’s readings give a different answer. The bible remind us that wisdom is not simply a contemplative or intellectual activity but something that guides our actions. The wise person doesn’t demonstrate wisdom by thinking wise thoughts or uttering wise sayings, but, as James says by living a life punctuated by "deeds of gentleness born of wisdom." Although he doesn’t say it quite this way, I can imagine James saying, "Wisdom without works is dead”. And in our Gospel reading Jesus introduces the linchpin of Christian accounts of wisdom- the cross. The cross is the central moment at which the wisdom of God is contrasted with the wisdom of the world. Through Christ we see true wisdom as self-giving, self-offering obedience to God for the benefit of others.
Now, at first glance today’s passage from Proverbs may not seem like it’s about wisdom at all. I imagine that at least a few of the women in the room had some uncharitable thoughts about whoever it was that wrote such an impossible ‘job description’ for the ideal wife! I know I certainly don’t aspire to be a wife who works hard everywhere, on everything, for everybody, from dawn to dusk! Who won’t want a wife who could do all that –I’d love to have her in my life!
However, to be fair to the text, not all of this woman’s activities could be described as "woman's work" – not now and certainly not in antiquity. This is not a woman kept in the kitchen scrubbing dishes and biting her tongue. While she clearly does take care of her household and excels at domestic activities, she’s also quite active outside the home. She’s a successful businesswoman and entrepreneur, she knows how to dress for success and how to sell goods for a profit. But this woman does more than simply succeed in business and domestic duties. She’s no uncaring tycoon: instead, she "opens her hand to the poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy". And she’s far from silent. She speaks with wisdom and the "teaching of kindness" is on her tongue. Her strength, in other words, appears to be as much moral as it is practical.
Now, if this woman seems too good to be true – well, she is! Scholars suggest this depiction is part of the personification of the figure of Lady Wisdom who we heard about in last week’s reading. Lady Wisdom, or Sophia as she is called in Greek, was, and is, a significant figure for Judaism and early Christians. And she’s still an important figure in Eastern Christianity. Wisdom is personified as a woman who’s an active and assertive force in human affairs. At times she’s portrayed as an angry prophet decrying the folly and heedlessness of the human race, but she’s also seen as a gracious woman inviting humans to enjoy the treasures she offers. Wisdom is clearly distinct from God, but is nonetheless presented as the form in which God approaches humans. She mediates between God and humans. She has a special role in creation, and she makes statements that, properly speaking, only God can make like: "Whoever finds me finds life". Many early Christian writers as well as modern scholars see the Logos imagery in John’s gospel (‘in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God’) as imagery of Lady Wisdom. In other words, in the early church Jesus was sometimes identified as an incarnation of Sofia. Indeed, there’s lots of ways the gospels use the imagery associated with Sophia to describe Jesus and his role. Although there were also early Christians who said that she wasn’t the second person of the Trinity (i.e. Christ) but the third person of the Trinity – that is, the Holy Spirit. Which is one of the reasons why some people today use female pronouns to talk about the Holy Spirit – they see Sophia as one of the images of the Holy Spirit.
In any case, this is all a long winded way of saying that the ‘ideal wife’ imagery is probably not intended as a model that women alone should aspire to, but to be an ideal for all believers. Since Wisdom imagery is also in many respects, Christ imagery, this isn’t something we should dismiss lightly. This ‘ideal wife’ imagery is a model for putting wisdom into action in our lives. If we take away the notion of ‘wife’, the qualities would describe a faithful believer of any gender. Prudent and wise. Generous and industrious. Stable and faithful. Qualities, quite frankly, we should all strive for in our lives. For example, this woman shows concern not just for her family and those in her immediate circle, but also for the welfare of the poor. In typical Wisdom fashion, concern for the poor is not painted in broad, prophetic strokes, but rather is presented as a specific response to specific needs. It’s not ‘concern’ for others in the sense of feelings, but concern in the sense of concrete actions to help someone.
James is making a similar point about the centrality of wisdom in his letter. In today’s reading James binds together claims to be wise with the stipulation that wisdom reveals itself in action, just as "faith" does. James says true wisdom is tied to peaceable behaviour and willingness to yield. Belligerence and contentiousness show a worldly determination to win, rather than a faithful determination to build up harmony, gentleness, and mercy. This notion of wisdom in James is marked by practices that restore and deepen relationships between believers - forgiveness, peacemaking and the willingness to yield to the other and not insist on our own way.
But wisdom is about far more than just living a good, prudent life. In the Gospel reading we have another example of the difference between earthly wisdom and divine wisdom. The cross is the central moment at which the wisdom of God is contrasted to the wisdom of the world. In Christ, we see wisdom expressed as self-giving, self-offering obedience to God for the benefit of others. Of course, in typical fashion the disciples seem unable to grasp this concept as anything resembling ‘wisdom’. After Jesus predicts his death for the second time, the disciples respond by arguing among themselves about which of them is the greatest. While in predicting his death Jesus signals that his kingdom is characterized by self-sacrificial service for others, the disciples are still jockeying for human glory and greatness. So Jesus offers an enacted parable by taking a nearby child and saying, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this in my name is welcoming me, and anyone who welcomes me is welcoming the one who sent me."
Our culture stereotypes children as innocent, trusting and pure, so we miss the shocking element of Jesus' actions here. In ancient culture, children had no status – they weren’t considered ‘persons’ and were viewed as basically the property of their father. Indeed in the Roman world a man had the legal right to kill his own children. So Jesus is telling us to care for the lowliest and least important as if they had the most worth. Because, it’s in acts of compassion and concern for the powerless and the weak that we come face to face with the divine. That’s the divine wisdom that is being offered here. Today’s texts remind us that true wisdom is found in self-giving obedience to God for the benefit of others. Wisdom is found in living a life that’s generous and faithful, gentle and peaceful. A life that shines with love of God and love of neighbour – especially those ‘neighbours’ who have the least status and power in the world.