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Home Page
The Rector's Welcome
Worship
Sermons
Music & the Organ
Newsletter
Schedule & Events
History
Programs & Ministries
Tour the Building
Links
Map & Directions
Monthly Calendar
Home Page
The Rector's Welcome
Worship
Sermons
Music & the Organ
Newsletter
Schedule & Events
History
Programs & Ministries
Tour the Building
Links
Map & Directions
Monthly Calendar
Fr. J. D. Ousley
August 17, 2003"The Way of Insight"
In the Name of God: Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Amen.
While the Old Testament is undeniably "old," and some of its teachings clearly belong to the past, one aspect of today's Old Testament lesson has a surprisingly modern edge.
The passage is about wisdom. In the Book of Proverbs, wisdom appears as a person rather than a quality of mind. And, even more interesting from a contemporary point of view, wisdom is portrayed as a female person.
The author of Proverbs compared Wisdom to a gracious hostess who does everything possible to make her guests welcome at her house. The author says: "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. She has sent out her servant girls, she calls from the highest places in the town, '"Turn in here!'"
This is one of several passages in the Old Testament where Wisdom is viewed as female. Those references have been important for feminist theologians, since Christianity has often identified Wisdom in the Old Testament with the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. These theologians argue that if the Holy Spirit can be seen as feminine, then perhaps there is a feminine aspect to God.
Not all biblical scholars and theologians agree with this train of thought. But whatever we might think about the nature of the divine, we have to admit that wisdom is vital to a happy life.
In our ordinary speech, we often identify "wisdom" with common sense: proverbs like "Waste not, want not" or "a stitch in time saves nine" are examples of common sense; another is: "Know your limits."
But the Bible wants us to ponder a more profound wisdom beyond the ordinary maxims that we follow to get us through the day.
For one thing, spiritual wisdom isn't the same thing as knowledge. Having a lot of knowledge doesn't make one wise.
We have all heard stories of geniuses who are totally unable to manage their personal lives. The brilliant physicist who can't drive a car. The skilled psychologist who is such a bad parent that her own children wind up with severe mental illness!
Such people are smart; no question about that. But they are not wise; they are not able to put their intelligence to work so that they can live fulfilling lives. Moreover, while they might admit that their knowledge doesn't tell them everything about how to live, they don't realize what it is they are missing!
They have difficult issues in their personal lives, and they come up with all kinds of excuses for not dealing with those problems because they can't admit sheer mental effort isn't enough.
On top of all this, they don't see that Wisdom is spiritual: the Holy Spirit is the true source of wisdom.
We acquire common sense on a fairly random basis. We learn strategies for living from our parents when we are growing up, and later from our friends.
Such secular wisdom is acquired in "the school of hard knocks." Common sense is life's "on-the-job training!"
Now, we might think that one major source of common sense would be the school. But schools generally restrict their mandate to conveying knowledge like reading, writing and arithmetic. They give students information, but they don't claim to make their students wise.
And, in America at least, most of us would agree with this restriction. We don't want public schools indoctrinating children with particular brands of wisdom. If schools tried to impose religious beliefs, they would surely offend someone.
Rather, we believe schools should be places where students learn to think for themselves. They pick up knowledge and then, on their own, the students turn that knowledge into wisdom.
Now, in some ways, the church is like a school. In the church, religious "facts" are learned and religious knowledge is handed down. But, unlike the secular school, the church should also be a place where wisdom is taught. Our religious practices should teach us, as the Book of Proverbs says, to "lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight."
How does our faith helps us to walk in the way of insight? Well, our answers will likely all be different. We have different personalities, histories, problems. And so we end up choosing different religious practices.
Let me speak for myself. As many of you know, I spent some months this year on sabbatical. My main goal in taking the sabbatical was to attempt to sit back and think. While my "thinking" included specifically theological work, I also wanted to hear what God was trying to tell me about my ministry at this stage in my life.
My own attempts to "walk in the way of insight" during my sabbatical included spiritual exercises like prayer and reading.
I also began to keep a journal. This was a first for me; I must say that I found writing in my journal very useful. I was forced to put into coherent words my feelings and thoughts and problems. I was forced to ask myself hard questions.
And when I re-read my journals, I sometimes found that patterns emerged. I could see, for example, when I was going around in circles worrying about some difficulty that, realistically speaking, was never going to happen.
My practice of keeping a journal gave me the wisdom to see my life as it was-and it allowed me to put some problems, at least, out of my mind.
There are of course numerous paths to spiritual wisdom. Many of us are inspired by certain friends, friends who have the unique gift of being able to push us toward just the right way to think about our lives. They don't solve our problems for us; but they do help us to see how God is nudging us toward the light.
Other people can also be useful to us in the negative aspect to the task of finding wisdom-what the Book of Proverbs calls, "laying aside immaturity." For to become wise, we have to stop being foolish! And those who know us best, those whom we trust can provide us with painful but necessary truths about ourselves.
These truths go beyond biological and medical and other facts. They are truths of wisdom.
And whatever we conclude about the feminine side of God, we can agree that, as the Bible says, God welcomes us to wisdom as a hostess welcomes all to a party. To a party that is not in the least frivolous because at this party, held at a house on the Way of Insight-at this party, we meet ourselves!
As you sit, let us turn to page 832 in the Prayer Book, and let us pray together.
"O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light riseth up in darkness for the godly: grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what thou wouldest have us to do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices, and that in thy light we may see light, and in thy straight path may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."
And now unto that same God Father, Son, and Holy Spirit be ascribed as is most justly due all might, majesty, power, dominion and praise, now and forever, Amen.