WISDOM'S FEAST
August 20, 2006
sermon given at St. Thomas Episcopal Church,
Medina, Washington
Kidslead Questions:
Have you ever had a special guest over to dinner?
How did you prepare? (Did you clean? Help prepare food? Set the table?)
How was this dinner different from the dinners you have every night?
Why was it different?
If God were preparing a meal for you, what would God serve?
Where would the meal be held? (Perhaps right here at this table?)
Every week, our community gathers around this table for a meal. And what does God serve us to eat? The food of Wisdom.
The difference between intelligence and wisdom is this: Intelligence helps us memorize the rules. Wisdom helps us move beyond the rules into relationship. God is always calling us deeper and deeper … into a place where we can work together with God and not even think about the rules. This aspect of God’s personality is portrayed in the Book of Proverbs as Lady Wisdom.
I’m fascinated by this feminine image of God in the Hebrew Scriptures. So who is Lady Wisdom? The Ancient Greeks believed that Wisdom emanates from God, like light from the sun. From a Christian perspective, some might say Wisdom is another name for the Holy Spirit.
But another passage in the Book of Proverbs says Wisdom was created first and was present with God at the creation of the world. Who does that remind you of? “In the beginning was the Word … and the Word was with God, and Word was God.” Those words from John’s Gospel introduce us to Jesus.
So it’s no mistake that today’s reading about Wisdom preparing a feast is paired with the Gospel reading in which Jesus says, “I am the bread of life.” In this sense, Jesus is the Wisdom of God, feeding us every time we eat this bread together.
As we move toward spiritual maturity, we learn simply to feed off the bread that God offers, the everyday gifts that sustain us and allow us to live abundantly. We are utterly dependent on God. When we are grateful that God feeds us, we will choose to feed others instead of letting them starve. And as we receive our daily bread, we will gain more and more wisdom.
This is what we mean at St. Thomas when we talk about “practicing the hospitality of God.” Because God gives us sustenance, we will offer sustenance to others. Because God offers wisdom, we will also offer wisdom. And because God invites everybody to the table, we also will invite everybody to the table. Amen.