Wise Beyond Words

Where’s wisdom when we need it? There are plenty of smart people, and even more experts who can tell us (whether we ask for it or not) how to make a smart choice.  There’s also the great business slogan that does have some merit in itself, “Work harder, not smarter.” 

            We actually need to work wisely.  We need to pursue wisdom in the choices we make.

            You can earn a Ph.D. (or a Doctor of Ministry degree, as I did).  But no school offers a W.D.—a wisdom doctorate.  Some of us can earn it, I think, through the School of Hard Knocks.

            In my daily prayer exercise, Morning Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer, the Hebrew Scripture reading is from the Wisdom of Solomon.  That writing is part of the Apocrypha—works of doubtful authorship.  These also are writings that didn’t make the submission deadline for rabbis compiling what we know as the Old Testament.  Yet they are regarded as writings of great value and inspiration.

            Just yesterday, the reading defined “wisdom.”  Solomon is recorded as saying that he began to breathe in wisdom and to soak it in. The Hebrew word is feminine in nature, and the Greek word, Sophia, is feminine also.  Wisdom is a reflection of who God is, and is a gift to all who seek her.  Solomon prays earnestly for the gift which helps to see into the way things really are.  Then, in Wisdom 7:22b-23, wisdom is described:  “There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle.”

            How can we become wise?  Wisdom grows in us when we reflect prayerfully on the Scriptures and also upon life.  When we can allow wisdom to penetrate our hard hearts and closed minds, then we can understand more and more what seems so often to be beyond understanding.  Wisdom comes from spiritual maturity.  Wisdom comes from living in a community of faith—which is the Church at its best.

            In this passage, one quality of wisdom is that it is intelligent.  But that does not mean the accumulation of information or membership in Mensa.  Intelligence certainly involves the gathering of information in many different ways.  Wisdom involves knowledge and insight.  A wise person is able to sort through information and reflect on its meaning and to reflect.  The best reflection happens in silence.

            That’s why the best and rarest qualities of wisdom, the practice of wisdom, can make one wise beyond words.

Glitter or Glow?

One word that you won’t find in the Bible is glitter.  Moses didn’t glitter as he came down the mountain with God’s commands.  Mary didn’t glitter after the angel Gabriel announced to her that she was to be the bearer of the Messiah.  Paul, on the way to Damascus, to persecute disciples, didn’t glitter after being blinded by the light of Christ.

They all glowed as they reflected the all-piercing light of God present before and within them.  Someone once said to me, “I’ve given up on being happy in this life.  I’ve decided that I’m going to be cheerful instead.”  That person chose glitter over glow.  Glitter in life brings attention to self.  Glow helps one catch a glimpse of the presence of God.

Movie stars and media celebrities love glitter.  They want us to notice them and to focus on them, even if only for a moment.  Those who glow really don’t want you to notice them at all.  They want you to share in the light of Christ that shines in them and moves through them.  They want to share the joy and peace that is Christ.

A friend and highly respected jeweler once showed me the difference between glitter and glow in a diamond ring.   He showed me two rings.  One looked splashy and flashy; the other looked calm and deep.  He said, “Some people go for the diamond that calls attention to them,” he said.  “Others want the diamond that glows and draws people in.” 

There are, of course, those who go one step further and purchase a ring with a stone that looks like a diamond.  They want the glitter, but not the cost.  The technical term is a “simulated diamond.”  One man got the right message but used the wrong word.  “That’s a stimulated diamond!”  The glitter must have gone to his head.

Each of us is a precious stone being cut and shaped by God.  We have much value.  In life, we are not called to glitter for God.  We are meant to glow for God.  We are not meant to settle merely for cheer, but for joy.  That is the promise—and call—of the Christian life.

Resting Well

One of God’s greatest gifts is the gift of rest.  That gift also is the least received by human beings.  Ask most folks in 2013 to explain what “Sabbath” or “sabbatical” is, and I doubt that they could supply an easy explanation.

They’re probably too tired to think.

Recently, on one of the news networks, a reporter spoke about a survey on sleep patterns in American life.  Generally, the human body requires seven to eight hours of sleep each night to restore energy and promote wellness.  The survey found that the typical American, especially under age thirty-five, sleeps for six hours or less.  Social media and 24/7 television programming can make it hard for a person to use the “off” switch.

It’s hard to get the rest we need.

So, too, the “Sabbath day” is no longer observed.  When I was a kid, stores weren’t open on Sundays.  To find a place to eat, you had to go to a nearby suburb where many faithful Jews lived and worked.  (Dagnabbit, those places weren’t open on Saturdays.)  And it didn’t matter which day of the week, not a drop of alcohol could be found.  The town was drier than Death Valley.  Even here in the South, it’s rare to find a place of business that’s closed on Sunday.  Lots of families have to get children to athletic practice or competitions.  Me?  Sundays were a day to play at the beach (summer), build snow forts (winter), or torment siblings (any time).

Now all of us are law-breakers.  The Fifth Commandment is ignored.  So the Collect for Saturdays in the Book of Common Prayer has even greater prophetic power:  “Almighty God, who, after the creation of the world sanctified a day of rest for all your creatures:  Grant that we, putting away all earthly anxieties, Grant that we may be duly prepared for the service of your sanctuary, and that our rest here upon earth may be a preparation for the eternal rest promised to your people in heaven.”  God has given us a gift of rest.

That’s true in the whole of life.  God gave the people a month of rest every seven years, and a year of rest every forty-none years.  I finally took that direction for my ministry and have been on sabbatical.  Prayer, reflection, study and writing on prayer have been present in this sabbatical gift.  Renewal and rest in God’s Spirit have been abundant.  I am rested.  God’s gracious command for Sabbath rest makes perfect sense to me.

Rest well.  God said so.