Incarnational Wisdom
January 13, 2013 | Patrick Preheim | Proverbs 8
Our slow pilgrimage through the bible rests today at the oasis of Proverbs: no exile, no Job, no laments. This day we get the gravy known as wisdom. Wisdom, Proverbs 8 tells us, is a better choice than silver, gold, or jewels. At this stage of my life I would be content any of those. Wisdom cries out in the street (Pr 1.20; 8.1), she is present in the creation (Pr 3.19; 8.22) she coos lovingly in our ears—so why is she so elusive? Where do I find wisdom and how do I pass on wisdom to my congregation, my neighbours, my world? It is these questions with which I will grapple today.
Within the biblical canon Proverbs follows exilic texts, the Psalms, Job. Sometimes wisdom is the bi-product of exile, testing, and lament. Wisdom is often discovered in the dirtiness of life. I found a story that reinforces this notion. It is a parable that comments on wise leadership as well as wise followership. It comes out of the European Jewish tradition (“Of Princes and Roosters” in Rabbi Joseph Telushkin’s Jewish Wisdom, pp.101-102).
Once there was a prince who fell into the delusion of thinking he was a rooster. He took off all his clothes, sat under the table, and refused to eat any food but corn seeds. The king sent for many doctors and many specialists, but none of them could cure him.
Finally a wise man appeared before the king and said: “I think that can cure the prince.” The King gave him permission to try. The wise man took off his clothes, crawled under the table and began to munch on corn seeds. The prince looked at him suspiciously, and said: “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
The wise man answered: “Who are you, and what are you doing here?”
“I am a rooster,” answered the prince belligerently.
“Oh, really? So am I,” answered the wise many quietly.
The two of them sat together under the table until they became accustomed to each other. When the wise man felt that the prince was used to his presence, he signaled for some clothing. He put on the clothing, and then he said to the prince: “Don’t think that roosters can’t wear clothes and be a perfectly good rooster just the same.”
The prince thought about this for a while, and then he too agreed to put on clothes.
Another time, the wise man signaled to have food put under the table. The prince became alarmed and said: “What are you doing?” The wise man reassured him: “Don’t be upset. A rooster can eat the food that human beings eat if he wants to, and still be a good rooster.” The prince considered this statement for a time, and then he too signaled for food.
Then the wise man said to the prince: “Do you think that a rooster has to sit under the table all the time? A rooster can get up and walk around if he wants to and still be a good rooster.” The prince considered these words for a time, and then he followed the wise man up from the table, and began to walk. After he began dressing like a person, eating like a person, and walking like a person, he gradually recovered his senses and began to live like a person.
I could not hear this story apart from that beautiful scripture we find in Philippians (2.5-8): “Have this mind among you which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself taking the form of a servant, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross”. If an effort to restore humanity to proper self image and our lofty position as heirs of the kingdom, God became human and crawled into our confused world reminding us of who we are and whose we are. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God among us. My story and the Philippians hymn offer several provocative lines of consideration.
- If we are the prince of the Jewish tale, who are we choosing to imitate: Conrad Black?, Jordon Eberly?, Jesus Christ? Our imitation of Jesus will help us remember who we are and how we might live faithfully. Choose your model carefully.
- If we are the wise man of the Jewish tale, what are we modeling to those looking at us as they seek to create meaning in this world: what have we taught our children about Sabbath observance?, how have we taught our employees or work aides about compassion ?, how have we helped the world think with the heart as well as the head?
This business of teaching others is at the heart of Proverbs. In the introduction to the Believers Church Bible commentary on Proverbs John W. Miller suggests that the Jews collecting the various proverbs were familiar with other education material. The book, for example, shares similar language as Aristotle’s volume on personal morality entitled Ethics. There are monotheistic dimensions to Proverbs, but it is clear the Jewish compilers were aware of the same source material as Aristotle. There are also strong links between whole chapters of Proverbs and a 12th century Egyptian manual for instructing prospective civil servants. It is quite likely Solomon simply lifted whole tracks from the Egyptian source (John W. Miller, Proverbs in the Believers Bible Commentary series, pp. 16-17).
The presence and interplay of these educational resources is fascinating. It underscores the important role of wisdom regardless of culture or context. Within this world wide quest for wisdom Jesus and the early church writers offer a unique slant. I offer two scriptural citations which form the basis for my thoughts regarding concrete ways we might heed wisdom’s call.
- Hebrews 10:24-25 Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.
- James 1:22-2 Those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act—they will be blessed in their doing.
How do we grow in wisdom and impart wisdom? We do not neglect meeting together. It is in meeting together we have the possibility to again experience the awe of the Lord which is the beginning of wisdom; and I think awe of the Lord is a better translation than the fear of the Lord. In worship we hear from each other stories of what God has done and is doing. We hear the words of scripture that have shaped generations of spiritual ancestors. We sing songs that return throughout the week. It is in meeting together that we rediscover the joy of the Lord which will train our ear for the call of wisdom mid week. A recent article from The Christian Century puts it nicely: (Roger Owens & Anthony Robinson, “Dark night of the church” in The Christian Century (Dec 26, 2012), p. 29)
The church is relearning that its essence lies not in its programs and accomplishments, its activities and accolades, but in the truth that...God is enough...We have to abandon the idea that we are a means to an end, whether that end is the renewal of a nation, the conversion of individuals or the keeper of traditional cultural mores.
To put it somewhat differently, the purpose or end of the church is not something we choose or achieve. God gives us our purpose; it is something we receive.
In worship we remember that God is enough. Here we praise God. In worship we accept our mission for mid-week. Monday to Saturday wisdom begins here, in worship. Let us not neglect meeting together.
How do we grow in wisdom and impart wisdom? Both Hebrews and James affirm that wisdom is found when we act. A few days ago I attended an “Idle No More” event down at the White Buffalo Lodge. There were over 300 people packed into the auditorium. There were a pleasant number of white skinned folk like myself in the throng and I even spotted a few Mennonites—you know they have that certain look. I don’t know that much about Bill C-45. Surely there is dysfunction within the current administration of treaty rights, and yet serious questions exist if Bill C-45 will cure what ails or only further exacerbate misery for mother earth and many aboriginals. Opinions on the topic are no doubt linked with one’s experiences and current situation. I didn’t go to the White Buffalo Lodge to register my opinion; rather, simply to be present. There is something deeply spiritual happening among our First Nations brothers and sisters. The spiritual issues of ecology, colonialism, generational brokenness will continue regardless how Bill C-45 is implemented. We need to be in relationship with those affected by the treaties of last century and those affected by Bill C-45. I hope my presence communicates care so that the conversation can continue come what may. All is all, I think I am wiser for having been there. This is a wisdom that has come from entering into their world: incarnation.
This incarnational wisdom has the potential to take place anywhere. It happens in the staff room where professionals gather. It happens when business owners, administrators, or supervisors take a coffee break with the underlings. Wisdom is particularly evident when hierarchical, racial or other boundaries are crossed. Questions of ethics, accountability, and entitlement (topics Proverbs addresses) are the spiritual issues beyond the physical reality. We can not hope to act wisely in regards to worker conditions, treaty rights, or Bill C-45 without the kind of relationship which explores both the physical and spiritual dimension. This kind of wisdom comes from being with “the other”; it is incarnational wisdom.
Another incarnational approach to growing in wisdom is through service. My last edition of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly explored the religious revival that is happening in the most secular region of America—none other than New England (home of Tom Brady and the Patriots, go Pats go). Churches there are being planted at a phenomenal rate. “What’s emerging, it seems, is a religious shift whose wider meaning is best measured not so much in terms of political or cultural transformation, but in how faith is practiced. Adherents are flocking to churches where the difference faith makes is concrete and visible. The Seventh-day Adventists are hosting classes in vegetarian cooking, marriage renewal and run a food pantry. The Baptists are paying gas stations to lower the price of fuel while volunteers wash car widows. These people are doing MCC and MDS and MVS work right in their communities, and through these acts of charity God is drawing people into congregations (G. Jeffrey MacDonald, “Who’s in the Pews, The Christian Science Monitor (Dec 24, 2012), pp. 27-31). Wisdom is literally in the street influencing real life needs.
I know that the businesses we operate are ministry; that our work in schools, clinics, and the community is more vocation than occupation. I know this and do not minimize the service done in these individual contexts. And I also have a dream for the whole of NPMC. In that vision the joy and awe we experience here might impact not only those we serve in our mid-week living, but also extend to several collective ministries. I dream that groups of us might go out to serve at CHEP or rehabilitate a house or otherwise do something good for our community together. Provoking one another to love and good deeds is wisdom. The logistics of implementing this dream for busy people like us are unclear. I do think, however, that wisdom is calling us in these directions of meaningful worship, individual ministry and collective service. This is how Jesus, wisdom personified in the New Testament, lived. I believe that as we follow him in his ways we will grow in wisdom, impart wisdom to our children, and restore the princes of this world to their right minds. Amen.
