Wisdom

The Apostle Paul describes Jesus Christ as the power and wisdom of God (1 Cor 1;24).

He is contending with those in the fledgling church that he had helped birth in Corinth who would prefer signs and wonders and great oratory.

He is contending with those who measure status and significance in terms of strength and learning.

His response is to declare that God’s strength is human weakness and God’s wisdom human foolishness.

And that this is exemplified in the person, teaching and death of Jesus the Christ.

Jesus to use the song of his Mother was the one who lifted up the lowly and brought down the mighty from their thrones.

This is the wisdom of God, the equalisation of all peoples, the honouring of the least honoured and the dishonouring of those who think too highly of themselves.

This is the power of God, the forgiveness of sinners, sitting and eating with them and the confounding of religious scruples and cleanliness preclusions.

The power is in the sacrificial blood of Christ and the wisdom in the bread of life.

Wisdom is the co-creator (Prov 8), the master builder with God, present when the dimensions of the creation were established in the mind of God (Job 38-42).

Christ is the High Priest who enters the Holy of Holies and makes the creation new.

Christ is the one who shows us what wisdom looks like clothed in human flesh.

According to the Apostle human wisdom leads to factionalism, inequality, individualistic boasting and pride.

This is completely at odds with the wisdom that is Christ, that is evident in his life and teaching as well as his death and resurrection offer of life.

Knowledge puffs up, but the true wisdom, which holds all things together, that is the life force of all creation, builds up.

True wisdom finds its home in the Temple of God on earth, the church, and it is the presence of the divine within all creation.

True wisdom’s invites us all to her table that we might eat the bread of God’s presence in and to and for and with all peoples and all things.

True wisdom is the correspondence between the individual life bound to the lives of others and the created order itself living in and out of love.

True wisdom is the life of Shalom, the life of peace that is blessed and is a blessing to others.

And it is the calling of the church.

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