Jesus, Wisdom, Slow Meals, and Debauchery

http://www.lectionarypage.net/YearB_RCL/Pentecost/BProp15_RCL.html

We think of wisdom as a virtue to attain, a quality that we may or may not develop throughout a lifetime. We laud those we see as "wise," especially in young people who seem to have it "beyond their years." We speak of "wisened" older people who have learned much from challenging life experiences. Most everyone can obtain knowledge to some degree, but we recognize wisdom as an innate potential that some have the capacity to develop. 

The first choice for the Hebrew scripture for this Sunday in the Revised Common Lectionary introduces King Solomon to our summer series on the kings of Israel, laying the foundation for our saying, the "wisdom of Solomon." In the reading from 1 Kings, the young king asks God not for riches or more power but for an "understanding mind" and a "discernment of good and evil" so he might be a good ruler for his people. Indeed, we grow hopeful that, exhibiting such wisdom in his request for God at the outset of his reign, Solomon will grow into a king more excellent than his father, David. This idea of wisdom holds with how we tend to use and view the virtue.

But the second "alternative" reading for August 18 gives us an older and richer understanding of Wisdom:

Proverbs 9:1-6

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,
"You that are simple, turn in here!"
To those without sense, she says,
"Come, eat of my bread
and drink of the wine I have mixed.
Lay aside immaturity, and live,
and walk in the way of insight."

Here, the woman Wisdom, a feminine divine figure, lives and breathes life, showing her nature through her actions, thus providing a living example of how we may hope to be wise in our lifetime. In Hebrew scripture, Wisdom always appears as a woman. A longer, closer look at passages about her shows how the writers of the Christian scripture chose to describe Jesus in much the same way. 

I majored in World Religions in college and took many marvelous courses on Judaism and Christianity. One particular course continues to feed my theology and guide my faith journey these 25+ years later. In it, we read Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza's Jesus: Miriam's Child and Sophia's Prophet: Critical Issues in Feminist Christology, and it impacted me the most, gifting me a new lens for reading the Christian scriptures. She explains to her readers how Jesus took up the mantel of the rich wisdom tradition of the Hebrew scriptures, thus affirming the feminine. Jesus used the language of this wisdom tradition, and the writers of scripture described him in the same way as wisdom, not to present him as a male replacement for the female divine wisdom figure but to reinforce Christ's importance and authority by connecting him so strongly to her.

We get a sense of this in the Proverbs reading, with Wisdom setting her table and inviting people to eat her bread and drink her wine, similar to that of Jesus in the reading from John for the day. They both set the table for people to come together and partake of the foundational sustenance for life. Bread feeds the body, while wine feeds the soul.

The wisdom in their approach comes from their invitation. They welcome all to their respective tables, offering what they have lovingly prepared: simple but important food and drink. Jesus chooses the same common elements as Wisdom to represent his body and blood offered for the world. They do not push these gifts on anyone nor command others to come and partake. Instead, they prepare them with love, literally and symbolically, then set the table, offering an open invitation.

I feel the depth of wisdom in their approach acutely these days. We find ourselves in the middle of a contentious political season as we wait for the presidential election. I know it will only get worse. Political ads grab desperately at our attention to convince us of the horrible, corrupt nature of the "other," sadly not choosing nearly as often to espouse the virtues of the one the ad tries to get elected. Political ads provide the sound bites for passionate politicos on screen and around the dinner tables of America as professional and amateur pundits alike attempt to persuade strangers and family. Dinner parties, social gatherings, church services, and community events feel far from safe these days. I brace myself for someone to barrage me with the latest argument in favor of their cause, expecting someone to hint at or blatantly bring up the election at any moment.

How often have we succeeded in setting a table, inviting friends, and serving the meal, only to convert them by dessert? I once had dinner with an acquaintance who, once I took my last bite of dinner, toured me around her house in an effort to sell it to me. I thought she had invited me to share a meal to get to know each other better. I had no interest in leaving with a signed contract for a new home. Similarly, I have heard stories from friends who accepted invitations to dinner or drinks only to find themselves listening to a sales pitch for this or that pyramid scheme or timeshare.

A sense of betrayal washes over us when we expect to be fed and, instead, find ourselves the meal. Whether our would-be hosts want a moment of our time, our signing up to join a new company, or our vote, they turn the tables in a most unwelcome way. Where we want company and relationship, they see opportunities for money and power. Such a change leaves us empty and wary.

Then there sit Jesus and Wisdom at their tables, offering the food and drink we most crave in our lives, ones offered with unbounded grace and patience and promising nourishment for body, mind, and spirit. But they do not bark and do not demand. They lay their tables for the world to see, in plain view, vulnerable and unashamed. The invitation stands, and they wait for us to come. The wise set the scene, ready the place, and welcome all who would sit. Conversations flow organically from the diverse crowd gathered, collecting bits of wisdom from each to add to the wisdom of the whole.

For Wisdom and Christ, the agenda is ever, always, only love. Simply. Nothing more and certainly nothing less. 

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