Wisdom has built her house in this world. She has established her seven pillars. She has prepared her feast. She has set the table and invited all of us to come and be her guest, sit at her table, take in what she has prepared for us. But to do so, we will have to lay aside our immaturity.
Wisdom is not secret knowledge. Any faith, philosophy sacred or secular order thatreserves its knowledge for only the elect, the few, the special… are not the keepers ofwisdom, for she is there for all who will come and receive from her. We at St. Andrew, inheritors of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican tradition, the ancient and catholic Christian faith, are not the sole possessors of the goodness, blessing, and redemption creation offers through wisdom. We share the font that is the life and teaching of Jesus and the two thousand year tradition that has followed his life. Like wisdom, Jesus is here for any and all who choose to follow, and receive from Him. But… to do so, you willhave to lay aside your immaturity.
I remember in my own life, realizing I need to have more understanding and conscious awareness in my life. I need to stop being foolish, and irresponsible, and just plain careless with the precious life I have been given. I was nineteen. Forty years later, I feel the same way. I need to stop being foolish, and irresponsible, and just plain careless with the precious life I have been granted. It was a little less humbling being one year away from twenty to confess I needed to lay aside my immaturity, than it is being one year away from sixty, and confess I still need to lay aside my immaturity.
Wisdom comes through many streams. It comes through spiritual, intellectual, experiential, physiological… It comes to those who seek, who listen, who are willing to profess both a need and a desire to let her come in and become intimate and integral to who we are. She will not suffer fools who say, “I am in no need for further insight.” She has no offering for those whose mantra is “I know!” “I Know!” “I Know!” Her table is not set for the presumptuous, the arrogant, the hard-hearted, or the closed-minded. But for those who hunger and thirst for insight, for learning, for perspective greater than their own, for belonging to something grander then themselves and their like. Wisdom has built her house and welcomes all who seek higher places, deeper understanding, and wider embrace.
As a parish, we are reflecting upon what it means to be the beloved community in our city and world. We are reflecting upon what it means to be a loving community to one another. It is a time of seeking a renewed common vision and shared sense of identity and mission as one parish. It is a time to come together to seek wisdom, embrace faith, renew hope, and pursue love. It is a time to reacquaint ourselves with what it means to be the church. What it means to make the Eucharist, to offer the prayers together, to serve one another, to have compassion for the suffering and hospitality, to create, imagine, and work together for the life of the world, a world that needs faith, hope, love,
healing, peace, redemption, resurrection, beauty, and grace. These are the divine gifts God has given the church for the sake of the world.. but to do so, we will have to lay aside our immaturity and seek insight and understanding.
Amen