Trinity 2 2019

Proverbs 9:1-10

June 30, 2019

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

It is not that often that you hear a sermon based off the Proverbs.  In fact, out of the 8 years that I have been your pastor, there has been one time that this has happened, about 6 years ago now on Trinity Sunday.  Most of the time when we think of the book of Proverbs we think of disjointed bits of practical insight for living a good life. People read it, maybe even memorize bits and pieces here and there, as a self-help book.  But that is not how Proverbs should be read, referenced, or remembered.  This book, like all of the books in the Bible, is about the Messiah.  It is not about living a better life, or being a better person. It is about the Messiah, Jesus, who came into the world to save sinners. The NT explicitly states that Jesus is the one “in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Col 2:3). Or, as St Paul puts it in 1Co 1:24, Christ is “the wisdom of God.”  Now, in Hebrew, “wisdom” is feminine noun, so that is why it is “she.” But in Proverbs when we hear of wisdom, we should think of Jesus, and our faith in Jesus as to opposed to the foolishness of unbelief.

And especially in light of this, it is very interesting that this is a text paired with our Gospel reading for today wherein Jesus speaks a parable concerning the Kingdom of God and compares it to a great feast.  In fact, Proverbs 9 and Luke 14 are really talking about the same thing.  God has set out a great banquet and invites people to come in an eat.  The fool says in his heart there is no god, and yet these fools are the ones that are invited.  This meal is for sinners.  Yet, those who are foolish ignore this or make other excuses. Those who have been made wise repond in faith to the invite to come and eat.

Wisdom begins by building her house with seven pillars.  This is reference to the world, God’s creation. While the world may currently be a place of foolishness (8:1-5), it was not designed to be that way.  Wisdom designed the world, yet the foolishness of unbelief crept its way in. And so now Wisdom seeks to rescue fools from their sinfully foolish ways.

And so Wisdom prepares the table and the meal and invites people in. The animal has been slaughtered; the Lamb has been sacrificed.  All is finished, and the meal ready to be served.  The invitation is sent especially to those who are simple, who are gullible, those who lack sense.  These are not usually ones we would think of as being wise.  This is a description of the natural state of all humans as they are conceived and born in sin. Our inclination is not to Wisdom, but we are called to Wisdom nonetheless. 

What’s more, this banquet is free by grace, there is no admission fee, no bill, and no tip required.  And what they eat of is by no accident either. The invitation is sent to come and eat of the bread and drink of the wine. And when those who were invited come in and respond in faith to the invitation; those who hear the Word of Christ and believe; when these begin to eat of the bread and drink of the wine; and thus receive the body and blood of the Sacrificial Lamb and Messiah; they receive spiritual nourishment and growth, begin to lose their gullibility and obtain everlasting life, they start to walk in the way of insight, to walk the life of faith in Christ. 

In receiving Him who is Wisdom, they become wise, that is they believe in Him and in His goodness as the Giver of all good thing.  This is why “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.”  The wisdom of faith is not simply to know that there is a god, even though that is exactly what the fool denies through unbelief. Rather, it is to fear, love, and trust in God above things.  That’s what we prayed for in the Collect of the Day.

The Holy Spirit works through Wisdom’s words and invitation so that even the most simple receives divine knowledge.  2 Tim 3:16-17, “… the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteous, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” There’s no age limit, no IQ requirements, no memory quiz to pass. This gift enables a person to make an informed choice to be wise and not to be foolish, which is not the product of human willpower, rather God works within the believer to enable God pleasing decision and action based upon God’s Word.

There is an art to Wisdom work of re-shaping the foolish to be wise, and for the wise to walk in in the way of insight. We should strive for the ability to make the proper distinction between the good, the bad, and the ugly, no no, the indifferent.  The genuine good refers to the basic virtues of the Christian life, that which is in line with the will of God for His creation, and what proceeds from the hand of the Lord.  The bad are those things which are sinful acts or attitudes.  Indifferent things, or better yet, those things not commanded to do or not to do in Scripture, these things called “adiaphora,” become good or bad according to how you use it. 

How do we order our lives, around what do we order our lives, in order to retain this wisdom from God?  Disorder life leads to sinful living. A well-ordered life, that is, a life ordered and structured around the good things of God, flows from faith in Christ. Christian thinking and living as opposed to the thought of our pagan world. It is a way of life founded and grounded on the basic tenets of the Christian faith.  Catechesis, young and adult, Christian education at our schools that seeks to form and train children in image and likeness of God. I wish that every single one you here would take time to learn more about what this classical Lutheran education looked like in our school and realized this is the way that trains Christians to believe, to think, and to confess in word and deed the wisdom of Christ that we have received.  To give instruction to those made wise by faith in Christ so that this faith would increase; to teach the righteous, so that he will increase in learning.  This education, this formation, this wisdom isn’t just for our children, but it is for all of you. To be made wise by the Scriptures, to learn how to make a reasoned confession of faith before a culture that increasingly attacks, to die a Christian death with the hope of the resurrection upon your heart and mind and lips. 

So, come, you who are called by the Word, washed clean to receive the meal, made wise by faith in Christ.  The meal is prepared. All is ready.  The foretaste of the feast to come is for you.