Wisdom is portrayed as a woman who invites people to partake of her
banquet. Just as ordinary food is necessary for physical life,
Wisdom's food--insight and understanding--is necessary for fullness
of life with God. Partaking of Wisdom's banquet is the way to life.
Wisdom prepares us for insightful living. Nancy-Wi
Wisdom's banquet. I like that, whoever you are.
Anyone familiar with the wonderful movie "Babette's Feast?"
Maturity and immaturity are kind of confusing concepts. The
so-called "mature" Christians are so dour they try to instruct each
other not to enjoy the food Babette - a professional chef - is
cooking. It was through her feast that they came alive.
Sally in GA
verse 6 can be a dangerous thing ...
Hal Knight, in his book, Eight Life-Enriching Practices of United
Methodists, addresses this succinctly.
Who says what insight is? Only Wisdom can tell us - but, oh, how
difficult it is to hear what she's really saying. No wonder she
seems to shout so!
Sally
Sally,
Yes, I love Babette's Feast! What a profound movie! I think the
problem is the people there took their focus off of Christ, and put
it all on the founder of the church. There was no more life in the
church, and then the followers began picking at each other. It
wasn't until Babette came with her sacrificial giving,(The feast)
and one who could appreciate the joys of life, that their eyes were
opened and their hearts softened toward each other.
Susan in Wa.
never saw Babette's feast (must have have before my time) LOL... But
I have seen play form and movie form of Jean Paul Sartre's NO EXIT.
That was cool! A Man who was a coward. An Adulterous woman, and a
Lesbian find themselves dead and in Hell. All in denial of why they
are there. The man tries to get the adulterous woman to help forget
his pain. The Lesbian tries to also. The Adulterous Woman left her
rich husband for a guy she had a baby, they guy loved her and the
baby, She killed her baby by throwing it off a balcony...and her
lover shot himself...Can't remember if he shot her, or she just
died. The Lesbians lady, was married and she turned on the gas stove
and killed then or her. I remember a line from that play. The coward
man was saying open this door! Give the Fire and Brimstone to me
this is too hard! No mirrors were in this "hotel room" there was a
bell boy. and they didnt have eyelids in hell... no need eyelids, no
sleep... MY favorite quote from that play. "Hell is other people!"
Is that true or what?
Wisdom Built the House, the she is Isreal, wisdom-OT Sophia means
wisdon in hebrew. Isreal was given the laws, rules, proper
ettiquette of doing things, sent out servants, invited.
But as with most passages two teaching... Sophia-wisdom (which
happens to be feminine word) This doesnt mean one of the Trinity is
feminine though. Look at French and Spanish words Masculine and
Feminine has nothing to really do with maleness or femaleness. (So
Any Sophists here, dont argue with me, I am like What I read in a
Rosemary Reuther book, I may be a woman, but God is my FATHER)
Wisdom OT, Logos NT- Jesus, We the Church need to take this passage
to heart and quit being immature and seek maturity in the Lord!
This passage is relevant today because of Episcoples and what they
are going through now. I am in FULL Agreement with the Maryland
Priest they interview. I would had probably stood in pulpit and said
same thing. It's a Sad day for the Church. I would have made a stand
too. Only instead of saying I will not obey my bishop, and I wont
send in the $5000 money to Diosese(SP). I probably would say I can
no longer preach for this denomination they have lost their wisdom!
I lift the pastor in Maryland up for God to protect, stand firm on
your word.
WE NEED TO KEEP ERIC IN OHIO in prayer , he's episcople- what does
that mean for him? Clerically Blonde in West Ohio
I'm not going in quite that direction. I'm focusing on the way to
walk in the way of insight, because it's not as easy to know how as
we would think. The quick answer (if you're Methodist) would be "by
the means of grace," but I'm much more inclined to approach "the way
of insight" with a profound respect.
Sally in GA
Sorry I missed the movie. I am curious about the seven pillar
comment. So far I have not unearthed much. Nancy-Wi
"WE NEED TO KEEP ERIC IN OHIO in prayer , he's episcople- what does
that mean for him?"
It means I'm fed up with people interpreting a disciplinary decision
for a doctrinal one.
Our polity provides for autonomy of dioceses. It was the choice of
the people of NH to elect Bishop Robinson. The rest of the church
(represented in this instance by the General Convention) is asked to
review and affirm the procedural and canonical propriety of the
election process. The General Convention is NOT empowered to
consider the qualification of the individual selected -- that is the
decision of the electing diocese ONLY!
Although from the debate and discussion, you'd never know that the
bishops and deputies to the general convention understood that. It
is especially troubling that conservatives who insisted on this
"discipline vs. doctrine" distinction when bishops were elected in
other dioceses who held positions at odds with our canons (i.e.,
against the ordination of women) now repudiate that distinction.
I should note that throughout the history of the church (both pre-
and post-Reformation) all of its branches have made mistakes in
electing or selecting leadership. You can all find examples in your
own polities, I'm sure. And despite all that human failure, God has
preserved and sanctified the church. If the people of the diocese of
NH made a mistake, God will see us through it.
Where do I stand on the issue ... nowhere. I'm not enough of a
biblical scholar or theologian to take a position, other than on my
knees at the communion rail with all the other sinners. I just want
the church (all branches, not just the Anglican) to stop
naval-gazing and boring me to death with sex -- and get on with the
work of feeding the hungry, freeing the prisoner, clothing the
naked, housing the homeless, and binding up the wounded.
That, it would seem to me, is maturity. All this incessant debating
about sex is immaturity.
By the way, it is "The Episcopal (not Episcople) Church" and its
members are "Episcopalians" (not Episcoples). And we are also
Anglicans, part of the international Anglican Communion. Thanks.
Blessings, Eric in OH
Nancy - Wi, I too have been searching for the meaning of the seven
pillars. Is it more simple than we think? The Interpreter's Bible
states: 'Seven pillars: probably the pillars surrounding the central
court of a house, three on each of the two sides, one at the extreme
end. The allegorical interpretations of this phrase are numberless.
' Still mystefied. Rev Marion in Scotland
The New Interpreters' Bible has this to say about the seven pillars:
"Scholars have been much puzzled over the 'seven pillars' of Wisom's
house. Over the centuries, the pillars have provoked much fanicful
speculation: the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, the seven liberal
arts, the seven churchs of Revelation, and so on. Other scholars
have simply taken the seven to be a cipher for 'many.'
Archaeologists have found parallels to the seven pillars in the
homes of wealthy patricians. In the present cosmic context, however,
the pillars are most likely a reference to the 'pillars of the
earth' (Ps 75:3; cf. 1 Sam 2:8, Job 9:6; 26:11). Perhaps the general
symbolic function of the number seven is also operative here. Seven
is widely present in the OT as a symbol for completeness,
perfection, and fullness. In this passage, seven would refer to the
perfection and stability of the creation.
"But the seven pillars may also be a case of inner-biblical allusion
to Gen. 1:1-2:3. Jewish tradition, including the Talmud passage
cited above, saw in the seven pillars an allusion to the
six-plus-one pattern of creation and celebration (sabbath) in the
days of Genesis 1. This may not be as farfetched as it first seems.
The text of Proverbs 8-9 appears to be playing with the pattern of
six plus one equals seven. In vv. 1-6, the preparation of the house
and its feast takes six actions (past tense verbs), and the
invitation to celebrate in the completed house takes one action,
'she calls' (present-continuous verb). In the preceding chapter, the
account of creation falls into two connected sections. The first
(8:22-26) has six verbs of creation; the second (8:27-29) has seix
infinitives of creation. These sections are followed by two
identical verbs ('I was,' 8:30) referring to Wisdom's joyful
presence in creation. This creates a verb pattern of twice six plus
twice one, equalling twice seven. In 9:7-12, the root for 'wisdom' (hokma)
appears six times, in addition to the reference to Wisdom in the
phrase 'by me' (9:11; pattered after 8:15-16). Significantly, in the
disordered world of Folly (9:13-18), there are no patterns of six
plus one to be found."
NIB, Vol. V, page 102 (Abingdon Press, 1997)
Blessings, Eric in OH
Eric in OH
Thanks for some wonderful resource material on the seven pillars and
for your sermon. I read your material faithfully most weeks and
appreciate it greatly. Rev Marion in Scotland.
Marion -- you're welcome. Thanks and blessings to you, Eric in OH
PS -- Are you ordained in the Kirk, the Scottish Episcopal Church,
or another?
Eric - well said.
Sally
Eric in OH
Yes, I am ordained in the Kirk, and I write my sermons very late on
a Saturday night! Rev Marion in Scotland
