The wisdom literature of the Bible seeks to name the core purpose of our lives. Often it sets a contrast between those who seek the intentions of God and those who fail to do so. The wisdom literature is united in a search for the truth of our lives. Such a tension and search is core to the Book of Wisdom we now read.
From today's passage from Wisdom:
"They did not know the secret purposes of God, nor hoped
for the wages of holiness, nor discerned the prize for blameless souls; for God
created us for incorruption, and made us in the image of his own eternity, ...
and those who belong to his company experience it." 1:22-24
As I read this I am reminded of my first desire to make a
confession. It occurred after a mishap in a friendship. The short version is
that I had befriended a college classmate and it backfired badly. In defending
my character I allowed his to be seen in the most uncaring way. I could not
find a way to fix either the relationship or get past what felt like my cruel
reaction. Before Lent that year I went to my first confession with this
concern. I did not return with a quiet mind. I prayed through the next weeks
and just before Easter made my next confession with this issue still in my
confession. "My, my we are human, aren't we." was the phrase I will always
remember. Some useful guidance followed and an absolution. Why that particular
phrase put me in perspective, I am not sure but it did. I know the guidance
also helped. I would never feel as innocent as I had before this mishap, but I
would be wiser when next I faced betrayal of a friendship. I might even be
kinder in how I moved on in life. I knew what it was like to not be a
"blameless soul" and to find myself corrupted not only by someone else's deeds
but by my own in response. I knew what it was to feel I had lost my grasp on
things eternal. I knew what it was to feel stained in my soul when that was not
what I desired. And now I knew a way back, not to innocence, but to a second
chance. In time I would know how second chances can be depended upon to get us
repeatedly past choices which corrupt our conscience.
The Disciples don't seem so corrupted today. They were hungry
and it was the Sabbath when work and food preparation is forbidden in order to be
blameless before God. Perhaps plucking and rubbing the grains free from an ear
of corn does not seem like work to them. Here they are in the field and there is
the corn. It is seen as work by the Pharisees. When challenged, Jesus reminds
them that even the great King David violated certain rules for his men's
survival. "The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath" was not a
politically wise comment but was a clear view. I often think of Jesus as a
walking Sabbath. Wherever he goes, God goes. Sabbath's purpose is achieved, for
in him God is encountered. Thus the healing that follows is not work but the
wonder of God's intervention on an ordinary day that is also
Sabbath.
And I guess this is the core wisdom. Whenever God's deeper
hope for life, like wholeness, is achieved, Sabbath connection is
present.
Some years ago my congregation and I signed up with a number
of other Episcopal congregations for a Habitat for Humanity work day. We were
assigned a Sunday. I was not happy to labor thus on a Sunday, but that was
that. I asked about worship. None was planned and the schedule of work was to begin at
8:00 a.m. So I volunteered to be there an hour earlier for anyone who wanted to
worship. Was I ever surprised that almost all came early to pray together and
receive communion in the street. Sabbath walked into our labor and it was a good day. After
all, Habitat is all about care for those with less by those with more.
Sometimes it is more money, sometimes more skill, sometimes it is more care
which lacks broader expression. It is a day of generosity that follows God's
generous nature.
Maybe that is what happened in my second confession. I needed
to feel the effect of my actions over a longer time. I
needed to understand cause and effect. Then I was ready for humanizing by grace.
"My, my aren't we human." I did not need innocence any longer. I needed a
Sabbath to bless my failure and help me grow in wisdom. I needed to be
reoriented to God and encounter wisdom which is deeper than innocence.
Don't we all?
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