by Mike Stavlund
Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
For Sunday, May 26, 2013: Year C—Holy Trinity
In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus has lots of laudatory stuff to say about himself and the rest of the Trinity, and some not so flattering things to say about the rest of us. But just when we think we know our place, Proverbs surprises us with a contrary voice to all of that negativity.
In a soaring passage, the personification of Wisdom bears witness to us about the entire process of creation, raising us up to the heavens before swooping down over a primordial earth shaped into beauty by God’s own hands. The climax of which is the crown of this creation: the human race. Wisdom was at God’s right hand, and they are both filled to overflowing about this apogee of God’s creativity, and respond in kind,
...rejoicing in his inhabited world and delighting in the human race. (Proverbs 8:31)
Wait, is God Actually Pleased with Us?
God creates Wisdom, who asserts her preeminence over all of creation. But the winsome Wisdom also lets us in on a little secret: she is pretty pleased that her project —the world as we know it —is inhabited by such wonderful creatures. She is ‘delighted’ in the human race. The writer of Proverbs envisions the instantiations of wisdom and folly as ladies, and it seems that wisdom is like a proud mother, delighted in her beautiful, intelligent, capable children. And like children under our proud mother’s wings, we are enlivened and encouraged and empowered by her belief in us, straining to get out of the nest and make our way in this wonderful world.
Proverbs 8, Where Are You?
So why is there so much misery and poor-mouthing and oppositional theology out there? Why so many theological claims to human depravity, and the wholesale denigration of the human race? Who is so closely guarding this secret gnosis that God might actually be fond of us, and why?
And Psalm 8 as Well.
So too from the Psalm reading for this week. The Psalmist lauds the Lord, but spends as many words praising humankind, as well. Both of them have various degrees of sovereignty and dominion, and the chiastic structure of the Psalm features the arresting phrase right in the middle:
...you have made [human beings] a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. (Psalm 8:5)
Yet what the Psalmist has established between us and God, much of our theology puts asunder.
So Which is It?
It’s enough to make a preacher bi-polar. Questions loom over our homiletical preparations: Should we be praising people, or challenging them to get over themselves? Do we stand with Jesus in pointing out our insufficiencies and blindness or with the Proverbs and Psalms in pointing to our pedigree and potential?
The Hardest Question:
Are we really as great as God seems to think we are?
Ed. Note: For more resources on Proverbs including original music inspired by Woman Wisdom check out Peter Mayer and Ron Glusenkamp’s God’s Standard or Gold Standard: Studies in Proverbs. The video of Peter's music, paired with Ron's devotion, from the 2009 ELCA Churchwide Assembly can be found here: http://vimeo.com/6448443 .
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Mike Stavlund writes from a 5-car pile-up at the intersection of his Christian faith and real life. A husband of over 15 years and a father of 4 children, he lives with his wife and 3 daughters in a small house outside Washington, DC. He’s a part of an innovative emergence Christian community called Common Table, a co-conspirator with the Relational Tithe, and a proud part of the collective called Emergent Village. He blogs at MikeStavlund.com, and his first book, "Force of Will", was published by Baker in the Spring of 2013.
