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The Gospel of Matthew Bible Studies
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January 2009
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Time after Pentecost - Lectionary 20 (B) Text: Proverbs 9:1-6 August 16, 2009 Imagine that you are walking through a forest. You come to a divergence in the pathway. You hear two voices calling to you, one on either side. One is Woman Wisdom; we just heard about her in Proverbs nine. She is the wisdom of God. She stood alongside God at creation, worked with God in helping to hammer and saw the universe into shape. Wisdom assisted with hanging the cosmic dry-wall. She is the heart beat of God's creative genius. Woman Wisdom teaches us mortals about God, instructs us on our place in the universe, which is a place of honor mixed with humility beneath the Almighty. Woman Wisdom opens our minds to the highest instruction, so that we grow in fragrant and nourishing righteousness. Woman Wisdom constructs her house on seven pillars. Seven is God's number of completed creation, so we know that Wisdom builds her house according to the Lord's blueprints. Then she puts on her apron and starts preparing the feast. She cooks. She mixes and bakes, and opens the wine. She adorns her table with fine china and sparkling silverware. She lights candles and places flowers in vases. This feast she is preparing is the feast of wisdom for our God. This food is always delicious, never fattening, always nutritious. Wisdom's feast will never give you indigestion or heartburn, nor will it raise your cholesterol, will never make you feel too full. This feast will fill you with God's wisdom. And there you are standing and wondering which path to take. You hear Woman Wisdom calling. She announces, "All you who are looking for wisdom; all you who are tired of the world's foolish frenzy, that racing around for nothing, that chasing after wind--come in here. I offer you a feast. I serve you direction, purpose, clarity. I offer you holiness. I am Wisdom. Dinner is served. Taste and see that the LORD is good!" We know the voice of that woman because her words come to us in today’s lesson from the ninth chapter of Proverbs. But if we look a little farther in the chapter, we discover that she is not the only woman we hear about in Proverbs 9. If we read the whole chapter, we will also hear about Woman Foolishness. And from the other path through the forest, she calls to you also. Woman Foolishness winks at you and says, "Hey, all you who are looking for wisdom, all you who are tired of the world's endless rules: Come on in here. I have stolen water, which is sweeter. And you can try my forbidden fruit. Of course you know, don’t you, that the illegal, forbidden stuff is yummier, more exciting. I'll show you a real good time. Hey, Baby. Why don't you come up and see me sometime!" She's hard to resist. Even if her flirtiness does not appeal to you, her offering of a sumptuous feast does. You enter the house of Woman Foolishness. You sit at her table. The feast does look scrumptious. The aroma makes your mouth water. You fill your plate, take a bite. This is good! It tastes great; but, as you chew, your mind grows fuzzy, groggy, like you've been drugged. "What is this stuff?" you ask. Woman Foolishness says, "Oh, that's one of my favorites, Baby. That dish is called Closed-Mindedness Casserole. Isn't it decadent?" You pick up your goblet and drink what looks like water. It is bubbly and very sweet. Woman Foolishness says, "That drink is called Scoff-at-the-Spirit Spritzer. Isn't it sinful?" You're sick to your stomach. You have some serious heartburn. "I don't feel well," you say. Woman Foolishness caresses your face with one hand. She stinks of perfume. She says, "Don't worry, Baby. You'll get used to it. Just keep eating and drinking. Here, take and eat some cake. I call it Better-than-God Cake. It's devil's food, and, Baby, it is to die for." You hear a voice. "You're in danger," the voice says. You excuse yourself to use the bathroom, where you splash cold water on your face. Water. Yes. Your mind wakes up. You remember who and whose you are. That voice that warned you now says, "Get out of there!" You recognize the voice. It's that of Woman Wisdom. You dash for the door. Woman Foolishness calls after you, "Where you going, Baby?" When you ignore her, she yells, "Come back here, you idiot!" but you are out the door. And you sprint through the forest, heading back toward the house less entered, the path less taken--the house of Woman Wisdom. And while you are still far off, Woman Wisdom sees you and is filled with compassion. She runs and puts her arms around you and kisses you. She says, "Oh, I was worried sick about you. Come on in. Foolishness is never gonna harm you, not while I'm around. I'll give you a real meal. And then you feast at wisdom’s table and come to know the heart of God. The heart of God is revealed at another table, also—the table of our Lord Jesus. He is the host and the feast. At holy communion, Jesus makes good the promises he gives us in today’s Gospel lesson. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; 55for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink. 56Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. 57Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” Jesus’s voice at this meal today is the voice of wisdom for us. When we feast at his table in this little bit of bread and this little bit of wine, we receive a feast so great that it will take us all the way to heaven, where it is promised, by the way, that the feast will never end. It is so easy to get a meal nowadays. You don’t have to “waste” time shopping and preparing. All you have to do is stop at a fast food place. You don’t even have to go in. Just stay in the car, drive through, and food is handed to you. But things are quite different when you are invited to a banquet. You may not have to prepare the food, but you certainly have to prepare yourself. You may even want to wear new clothes. A banquet is an event. When you are invited to a banquet, you seldom ask about the menu. If it is a genuine banquet, you know that the food will be of high quality and expertly prepared. Besides, the point is not the quality of the food served, but the significance of the event, the host and honored guests. Wisdom spreads out a banquet to which we all are invited. The meat and wine that she offers is insight and understanding, and we would be fools to turn down her invitation. Jesus too spreads a banquet before us. He offers us himself, his flesh for the life of the world. If we turn down his invitation, we would be more than fools. We would be rejecting life itself. Unfortunately, sometimes we prefer the fast food to the banquet. We would rather stay comfortably in the car than have to go to all the trouble of getting ready for the party. We are satisfied to continue in ignorance. Life may not be a banquet, but it’s familiar and comfortable. The old life of sin has served us to this point. “Why fix it if it ain’t broke?” we think. Yet ignorance is not bliss, my friends. We cannot long survive on the fare of sin and ignorance. And so, the banquet is ready, the feast is waiting. Come and see how Jesus sets the table with his body and blood. Lean in closer and smell the rich fragrance of God’s love and forgiveness and mercy. Take into yourself the heart of God in Christ Jesus and then you be the banquet for the whole world. AMEN -------------------- Pastor Sara Akre 418 W. Main St. Sidney, MT 59270
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