For wisdom is more mobile than any motion; because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things. . . . For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of his goodness.
For the past few days, the first reading in Morning Prayer has been from the book of Wisdom, or the longer title, the Wisdom of Solomon. I’ve enjoyed my stroll through this book that is omitted from many bibles. The book of Wisdom is contained in the Apocrypha, a collection of writings that come from the era of the second temple in Jerusalem. And who knew this collection of writings, including the book of Wisdom would be the source of continued disagreement?
The Apocrypha is included in “Catholic” bibles, and omitted from “Protestant” bibles. If you look it up, there are strong, impassioned arguments why the Apocrypha should or should not be read, should or not be included in THE BIBLE, should or should not be seen as holy.
With Anglicans historically supporting the via media, or middle way, it’s not surprising to me that we’ve sidestepped this argument with a position that is probably not satisfactory to either polar side, but allows both sides peacefully co-exist. While the Apocrypha is included in the Bible most frequently read in the Episcopal Church (New Revised Standard Version), the teachings of the church say that Holy Scriptures explicitly include only the Old and New Testament which omits the Apocrypha. But it adds that the Apocrypha is often included in the Bible, and it is a collection of writings by the people of the Old Covenant, used by the Christian Church. So it’s a thing, can be in the Bible, can be used by Christian Church, but isn’t technically included in what we refer to as Holy Scripture. Having said all of that, readings from the Apocrypha are included in Morning Prayer. And for that, I’m glad.
I like this book of Wisdom for a couple reasons. First, Wisdom is referred to as feminine. I’m not one who regularly replaces “he” for “she” in prayers referring to God, or bristles at God the Father. I do, however believe God transcends gender, and have no problem with folks who want to talk about God the creator, or substitute “she” when “he” is written in prayers referring to God the creator. But I do find comfort in reading about spirit that is referred to as feminine. Without even recognizing it as gender-based, I find the feminine attribution comforting.
I also have always enjoyed the concept of wisdom. And the feminine wisdom is referenced throughout the Old and New Testaments, so it’s not just a Catholic Apocrypha thing. But in the Apocrypha, she gets a whole book devoted to her. I like Wisdom because it is something I’ve strived to have, and to be able to discern the difference between wisdom and intelligence. In a meme-worthy quip, intelligence is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing that it doesn’t belong in a fruit salad.
Wisdom, for me, is when I see the facts, or the truth, I can recognize that while the fact may be factually true, there’s something missing. Tomatoes don’t belong in fruit salad. Or just because I’m factually right in a disagreement, it’s better for the world if I don’t proclaim my rightness.
The other thing Wisdom teaches me is that while there may be things that are not or cannot be proven as factually true, there is great Truth in them. Whether it’s statements in our Creed, Noah’s incredulous 800 year old life span, or whether the Red Sea looked like a mountainous sheet of water as Charlton Heston passed through, it doesn’t matter to me. There’s more to the Truth than the facts. And that distinction, I believe is Wisdom.
This morning I’m grateful for Wisdom, “for she passes into Holy Souls, and makes them friends of God”. And I’m grateful for a tradition that walks that via media so it’s part of my Morning Prayer practice.
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