Preached on Sunday, September 15, 2024, the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, at Trinity Cathedral, Little Rock.

This morning, I preach on a mashal of King Solomon, one of his proverbs: “Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gate she speaks: ‘How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge?’” (Proverbs 1:20–22)

When our ancestors in the faith read the book of Proverbs, they opened it as if a treasure chest of wisdom, which should be learned, marked, and inwardly digested. In this book, we find guidance and instruction, pithy proverbs about how to walk in life’s way, how best to do this or that. But that’s not all we find here––not by a good measure! More profoundly, to read the book of Proverbs is to enter into the high court of Lady Wisdom, the monarch of this realm of ours. Notice, then, that Scripture does not merely speak of wisdom as a character trait which some have, or just an advice column to which we subscribe––no. Scripture speaks of Wisdom as a person. Wisdom is someone to Whom we attend, Someone to Whom we listen; She is a Teacher and Guide, a person. And Wisdom is royal; She governs and directs this whole world. For us to listen to Her is to be subject to Her rule. Now, the book of Proverbs attributes itself to the pen of King Solomon, true, but in this book, Solomon the Wise prostrates before Wisdom Herself; it is She Who rules his realm and ours. For us to read from and meditate on this book today is to approach Her throne with humility and, with all eagerness, to kneel down and learn from Her majestic ways.

So, what is it that we learn from Lady Wisdom? Wisdom teaches us how to be wise––that is, how to walk in Her ways. But what does it mean to live with wisdom? Now, we must remember that Lady Wisdom is, indeed, royal; Her teachings govern this entire world of ours. But Her reign is humble, with an honest concern for us, Her people; She is interested in the daily dealings of our lives. Throughout the book of Proverbs, we learn the truth of humanity, of how true living can be. Wisdom, then, is not abstract speculation about God, but wisdom isn’t necessarily just spiritual “street smarts,” either. To grow in wisdom is to grow in understanding of God’s ordering of this world of ours. To grow in wisdom is to grow into God’s life-giving ways. That’s what we find throughout this book of the Bible, filled with pity and pertinent teachings about daily living––in our home, in our neighborhood, in our congregation. But––and this is crucial––the way we learn such wisdom is by listening to Wisdom Herself, speaking a word of instruction to us. “Give heed to my reproof,” says Lady Wisdom; “I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you” (Proverbs 1:23).

Now, notice that the passage we read today is not speaking of a royal court room, tucked away in some tower, high and lofty. Lady Wisdom is a member of the royal household, yes, but she’s not trapped away, out of sight and out of mind. No, She is out in public. When we say that Wisdom is speaking to us, we mean it! She is not distant, and She is certainly not silent. So goes our passage for today: “Wisdom cries out in the street; in the squares she raises her voice. At the busiest corner she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks” (Proverbs 1:20–21). She calls to us, not from afar, but in our very midst––“God with us” (Matthew 1:23)––in our marketplaces and city centers, at traffic stops and street corners, in the daily rhythms of our lives.

And yet! And yet, we don’t hear Her.

“How long, O simple ones, will you love being simple? How long will scoffers delight in their scoffing and fools hate knowledge? Give heed to my reproof; I will pour out my thoughts to you; I will make my words known to you. [But] I have called and you refused, have stretched out my hand and no one heeded…you have ignored all my counsel and would have none of my reproof…”

We lack wisdom. But even worse, we don’t want wisdom––thank you very much! It’s the strange fact about this lot of ours, this human condition: we need God, but we don’t want God. And so writes King Solomon:

“Because [we hate] knowledge and [do] not choose the fear of the Lord, [we] would have none of [God’s] counsel and [despise] all [of God’s] reproof…” (Proverbs 1:29–30)

We turn away from Lady Wisdom. Scripture rarely explains why we do this, but it often reminds us that we do this, and likewise, it often reminds us that the consequences are dire.

“[We] eat the fruit of [our] way and [are] sated with [our] own devices. For waywardness kills the simple, and the complacency of fools destroys them…” (Proverbs 1:31–32)

We need not look very far to know that Scripture speaks truth here. Just look at this world of ours. And this isn’t to say that God punishes us for our rejection of Wisdom; no, we bring this upon ourselves, “eating the fruit of our own ways.” Our own waywardness is killing us; we destroy ourselves. But Lady Wisdom reassures us: “those who listen to me will be secure and will live at ease without dread of disaster” (Proverbs 1:33).

As Christians, we take all of this and ponder it in our heart as we turn to Jesus Christ. We do not leave it behind nor relegate it, as if the Old Testament has nothing to teach us here. Israel’s Scriptures always remain for us True Teacher. No, we bring our meditations on Lady Wisdom to Christ because, just as Wisdom Herself, Jesus Christ is “with us.” Jesus Christ just is Wisdom. He, too, cries out in the street; in the squares He raises His voice. At the busiest corner He cries out; at the entrance of the city gates He speaks––but this time, with a cross. Jesus Christ carries His cross in the street, thrice falling down and getting back up again. Jesus Christ carries His cross through the squares, where he would be mocked and derided by standers-by. Jesus Christ carries the cross at the busy street corners, where disciple and detractor alike would deny Him. And Jesus Christ says to each and every one of us: “deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34).

For us Christians, this is Wisdom. This is the Wisdom we know to be royal and majestic; it is this act of cross-bearing and this calling to continued self-denial and self-sacrifice that establishes a new order for the whole world. But this royal Wisdom is humble, too; it is concerned with our daily lives––a calling for us to deny ourselves and take up our cross in this very life of ours, each and every day. This call to self-denial and self-sacrifice is God’s will for us, and He comes down to make it known.

And, just as we should expect, we want to turn away from all of this. We do not drink from the Father’s Cup, but we “eat the fruit of our own way.” We set our minds on earthly things, not divine things. We, like poor Peter, try to rebuke Christ for speaking such nonsense. Self-denial? Self-sacrifice? This is Wisdom? We deny that all of this is true Wisdom for obvious reasons. What is there to gain from self-denial and self-sacrifice? How do our lives become better by making them worse? And so, we turn away.

But herein lies the great irony of the Gospel, the great turning point of Biblical Wisdom: “waywardness kills the simple” (Proverbs 1:32a). Ironically, it is not self-sacrifice that kills us, but rather, clinging to life as if life depends on it. “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for [our Lord’s] sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?” (Mark 8:35–36). Wisdom is not wise to the simple, but it is Wisdom, for it is God Who speaks it to us. It makes little sense to us, and just this is why we can learn it only by attending to God, by subjecting ourselves to Lady Wisdom’s governance. “Those who listen to me will be secure,” She says, “and will live at ease without dread of disaster” (Proverbs 1:33).

None of this is easy. Proverbs’ indictment of us doesn’t mean this should be easy. It requires our absolute focus, a slow and patient meditation on the Wisdom of the LORD, laid before us here in Holy Scripture: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Mark 8:34). May such deep meditation be ours this day, and indeed, all our days, as we seek to follow after Christ. May we truly hear the LORD God’s instruction, and may we find life and light in ways of the wise. Amen.