Wisdom: Not bought with riches

Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
-Proverbs 11:4

Riches are great, everyone wants them. They are what make our country run and they are how people judge other people. Riches are a gift from God, they are a way that He provides us with our daily bread. But the Christian Church has not always and still do not look favorably on wealth and riches.

Certainly there are two things to take into consideration in this Proverb. It does not say that riches are bad. It does say that they will not profit us in the day of wrath.
And we certainly see this echoed in Scripture. As Israel, laden with riches, was fleeing Egypt they saw the riches of the Pharaoh pursuing them. They were certainly terrified at the fearsome chariots and gleaming spears and helmets of Pharaoh’s army. They may have thought for a moment that they could buy their safety with the gold given them by their Egyptian neighbors. But they saw the greatness of the Lord and sang this song:
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20:7)

Christ warns us against putting our hope in earthly treasures:
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

(Matthew 6:19-21)

It is not having riches that is evil, it is putting our hope, our trust and our love in those riches. Wisdom teaches us that there is only one thing that can deliver us from death, that is righteousness. Where do we find our righteousness?

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith- 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:8-11)

Wisdom teaches us from where our hope and salvation come-righteousness. And that righteousness is found in Christ alone.

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Psalm 4
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?

But know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;

the LORD hears when I call to him.
Be angry, and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds,

and be silent.

Offer right sacrifices, and put your trust in the LORD.
There are many who say, "Who will show us some good?

Lift up the light of your face upon us, O LORD!"

You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.
In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Amen.

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Wisdom: From Faithful Parents

The Holy Family

A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
-Proverbs 10:1b

Mother’s Day is just around the corner. A time to show our Mothers how much we appreciate them for all they have done to nurture and care for us, to bring us up and see us on the path to adulthood, to teach us and model for us the faith.

For some, though, Mother’s Day is not a happy day. Some people are racked with guilt because they have totally forsaken their mothers. Some people are filled with grief and lonliness because they have lost their mothers. Some people are angry because they don’t have a mother worth giving thanks for.

The Proverbs present over and over again faithful parents who fulfill their duties of teaching and directing their children in the ways of the faith. Parents who faithfully teach their children, who model the life of a Christian, who bring their children to the waters of baptism and make sure they have received instruction for the proper reception of the Lord’s Supper have been faithful not only to their children but to their God and Savior. And perhaps the most beautiful example of a faithful mother is the Virgin Mother herself, Mary.

I know people, as I’m sure we all do, who have been trained in the way they should go by godly parents and have turned from the right path. I also know people who have been spiritually, if not also physically and emotionally, by their parents and have found the path through the faithful guidance of others.

This Mother’s Day, hear the words of Solomon, a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother. Give your Mom the best gift any faithful and godly Mother could ever want, wise living in Christ.

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God of our fathers and mothers, we give You all thanks and praise for lifting up faithful parents, especially our faithful mothers. Bless them with Your ever-present grace and comfort. Where they have fallen in their duties, give them the comfort of Your forgiveness in Christ. Where their children have fallen from the right path, speak peace to their hearts and guide their wandering children back. Turn our hearts to that most perfectly obedient Son, who endured the sorrows of all mothers and gave Himself up for the sins of all children. Hear us as we pray in His name.
Amen.

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Wisdom: Eat and Drink

"Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!" To him who lacks sense she says, "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight."
-Proverbs 9:4-6

You’ve gotten those letters before: Current Occupant, Resident, to the Homeowners at your address (which is hilarious when you are in an apartment!). They are meaningless and in our house don’t get a second glance. They go right to the trashcan.

Wisdom sends out and invitation that we might think of tossing. To: Whoever is simple. Boy, makes “Resident” sound pretty good, doesn’t it? The invitation gets even better. Eat and drink, leave your simple ways. Pretty vague isn’t it? What kind of bread is this, what kind of wine will make us leave our simple ways? According to “conventional wisdom” if you want to be a successful, vibrant, growing church, you won’t do anything that may offend. That has lead some churches to go so far as to totally throw out any discussion of sin. But this isn’t conventional wisdom talking, this is True Wisdom. True and Abiding Wisdom comes to us just was we are, simple, foolish, easily deceived, and tells us to turn from that and enter into life and insight.

So what does this Proverb mean for Lutherans? We are invited to eat and drink the bread and wine prepared by Holy Wisdom.

The Small Catechism asks:
What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?
Answer: We are told in the words “for you” and “for the forgiveness of sin.” By these words the forgiveness of sins [that is, we leave our simple ways], life [the same life spoken of in the Proverb, eternal life], and salvation [both in the sense that we turn from our simple ways and in the sense that we live and walk in our new lives in Christ] are given to us in the sacrament, for where there is forgiveness of sins, there are also life and salvation.

And again, Martin Luther says:
You may ask, “What does it mean to know Christ? Or, what does he bring us?” Answer: You learn to know Christ when you comprehend the words of the Apostle recorded in I Corinthians 1:30, “Christ was given to us by God to be our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.” You comprehend this fully when you realize that all your wisdom is damnable stupidity, your righteousness damnable unrighteousness, your purity damnable impurity, your redemption miserable damnation; and when you thus discover that before God and all creatures you are actually a feel, a sinner, an unclean and condemned man, and when you show not only with words but also with all your heart and your deeds that you are left with no other comfort and salvation than the fact that Christ is given you by God and that you believe in him and partake of him, whose righteousness alone can preserve you, as you appeal to it and rely on it. Such a faith is nothing else than the eating of this bread, as Christ says in John 6 [:32], “My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.”*

This seemingly insignificant and impersonal invitation is not to be taken lightly. In it, Christ, the Wisdom and Power of God, invites us to follow Him, to be fed by Him, to be saved by Him, to live in Him. This is a great honor and blessing not to be taken lightly. Here the invitation of Wisdom! Eat and drink, live and walk in the ways of insight!

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O most Holy Wisdom, Christ our Savior, turn us from our damnable stupidity, our damnable unrighteousness, our damnable impurity, and or miserable damnation. Turn us instead to Your perfect Wisdom, Your perfect Righteousness, Your perfect Purity, and Your complete Salvation. May we ever heed Your gracious invitation to eat and drink of the good things You give us, Your own holy body and blood, that we may live and walk in insight.
Amen.
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*Luther, M. (1999, c1969).

Vol. 42: Luther's works, vol. 42 : Devotional Writings I

(J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald & H. T. Lehmann, Ed.).

Luther's Works (Vol. 42, Page 58-59).

Philadelphia: Fortress Press.

Wisdom: Calling Us

Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?
-Proverbs 8:1Two questions. But what is the answer?

Does not God call? Does not Christ raise His voice?
Two questions. But what is the answer?

Jesus says: I am the one who bears witness about myself, and the Father who sent me bears witness about me.
-John 8:18

Through God’s creation, His Holy Word, the life and work of Christ and the guidance and workings of the Holy Spirit, God has called all people. Through His Church, through the faithful preaching of His pastors, through the Sacraments, God has called all people.

Wisdom has called you, God has called you to ever-lasting life through Jesus Christ. He is not a God who is far away. He is a God who reaches out to you, personally and in love.

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Today Thy mercy calls us

To wash away our sin.

However great our trespass,

Whatever we have been,

However long from mercy

Our hearts have turned away,

Thy precious blood can cleanse us

And make us white today.
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Today Thy gate is open,

And all who enter in

Shall find a Father's welcome

And pardon for their sin.

The past shall be forgotten,

A present joy be given,

A future grace be promised,

A glorious crown in heaven.
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Today our Father calls us,

His Holy Spirit waits;

His blessed angels gather

Around the heavenly gates.

No question will be asked us

How often we have come;

Although we oft have wandered,

It is our Father's home.
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O all-embracing Mercy,0 ever-open Door,

What should we do without

TheeWhen heart and eye run o'er?

When all things seem against us,

To drive us to despair,

We know one gate is open,

One ear will hear our prayer.
Amen.*

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*Hymn #279 The Lutheran HymnalText

Author: Oswald Allen, 1861

Composer: Friedrich K. Anthes, 1847

Tune: "Anthes"

Aardvark Alley: Who You Calling Quia?

I came across this self-proclaimed "golden nugget" and found it very interesting.

As I will be taking my ordination vows in a matter of weeks, I proudly declare that I am quia! You hear that all you Evangelical/Fundamental/Baptomethocosticals? I'm here and I'm QUIA!! What are you gonna do about it?

Aardvark Alley: Who You Calling Quia?

Wisdom: Practical

All at once he follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life.
-Proverbs 7:22-23

Many of the Proverbs to this point have talked about the temptation of adultery and following the “forbidden woman.” Wisdom does not only work on the academic, philosophical, spiritual plain. Wisdom is also, if not predominately, practical. In married life, there are many temptations to be unfaithful. But to do so is to be a fool. These two verses from Proverbs 7 make an interesting comparison to the man who betrays the way of Wisdom to life in the life of lust and sel-f gratification. He is no longer a man, “all at once” he becomes like an animal: an ox, a stag, a bird. The foolishness of his path has lead him away from that Divine Wisdom, which is his only source of humanity and life.

He is not just an animal, but a doomed animal. The ox that is to be slaughtered, the stag that is pierced by the arrow, the bird in the snare. If you have ever been a part of butchering or hunting, you know that an animal that is being lead to the slaughter, or an animal who is peirced by an arrow or caught in a snare has no idea that its doom is imminent. The animal is totally ignorant of anything other than the desire to fulfill its needs. This is what the Proverb is telling us. You want to forsake the commandments of our Good Father? You want to follow after the prostitute and the forbidden woman? Then you want to throw away your life. Then you want to renounce your birthright as a human being. And not just any human being, but a human being who has been bought with the precious blood of Christ.

If you have found yourself like an ox or a stag or a bird that is ignorant of its own doom, turn to your Master. Leave your paths of iniquity and self-desire and turn to the path of life.

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Lord God, our Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier, keep us from cruel and beastly ignorance and lead us ever in Your Holy Wisdom. We have been given the most beautiful gift of salvation and life in Christ, may we never squander that great blessing and high distinction. Hear us for the sake of Christ, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, now and forever.
Amen.
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C. F. W. Walther, Doctor and Confessor

Today the Church gives thanks for the faithful witness and teaching of CFW Walther.
The following link gives some great information and devotional thoughts on our beloved Dr. Walther.
Aardvark Alley: C. F. W. Walther, Doctor and Confessor

Issues, Etc. also had an interesting piece on Dr. Walther yesterday. Download the audio here: KFUO WMA audio

To read some of Walter's wonderful Law/Gospel works, check out the daily devotional from CPH, God Grant It.

Wisdom: Bound to God in Christ

My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching. Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck. When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.
-Proverbs 6:20-22

Does this Proverb tell us it is enough to learn what our faith means? Is it good enough to know the right answers, or to have Bible passages and the Small Catechism memorized? If we think that is all that needs to be done we mistake the rest stop for the destination. It is important to know the right answers, it is important to commit jewels of God’s Word and the teaching of the Catechism to memory. But these things are only brief stops on the journey of faith.

Wisdom tells us to bind the commandments and teachings of the one true faith to our hearts. When you bind something there is a reason for it, usually to keep it connected or to keep it together. When we bind God’s Word to our hearts we are keeping it together with our hearts, so that every beat is a living reminder of God’s goodness and loving-kindness.

Wisdom tells us to tie God’s teaching around our neck, so that others may see them. We wear God’s Word around our neck like a precious and beautiful necklace. But it is also a sign of our servant hood to Him. In some ancient cultures slaves were forced to where a kind of collar around their neck. It was made of metal and fastened on them when still hot and then welded together so it would never come off. This was a sign to anyone who saw them that they were a slave. So we gladly wear the easy burden and beautiful Word around our necks—that anyone who sees us may know to whom we belong.

The foolish person may see this Proverb and think that he is unjustly bound to a hard and cruel master. It is not attractive in our society to be bound to anything other than our own depraved interests and desires. But those sinful desires do not seek our good. When you are bound to righteousness through Christ Jesus, you will be lead on the right paths, you will be guarded from eternal harm and danger, you will have an Advocate who talks with you and for you.

Wisdom knows this to be true. Holy Wisdom, Christ Himself, was bound for our sakes. He was so bound to the Father’s will that He endured the most severe physical and spiritual punishment and abandonment for us. This is our Wisdom, Christ Himself, the one who makes us wise for salvation unto eternal life.

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I bind unto myself today

The strong Name of the Trinity,
By invocation of the same

The Three in One and One in Three.
I bind this today to me forever

By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation;

His baptism in Jordan river,

His death on Cross for my salvation;

His bursting from the spicèd tomb,

His riding up the heavenly way,

His coming at the day of doom

I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the Name,

The strong Name of the Trinity,

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One and One in Three.

By Whom all nature hath creation,

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:

Praise to the Lord of my salvation,

Salvation is of Christ the Lord.*

Amen.

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* Portions of St Patrick's Breastplate

Can you ask too much?

Last night I was watching an episode of the Simpson's. Bart and Lisa wanted to go to an amusement park, but Homer didn't want to take them. So, for the rest of the day, they barraged Homer with the same quesion over and over. "Can we go Dad? Can we go Dad? Can we go Dad?" Over and over they were relentless in their pursuit of getting Homer to take them. Finally, frustrated and ready to go to sleep, Homer explodes "If I take you will you stop asking me?" To which they joyfully reply "YEAH!"

This blitz approach to getting your way is well known to children. I did it when I was a kid, but mine ususally ended up with "If you ask me one more time, I won't take you anywhere!" I thought my Mom was bluffing the first time she employed this counter-attack, but, to my surprise and disappointment, I found she was very serious.

I have been praying a lot lately for the same things. Over and over again throughout the day I turn to God with the same requests. "Help us get everything done! Help us find housing! Help me get through these last few days of class! Help us find someone to take our apartment!" to name just a few of my numerous requests. I'm torn at times though. Will God respond to me like Homer? In anger and frustration, just trying to shut me up? (Their trip to the amusement park did NOT go well!) Will God respond like my Mom? "If you ask me one more time, you get NOTHING!"

My sinful nature and the old evil foe are constantly trying to get me to believe that God will get tired of me. "Why bother asking? God will do what He wants! You don't want to risk making Him mad, do you?" But these are lies. What is so great about Lutheran theology is its three-fold foundation of Sola Fide, Sola Gratia, Sola Scriptura. Faith alone, Grace alone, Scripture alone.

Our faith alone, which is a work of the Holy Spirit, tells us that God will not tire of our requests. He has reached out to us first. Had He not been calling us, we would not call to Him!

It is God's grace alone, shown on the cross of Jesus Christ, that gives us proof of that love of God. How could our prayers and requests not be pleasing to the God who gave His only begotten Son in love?

Finally, if these two things don't convince your troubled heart, if you don't "feel" your faith or God's grace in your life, He has given that sure witness to His love. Scripture alone stands outside of us and points us to the truth of our faith and God's grace.

See how Christ Himself instructs us about our persistence in prayer:

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.' For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.'" And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:1-8)

And St. Paul tells us:

"do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." (Eph. 1:6)

So I will continue to pray to my gracious Father in heaven. I will continue to trust His loving-kindness to hear my prayers. I will give thanks for the good work of the Holy Spirit in calling me to prayer. And I will ignore the foolishness of my own flesh, the world and Satan who tell me to give up.

Wisdom: Innocently Wise

For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it…and you say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”
For a man's ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths.
-Proverbs 5:3-6, 12-14, 21

This Proverb gives important insight into the ways and means of the enemy, here presented as the “forbidden woman.” Everything said about this forbidden woman applies to our old evil foe, Satan. Certainly, it is not wise or healthy to give too much thought to Satan and his ways. There is a danger in that, he likes to be thought about, it gives him an opportunity to take hostage our thoughts and turn them from Christ. However, it is also unwise to be ignorant of him.

Christ tells His disciples in Matthew 10:16, “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.” In this Proverb, Christ, the wisdom and power of God, is instructing us so that we may be innocently wise of evil.

What does He say in this Proverb? The words and enticements of the forbidden woman appear to be sweet and even right. This is how she will trap you. Like a Venus Flytrap that offers some bit of sweet bait to attract its prey. Be on guard against this! Test all things against God’s Word. Take Esau as an example of what not to do. He traded everything for some bread and lentil stew. He took the sweet bait, thinking it was what he needed, thinking it would keep him alive, but in doing so he lost everything. This is how the forbidden woman works. She calls with lips dripping honey and smooth words, then, once the bait has been taken, she attacks. Once the words have been swallowed it becomes bitter. The sword cuts both ways.

We are also made innocently wise by the understanding that this forbidden woman does not even realize the danger of her own ways. She desires that you listen to her and come with her, but she herself does not know the end of her path. Satan is the same way. He wants us to follow after him, thinking he will somehow still win the victory. He is ignorant of his own doom. Christ does not do this. He has blazed a trail for us through life and death into eternal life. He is our Good Shepherd who will not lead His sheep astray. He knows His ways and has revealed them to us in Holy Scripture.

Christ teaches us the folly of the ways of wickedness in a clear and understandable way. He also sheds light onto the future of the man who follows the forbidden woman. The only future for such a man is regret, anxiety, fear and destruction. Why does our good Father reveal this to us? To teach us wisdom, to spare us the pain and heartache of turning from His ways. We can know from this Proverb that the ways of the forbidden woman end in ignorant death. The ways of the man who follows her ends in ignorant regret and ruin. We can also be certain from this Proverb that God knows all of our ways. In this Proverb, the only one who is not ignorant is God, and He desires to give us wisdom, so that we may be wise as serpents and innocent as doves in the midst of wolves.

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O Holy Wisdom of God, our blessed Savior and Redeemer Jesus Christ, turn us from the ignorance and foolishness of the wicked and direct us in your knowledge and instruction on the paths of righteousness. Make us innocently wise in the face of the evil foe, that we may remain blameless before You. Hear us, Good Lord, as we come before You at Your bidding.

Amen.

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