A simple piece of encouragement as you journey through this advent season.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am…
The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your needs in parched places,
And make your bones strong;
And you shall be like a watered garden,
Like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
(Isaiah 58:9,11; NRSV)
One of my pastors preached a series on the book of Ecclesiastes this summer. His comments on wisdom (and those of Qoheleth, the teacher/writer of Ecclesiastes) caught my attention. Qoheleth writes:
I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven… but I learned that this, too, is a chasing after the wind. For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. (Ecc. 1:13,17b, 18)
And my pastor said this:
Wisdom made Qoheleth miserable. Why? Because it revealed that so much in life was beyond human repair. Wisdom became for Qoheleth a kind of x-ray machine. It showed the break in the arm but it offered no way to heal it.
I’m really curious to hear what others think about these descriptions of the search for wisdom. When I land in place where wisdom is – in a conversation with someone, on this blog (!), while reading a book, in a time of prayer – I experience the opposite of misery. I experience a lightness, a hope, a deeper understanding of the world and God’s work in it.
I’m guessing that the kind of wisdom that Qoheleth found was a different kind of wisdom than we are together looking for.
Talk to me. Help me to contextualize and exegete the Teacher. Search for wisdom…
I’d like to bring our discussion of age and authority up to the front of this blog. For a little extra context, read the comments on “Being perfect: it’s not your job…” starting with the question in Chelsey’s comment.
For those of us who are young(ish) people in ministry or young people preparing for ministry, we may, because of our age, find it challenging to live into the clothes of our calling. We may feel like we’re playing dress-up – like the clothes are too big for us. Or perhaps some of us feel prepared and ready – but not perceived as prepared or ready because of our age (which serves to decrease the feeling of preparedness and readiness!).
My husband and his father both looked rather young when they graduated from seminary. Both of them grew facial hair while they were waiting to be called to a church – so that they would appear older. I can’t grow a beard, but I have often felt the insecurity of my youth in my ministry.
There is a difference, isn’t there, between an authority that has grown over time and an authority that is bestowed upon us. The authority that someone has who has been in ministry for a long time is received well because it has stood the test of time – that person has earned the respect of congregants and communities. But when one is ordained, words are said to the congregation that may sound strange when spoken of a 26 year old – or when spoken of someone who hasn’t had a chance to prove himself or herself.
The Christian Reformed Church’s form for ordination of a minister of the Word charges the congregation in this way:
And you, brothers and sisters, joyfully receive your minister in the Lord and honor her. Remember that through him God himself speaks to you. Receive the Word which she, according to the Scripture, shall preach to you, not as the word of human beings but, as it is in truth, the Word of God… Submit to those whom God has placed over you, for they care for you as those who will give account.
This is the amazing reality of God. When God calls us to something, he works through us to do more than what we could ever possibly do on our own. Rachel said it well: “Sure, I may not have the life experience of half my congregation but if God calls you to do something, He’ll equip you with the proper wisdom and knowledge you need.”
What do you think? About age and authority? What about authority and gender? Looking forward to continuing discussion on this topic.