A Fresh Perspective

In both the canonical literature (Proverbs) and in the Apocrypha (Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon) divine wisdom is personified as Lady Wisdom (the Greek word for wisdom is the feminine noun sophia). Lady Wisdom/Sophia is described with divine attributes and characteristics. In Proverbs 8:22-31 she was the first thing created and participated with God in the creation of the world and is now present everywhere. In the Wisdom of Solomon she is described as “a spotless mirror of the working of God and an image of his goodness.” She “pervades and penetrates all things.” This is the same language used in the prologue/introduction of the Gospel of John. The language of Lady Wisdom is used to talk about the Word (Logos) that “became flesh.” This Word/Wisdom is the light that is in all people (John 1:4) and enlightens everyone (John 1:9). This same language is applied to Christ in Colossians 1:15-20 who is described “as the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (this is rig...

In John  10:27 Jesus says:  “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.” Eternal life in John’s Gospel is as much about quality of life as quantity of life. It is not merely life without end; it involves a particular kind of life that is without end . This Gospel offers a rather simple, but profound explanation of what it means by eternal life. In John 17:3 we read: “This is eternal life,  that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” From the perspective of the Johannine community, eternal life is knowing God and Jesus Christ whom God sent into the world. This “knowing” is not simply knowing about, it is not information based knowledge. It is intimate knowing, experiential knowing, relational knowing, intuitive knowing; it is deep, innate, inner, spiritual knowing. Faith, of course, is vital in nurturing this kind of kind of knowing. It is critically impor...

Luke 12:1-12; 1 Corinthians 15:19-28 On the first day of the week, at early dawn, (the very timing of it has theological significance), the women arrive at the tomb bringing spices to anoint the body of Jesus. They come looking for the body of Jesus, but they do not find the body of Jesus. The stone that sealed the tomb is rolled away and the body is absent. Their first reaction is bewilderment. They stand there “perplexed” Luke says. Just then, while they are standing there perplexed, not knowing what to do, what to say, where to go, two men in dazzling clothes appear beside them, and ask them, “Why are you looking for the living among the dead?” Fred Craddock tells about the time he was at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta , Martin Luther King, Jr.’s. Pastor Joe Roberts had invited him. The time had come in the service for Fred to preach. He walked up to the pulpit, opened his Bible, and was about ready to read his text. But before he could get started, the Past...