Proper 12 | Ordinary Time 17, Cycle A

“Wisdom from God” is a significant motif in many of the texts selected for this coming weekend. As a result of scholarly biblical studies during the past few decades, the importance of the wisdom from God concept in the biblical texts is increasingly being recognized.

Genesis 29:15-28
Jacob is frequently portrayed within the patriarchal traditions as a sly, tricky man, but somewhat surprisingly perhaps to many of us Jacob’s cleverness seems often to be used by God to accomplish God’s purposes. In this particular text, Laban, the uncle of Jacob, is as tricky as Jacob, and possibly even more, since Laban maneuvered Jacob into working for Laban for fourteen years with neither wages nor salary, and also managed to obtain twelve grandsons through Jacob and Laban’s two daughters and their two maid servants. God’s purposes were accomplished even through the duplicity of Jacob and Laban, and that duplicity continues as the story progresses beyond this text. The wisdom of God and the wisdom from God fascinates and amazes us.

Psalm 105:1-11, 45b
In this impressive community hymn of praise, the worshiping congregation is called upon to give thanks to “the Lord our God” for the covenant relationship the people have with the Lord and for all of the wonderful acts of God in behalf of the Israelite people. The mighty acts of the Lord God and the wise judgments of the Lord God are singled out for special attention. Even though the Israelites have been the prime beneficiaries of the Lord’s wisdom, according to this psalm all of the people within the entire inhabited world have become aware of the wisdom of the Lord. What do we have within our specifically Christian Scriptures that is comparable to this?

Psalm 128
The person who fears the Lord and lives in accordance with the will of the Lord is wise and blessed. Such a person will be prosperous and surrounded by a happy spouse and children. Responding to the wisdom of God, this person will see the prosperity of the holy city Jerusalem.

1 Kings 3:5-12
The “Wisdom from God” theme comes to us most strikingly in this story about Solomon’s dream. Not only does this story demonstrate that wisdom originates with God; it also provides a theological reason for the identification of the name of Solomon with wise judgments and with wisdom literature. We are told by means of this dream story that wisdom is a gift from God and that wisdom is an attribute of God.

Since it is stated in 1 Kings 3:12 that the Lord will give to Solomon a heart so wise and understanding that there will never again be anyone to equal him, it was necessary for followers of Jesus to proclaim that Jesus as the Risen Christ is greater than Solomon. Therefore, they claimed as we see in Matthew 12:42 and in Luke 11:31 that where Jesus is “something greater than Solomon” is present. Early leaders within our developing Christian tradition in this way precluded any possibility of having Jesus subordinate to Solomon in wisdom through their deification of Jesus as the Risen Christ as our Lord and Savior, God the Son. For us as Christians, therefore, the wisdom of God has been manifested most fully in Jesus the Risen Christ, superseding for us the wisdom granted to Solomon in this 1 Kings 3:5-12 dream of Solomon story.

Psalm 119:129-136
Verses 129-130 of this entire extensive Psalm 119 provide for us an epitome of the “Wisdom from God” motif for this weekend. Certainly the decrees of the Lord are wonderful. The revelation of the words of the Lord sheds light, “giving understanding to the simple,” as this is expressed in The New American Bible.

Romans 8:26-39
According to the Apostle Paul in this text, God “has known” and “knows more” than any of us the elements of God’s gracious plan of salvation. Whatever we can know is revealed by God. God is the source of our knowledge. God knows what is in our minds. It is enough for us to recognize and to believe that in every way God works things out for the good of those who love God. More than that we do not need, since whatever wisdom we have is from God, and we are called by God, we are known by God, we are set apart by God, we are declared to be righteous by God, and we are glorified by God.

Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
The emphasis in the two parables in verses 31-33 is on how the almost invisible beginnings of the rule by only the Lord God in Galilee and Judea is similar to the tiny, almost unseen mustard seed in the soil of a garden that grows into a huge bush and to the invisible yeast in the bread dough that multiplies and spreads throughout the large quantity of the bread dough.

The language of the first two of the three parables in verses 44-50 (the treasure hidden in the field and the pearl of great value) is characteristic of wisdom literature, where wisdom from God is described as a hidden treasure (Proverbs 2:4, 8:18-21; Isaiah 33:6) and as a pearl, jewels, rubies, precious stones, and so on. (Proverbs 3:14-15, 8:11; Job 28:17-18). In addition, the Matthean Jesus asks his disciples, “Have you understood all of this?” and they answer, “Yes.” A few verses earlier, in Matthew 13:18, it is stated that it is imperative the wisdom from God be received and understood by Jesus’ disciples. According to the parables in Matthew 13:44-50, therefore, it is essential that those who would follow Jesus receive and understand this wisdom from God that God’s kingdom, God’s rule, and letting God direct our lives will bring to us great joy, this is the most valuable treasure that we may have, and there will be a separation between the good and the worthless on the day of judgment.

All three of these parables in verses 44-50 are present only within Matthew in the Newer Testament. All three of them, however, occur in slightly different forms in the Gospel of Thomas, not as a group, as in Matthew, but in three separate places in a sequence that is inverse to that in Matthew (Gospel of Thomas 109, 76, and 8 respectively). In the Gospel of Thomas 109 a son sells a field that he has inherited without realizing his father had hidden a great treasure in it for him. This form of the parable is consistent with gnostic thought. The father (God) provides the treasure, but only the son who has knowledge (gnosis) can be aware of the treasure. In the Gospel of Thomas 76 a merchant sells his entire wagonload of goods in order to be able to acquire the precious pearl. In gnostic terms, he is wise, for he divests himself of all material things in order to be able to acquire the spiritual gem. In the Gospel of Thomas 8 the fisherman throws away all of the small fish and keeps only a single large fish. If we use these parables as the primary biblical basis for our message this coming weekend, we should emphasize that letting God (rather than Caesar or other material things) motivate us and direct our lives will bring us great joy. We should not engage in gnostic-type speculation that the hidden spiritual spark (treasure) is available only to those who are spiritual and possess spiritual gifts.