Wisdom has built her house.  Proverbs 9:1

The first reading Sunday is from Proverbs. In it Wisdom is personified as a woman who invites a young person into her house and into her world. The competing invitation that follows is from Folly. My sermon will be an excursion and meditation on the passage from  Proverbs and more generally on a Christian view of wisdom.

Last week we talked about ethics, the business of asking questions about right conduct and decisions. Wisdom, first, is knowledge of what is good and right and life-giving and, second, the will-power to choose what is good, right and life-giving.

Wisdom ( sophia in Greek) in our Christian world is inseparable from the spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. The wisdom of God comes with and through the Spirit of God. So, for example, the great church of Eastern Christianity in Istanbul is Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom), and some congregations refer to the Sunday readings as the morning’s “wisdom”, meaning that the words read in public proclamation on Sunday morning are not only ancient life traditions but also inspired by God’s spirit.

Nancy Meshon is our summer soloist this week. Accompanied by Kathryn, Nancy will sing a song made popular by Bette Midler.

The flowers on the altar will be given by Dan and Barbara Olsen in celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary. At the end of the service we’ll take a moment to pray for Dan and Barbara in their life together, and thank them for some of the contributions they have made to our faith community over the years. Barbara will bring a cake for us to share at the coffee hour.

Rejoicing Spirits at 4:00 pm. Everyone is invited.

Wayland Food Pantry:  canned fruit or any other nonperishable item.

Kirsten, Matt, Nate and I have arranged to spend a few days together at the beginning of next week. We’ll leave right after church for a short trip to Calumet, returning Tuesday evening. Here’s a link to the latest Calumet newsletter: