Pentecost XXIII
We're nearing the End of (Ordinary) Time. Advent's waiting and beginning is only a few weeks away.
So, at the end of Time: Wisdom? Judgement? Righteousness.
Jesus tells those following him to stay awake and alert in order to see the Day of the Lord as it comes among us. 'The bridegroom is late,' so everyone has grown sleepy. In the words of the old spiritual: 'keep your lamps trimmed and burning' and stay up all night.
Sounds like Tuesday night.
But, no anticipated political outcome is the coming of our Lord. Truly.
Yet, the coming of our Lord has 'political' implications, most certainly. Lift up the lowly, Mary sings.
The other readings appointed for this Sunday speak to two very different - but complementary - understandings of the coming of the Day of the Lord.
We read from the prophet Amos -- the end of which reading was made famous in contemporary times by Dr. King: "you who say you desire the day of the Lord: be careful what you ask for! The Lord does not desire solemn festivals and burnt offerings.' Rather, this is what the coming of the Day of the Lord will feel like: "Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an everflowing stream."
And, then, utterly different yet alike in its integrity and truth, we hear from the book of Wisdom (6:12-16):
"Wisdom is radiant and unfading,
and she is easily discerned by those who love her,
and is found by those who seek her.
She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.
One who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty,
for she will be found sitting at the gate.
To fix one’s thought on her is perfect understanding,
and one who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care,
because she goes about seeking those worthy of her,
and she graciously appears to them in their paths,
and meets them in every thought."
This coming of Lady Wisdom is so constant, so obvious, so gracious... that we trip over her. She waits for us to discover her ways. And, "...all her ways are ways of pleasantness, and her paths are peace." (Proverbs)
This, too, is the coming of the Day of the Lord among us. For, to stumble upon Lady Wisdom -- who is obviously waiting for us at the gate -- we need eyes to see her shaping and calling. It sounds gentle, but I bet ole' lady wisdom has a strong arm sometimes. I know I've met her in that mood. I think I've seen her of late.
"Seek the Lord while s/he may be found, " we are told. And, in seeking, we shall find, Jesus tells us. And, with these ways of peace, the poor are lifted up.
For some reason, this is all making me think of a movement from Philip Glass' Symphony IV ('Heroes'), called 'Sons of the Silent Age'. Lots of David Bowie in it. I find it to be a different image of the 'heroic' -- an instructive intersection of Amos' sudden fire and Wisdom's emerging radiance. Here it is. It repeats itself. So do we.
Courage and strength, and patience, in your walking, seeking, and finding. Keep those lamps trimmed and burning for one another.