Wisdom
Is Charity In Action
Sermon for November 6, 2005
1. Good Morning! Let’s pray. O Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing to You O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
2.
Opening
Comments: Our Lord wants to talk to us
about wisdom this morning.
Let me ask you a question: Are
you considered a wise person? God wants
us to grow in wisdom this morning.
Today’s readings speak to us about the wisdom or remembering Christ’s
coming.
This is the time of the year when we begin to anticipate Christ’s coming – His adventing into the world!
On November 20th we celebrate Christ the King Sunday
when Christians all around the world remember Christ’s coming into
Today we’re being reminded that it’s very very
wise to live in the anticipation of Christ’s final coming! To live this way is to live
in great hope!!
It’s real wisdom to live in the realization that, Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again!
Christians live vital lives of hope in the anticipation of Christ’s final coming!
Let me ask us a few more questions: Are you energized when you think about the fact that Christ will come again. In our readings this morning we’re being told that there’s wisdom in anticipating Christ’s coming again.
And let me ask you again: Do you want to be a wise person. Is the great virtue of “wisdom” something you’d love to have?
3. Further Exploration: Let’s explore this for a moment shall
we? What is this virtue called “wisdom”
all about?
First, let’s agree on what we mean by is root word, “wise.” My encyclopedia says that -
“being wise is
having or exercising sound judgment.
Being able to judge wisely between a number of
possible options.
A wise person is capable of judging truly
concerning what is right or fitting and is then disposed to act
accordingly. In other words, wisdom
decides and then always acts wisely!
Ha! In a wise person their
judgment and action are always in harmony.
A wise person has the ability to perceive
and adopt the best possible means for accomplishing any given task. A wise person is characterized by good sense
and prudence.
Sometimes the best way to define something
is by describing what it’s not. And so,
a wise person is the complete opposite of a “foolish” person.
Here’s some wise quotes about wisdom:
• Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from
getting into situations where you need it. - Anon.
• A wise man learns from the mistakes of others.
Nobody lives long enough to make them all himself. - Anon
• A wise man learns
by the experience of others. An ordinary man learns by his own experience. A
fool learns by nobody’s experience.
Here’s an
example of wisdom: An angel appears at a faculty meeting and
tells the dean that in return for his unselfish and exemplary behavior, the
Lord will reward him with his choice of infinite wealth, wisdom or beauty.
Without hesitating, the dean selects infinite wisdom.
“Done!” says the
angel, and disappears in a cloud of smoke and a bolt of lightning. Now, all
heads turn toward the dean, who sits surrounded by a faint halo of light. At
length, one of his colleagues whispers, “Say something.”
The dean looks at them and says,
“I should have taken the money.”
4.
Now let’s look at the Deuterocanonical
book of Wisdom chapter 6 verses 12-16 to learn more about what “wisdom” is:
“Resplendent and unfading is wisdom,
and she is readily perceived by those who love
her, and found by those who seek her.” In other words if you love wisdom you will
spot it easily. But the flip side of
that is that if you despise wisdom you won’t be able to see it even if it’s
standing in front of you.
Whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be
disappointed, When you seek after wisdom you will be
satisfied – you won’t be disappointed.
Reading on: For taking thought of wisdom is the
perfection of prudence, - what is
“prudence?” One encyclopedia defines it
this way:
“An intellectual habit enabling us to see in any given juncture of human affairs what is virtuous and what is not, and how to come at the one and avoid the other.” (Catholic Encyclopedia)
Let’s keep reading: And
whoever for her sake keeps vigil
Shall quickly be free from care;
Because she makes her own rounds, seeking
those worthy of her,
And graciously appears to them in the ways,
And meets them with all
solicitude.
Ah!
I love the fact that wisdom comes to us!
Wisdom makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her and graciously
appears to them in the ways, and meets them with all solicitude – with all “attentive
care and protectiveness.”
Wisdom advents! She comes to us. Jesus advents – He comes to us. He is the seat of wisdom – Jesus has become for us wisdom from
God! Listen now to 1Corinthians
1:25-30:
1Cor.
1:25 For the foolishness of God is wiser
than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.
1Cor. 1:26 Brothers,
think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human
standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of
the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame
the strong. 28 He chose the lowly
things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to
nullify the things that are,
29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are
in Christ Jesus, who has become for us
wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
God’s wisdom, which is Christ, is different
from worldly wisdom!
5.
Now
let’s see wisdom in action. Please turn
with me to our Psalm reading for today:
Psalm 63 verses 2 through 6: This Psalm was
written by David when he was in the
Psa. 63:2-8 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and
your glory. 3 Because your love is
better than life, my lips will glorify you.
4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will
lift up my hands. 5 My soul will
be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will
praise you. 6 On my bed I
remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. 7 Because you are my help, I sing in
the shadow of your wings. 8 My
soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Listen to the cry of a wise heart – verse
8: “My soul clings – sticks, hangs on to
you; your right hand upholds me.”
It’s wise to “cling or hang on to
God!” How much do you cling to God? How would you describe your grasp on God????
6. Now let’s return to our Gospel reading:
Matt. 25:1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten
virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five
were wise. 3 The foolish ones
took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise, however, took oil in jars
along with their lamps. 5 The
bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell
asleep. 6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come
out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their
lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to
the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9 “‘No,’
they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to
those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10
“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The
virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door
was shut. 11 “Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open
the door for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I don’t
know you. 13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or
the hour.
In this Gospel reading we read about the wise and foolish
virgins! The wise ones anticipated the
need for an ample supply of oil while the foolish ones didn’t and consequently
were eventually shut out from the wedding celebrations. Foolishness shuts us
out from kingdom blessings! Foolishness
keeps us out of the kingdom! The kingdom
of the world is foolish. The
Listen now as I read from a
sermon
“It is some great thing, some exceedingly great thing,
that this oil signifies. Do you
think it might be charity? If we try out
this hypothesis, we hazard no precipitate judgment. I will tell you why charity seems to be
signified by the oil. The apostle says,
‘I will show you a still more excellent way.’
‘If I speak with the tongue of mortals and of angels but do not have
love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal,’ This is
charity. It is “that way above the
rest,’ which is with good reason signified by the
oil. For oil swims above all
liquids. Pour in water, and pour in oil
upon it; the oil will swim above. Pour
in oil, pour in water upon it; the oil will swim above. If you keep the usual order, it will be
uppermost; If you change the order, it will be
uppermost. “Charity never fails.”
Ah! The wise virgins brought the
oil of charity – of love and this made them wise, whereas the foolish virgins
loved poorly and consequently didn’t bring extra oil.
Love, you see, is the secret ingredient that makes for wisdom! Smart people can be prudent and clever with
their finances. They can make a great
deal of money – the can be millionaires.
Heck they can be “nice” people but without love there is no wisdom but
only foolishness.
What is God saying to you and me this morning? I want you to seek wisdom – she wants to be
found. She waits for you but remember
without love you will never be wise.
A truly loving person – a person who is loved by God and in response
loves others is at the end of the day – wise in the
And finally wisdom is a gift from God!
Listen to James:
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it
will be given to him.
Do you want wisdom? Then please bow you heads with me and let’s
ask our Lord for it. Amen and Amen!
Let’s Pray . . .