Come, O Wisdom!
For Meditation (Corey Widmer)
In its origin, the season of Advent was seven weeks. It was shortened to four weeks in the 7th Century, but some churches like the Orthodox communion still celebrate the longer Advent. This year, as a way to get ahead of the “Christmas creep,” we’ll celebrate this longer Advent beginning this Sunday. Doing so will help focus on the true meaning of Advent, the anticipation of the coming of our Messiah and King. In Advent, we are reminded of our true hope, the singular source of our longings: the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and the consummation of the New Creation.
In this series we will follow a 7 week plan for Advent using the 7 messianic titles of Jesus as laid out in the hymn O Come O Come Emmanuel. This hymn, written in 1861 by John Mason Neal, is a paraphrase of an ancient Latin liturgy known as the “O Antiphons.” Each Antiphon addresses the Son of God with a unique title rooted in an Old Testament prophecy of both the first and the second comings of Jesus Christ. The seven verses together is a progression of the story of the whole Bible, from creation to the incorporation of the nations as the people of God.
The first verse begins with addressing Jesus Christ as "Wisdom," or Sapientia in Latin. In this verse, Jesus is personified as the wisdom through whom God made creation, and the one through whom God continues to uphold the world. In a world full of confusion and disorientation, we feel the need for wisdom more than ever. The hymn reminds us that it is the true Wisdom, or Logos, of God that upholds our every breath, and that invites us to walk in wisdom as we anticipate our coming King.
As you prepare for worship this Sunday, consider the following:
Where in your life and in the surrounding world do you see a longing and need for wisdom?
What is striking about personifying the coming Messiah as "Wisdom"?
What would it mean for our church community to walk in wisdom as laid out in Proverbs 8?
Proverbs 8:1, 23-36
1 Does not wisdom call out?
Does not understanding raise her voice?
at the very beginning, when the world came to be.
24When there were no watery depths, I was given birth,
when there were no springs overflowing with water;
25before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,
26before he made the world or its fields
or any of the dust of the earth.
27I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,
28when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,
29when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.
30Then I was constantly at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,
31rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.
32“Now then, my children, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.
33Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not disregard it.
34Blessed are those who listen to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.
35For those who find me find life
and receive favor from the Lord.
36But those who fail to find me harm themselves;
all who hate me love death.”