Wisdom

SCRIPTURE
- 1 Corinthians 3:18 
“Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise.”  

REFLECTION
- Sr. Carol

MUSIC
- "Gabriel's Oboe" by Amy Grant
- "Sheep May Safely Graze" by Mark Magnuson

NOTES
-

PRAYER OF LETTING GO
To You do I belong, O God,
into Your hands I surrender my life.
Pour out Your Spirit upon me
that I may love You perfectly,
and serve You faithfully
until my soul rests in You.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:29

Hello and welcome. There is so much noise competing for our attention. So many voices telling us what matters. Prayer gives us a little space away from all of that. It brings us back to the voice that matters most. So let's settle into this moment with God. Let the other voices grow quiet for a while and ask the Holy Spirit to open your heart to the wisdom God has for you today. Let us pray. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_03 1:11

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 1:12

O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise. I turn to you, Lord, in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation. Blessed is he whose fault is taken away, whose sin is covered. Blessed the man to whom the Lord imputes not guilt, in whose spirit there is no God. Turn to you in time of trouble, and you fill me with the joy of salvation. Exalt all you bride of heart, all you bride of heart.

SPEAKER_00 2:56

A reading from the first letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians chapter three, verse 18. Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. The word of the Lord. The jet jockey decided to show off. He boasted to the plane pilot, watch this. He promptly went into a barrel roll, followed by a steep climb. Then he finished off with a sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier. The jet pilot asked what the other pilot thought of that. The plane pilot said, That was impressive, but watch this. The airplane droned along for about five minutes, and then the pilot came back on and said, What did you think of that? Puzzle. The jet pilot asked, What the heck did you do? In response, the plane pilot chuckled. I stood up, stretched my legs, walked to the back, used the facilities, got a cup of coffee and a cinnamon roll. When we are young and foolish, speed and flash are often sought. When we get older and wiser, comfort and dull are appreciated. Us older folks understand this. It's called SOS. Slower, older, smarter. Perhaps we who are elders are indeed fools as we become wise through our lived experiences. Amy Grant says there's a beauty in wisdom and experience that cannot be faked. It's impossible to be mature without having lived. In Psalm 90, verse 12, we ask, teach us to count our days aright that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Indeed, wisdom is our aim. It's also the first listed of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In today's scripture passage, Saint Paul warns of the danger of wanting to be wise by the standards of the world and suggests that we must become fools in the eyes of society. The only way to be truly wise is to receive God's wisdom. And that comes only with the help of the Holy Spirit. God's wisdom leads to vastly different conclusions than human wisdom based on partial understanding of what is knowable. Learning God's wisdom necessitates a willingness to follow God's truth even when the secular world considers it absurd and unpopular. Sometimes we must be willing to be foolish according to the world standards if we hope to lead others toward the true wisdom of God. A favorite prayer of mine, known as the Serenity Prayer, was written by Reinhold Nieber in nineteen thirty-two and is widely used today, especially by Alcoholics Anonymous Groups. It captures our daily need for wisdom. To conclude, let's pray. God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 7:38

With confidence, we pray. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Let us pray. Spirit of wisdom, draw us closer to the heart of God. When the voices around us become louder than your own, help us recognize what is true. Give us the humility to admit when we don't know the way, and enough trust to follow you, even when your way doesn't make sense to the world. May your wisdom shape the lives we live. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

SPEAKER_03 8:50

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 8:54

To you do I belong, O God. Into your hands I surrender my life. Pour out your spirit upon me, that I may love you perfectly and serve you faithfully until my soul rests in you. Maybe Sister Carol is on to something with her SOS, slower, older, smarter. Although some of us may be more willing to claim the smarter than the older part. Whatever our age, may we keep growing in the kind of wisdom that comes not simply from the years we've lived, but from walking those years with God. And may God bless us in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_03 9:46

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

Look for Christ in the small things until we pray again tomorrow.