I am not about to make any definitive claims on wisdom other than this one and that is it comes from God. This is where I see wisdom coming from and I think that it is important that we get this out of the way first. For some of us and some of you, wisdom is important but it is important for all the wrong reasons. Some people draw on wisdom as a means of power and control, not as a means of freedom that I believe God is giving it for.
When we look at the readings for this past Sunday, 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 and John 2:13-22, we see that people from various places are having trouble with what God is doing and understanding the why. The officials in the Gospel of John ask Jesus by what authority does he do what he is doing? Instead of just saying it is from God, Jesus challenges their understanding of the temple but also of who Jesus is, and who we are as the people of God. Jesus say, “if you destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it again.” The Jewish officials thought that Jesus was talking about the temple but He was really talking about Himself. Sometimes when we are confronted with God’s wisdom we are so focused on ourselves and our own understanding that we miss the bigger picture of what God is doing.
People have the same problem with the cross. It is even harder is some Western contexts to relate to the cross because of what it represents. The cross represents pain, suffering, sinfulness, hatred, anger, wrath, oppression, rebellion, hopelessness and so much more, but all of these things are stumbling blocks because at times we try to hide, to hide from, to ignore, to lie about all of these things in our own lives, we are told to, we are encouraged to, we are told that these things are bad, and yet they are real and Jesus confronts them in us and with us. On the cross, Jesus takes all of these things and dies for us so that we can find hope, peace, love, healing, grace, faithfulness, and life. A symbol of death is also a symbol of life, a symbol of failure becomes the shining light of success. Sinfulness is confronted and washed away, bring those who come to Jesus into holiness because of all that Jesus has done and is doing.
The Cross doesn’t make sense if your starting point is you. The Cross only makes sense if your start with God and His life saving love. God’s wisdom is not your wisdom or my wisdom, it is the wisdom that humbles us and lets us see that it is not about me but about the one who saves me. Jesus.