September 14, 2003
17th Sunday after Pentecost
The following are the suggested passages:
Proverbs 1:20-33 and Psalm 19 or Wisdom of Solomon 7:26-8:1
Or
Isaiah 50:4-9a and Psalm 116:1-9
James 3:1-12
Mark 8:27-38
Proverbs 1:20-33
This hymn to Wisdom personified is both beautiful and very important to the balance of the church. Wisdom is personified as a woman, and so the references are feminine. Much has been made of this in church debates. On the one extreme we have people creating liturgies to ?Sophia? the Greek equivalent of Hebrew wisdom (chokma), also feminine. On the other hand we have people who complain about any feminine references to God.