8-18-2024
“WISDOM INVITES”
Text: Proverbs 9:1-10
Sunday August 18, 2024 – Pentecost 13
Trinity Lutheran Church – Creston/Mount Ayr.
Grace, mercy, and peace is yours from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
Our text for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost is the Old Testament lesson from Proverbs 9 that was just proclaimed.
Let Us Pray: Dearest Jesus, you send your Holy Spirit to remind us that you graciously invite all to receive your wisdom., your truth, your love. Amen.
Dear Fellow Redeemed in Christ:
“You have been invited!”
I remember when it was a big deal to get an invitation. Invitations were brought to your house by the postal carrier, and they had your name on them. They were in a nice envelope and printed on fancy paper, and they used formal language. You felt you were very special being one of the people who was invited.
Now I get ten invitations every day. They come in the mail: Because I’m a valued customer, I’ve been invited to a special advance opportunity to enjoy special pricing deals that other people don’t get!
They come to my phone: Because I am a respected member of the community, I was invited to participate in a survey that will put my opinions in front of important people in government.
They come by text message: Would you believe I was invited to enjoy three nights for free at a top Florida resort if I just agree to attend a short presentation about timeshare vacations?
They pop right up on my computer screen: Just “click on this!” Should I click . . . or not?
Naturally, we have all become rather skeptical of invitations. We want to know who it’s from, whether it’s legit, if it’s worth our time, what we’re going to get out of it, and whether there are any hidden costs.
But I have an invitation for you today, printed on the most wonderful paper in the world, the pages of your Bible. And it’s so important that God keeps sending it to you again and again.
We Have All Grown Skeptical from Constant Invitations That Turn Out to Be Scams, but God Invites Us to Come In and Receive a Gift That Is Life Giving and Life Changing:
“Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine that I have mixed” (v 5). Wisdom is calling you to come into her house.
I.
Ah, but you weren’t born yesterday. You know there’s some catch, right? Just who is this Wisdom? What kind of house is this? And what sort of bread and wine is she going to give you? Those are the questions going through your mind. Until you get answers to your questions, you hang back. You hesitate. You window-shop. You think perhaps you’ll wait until someone else tries it first.
Maybe you think you know what or who Wisdom is. Wisdom is like old sayings, right? Like “A stitch in time saves nine.” Or “The early bird gets the worm.” Or “Waste not, want not.” You know. All those things you agree with but don’t actually pay much attention to.
But God’s Word says that Wisdom was by God’s side when he created the world (8:22–30). By his Wisdom was everything created that was created, and without his Wisdom nothing was made that has been made.
God’s Word says that Wisdom offers us salvation. In fact, it says that whoever knows Wisdom also knows the Father. Wisdom is the way to God. Wisdom is the truth of God. And Wisdom is the source of life with God.
Does Wisdom sound familiar to you yet?
Yes, the character that Solomon calls Wisdom is really the Second Person of the Trinity, the Son of God, Jesus. And Wisdom is giving you an invitation.
Unfortunately, this might all just sound like church language to you. You know, the kind of thing that you hear and you agree with but don’t actually do anything about. You might have the idea that Jesus is like your old idea of wisdom. That he’s really just a series of nice sayings that your parents made you memorize. Things you agree with but don’t really think about and don’t actually do anything with them in your life.
Jesus died for your sins. Sure. Jesus is the Son of God. Absolutely. Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Of course he does. You may even recite this, that you believe in Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate . . .
But Wisdom says something much more than just abstract truths and wise old sayings. Wisdom says, “Don’t just stand out there believing in profound sayings. Come in here and eat them! Drink them! Come into my house, my church, where I am serving a feast of fine wine and the most excellent bread.
Take the truth into your mouth and taste it! Lift a cup of life and savor it! Come in, out of the world, and actually enjoy all of those things that you profess to believe. Leave your simple ways, the ways of the world, and we will walk in the way of insight together.”
Is Wisdom just a set of famous sayings? If you memorize all of those ancient truths but you never follow them, never put them into practice, will you be wise?
II.
Jesus invites you to more than that. Jesus spoke many wise sayings, and he told many wise parables. But when he really got people’s attention was when he did wise things—and invited you to do the same. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh” (Jn 6:51).
Here is where wise words became too much for many of those who had been following Jesus. He does not just offer a statement of the truth. He offers you a taste of the truth. Jesus does not just invite you to believe in a series of propositions. He invites you to enter his house, to eat the bread that he has prepared and drink the wine that he has mixed, and thereby to be joined to him and to know him.
You are invited!
Of course, have you seen these invitations? Look at all of them. I have five invitations to take out a credit card, and they all promise me tangible benefits if I just fill out the form. I’ve got an invitation here to lose weight and look like this model who is flexing his muscles, if I only join this gym.
Here’s an invitation to sign up for a chance of a free cruise. And here’s an invitation to a free dinner where I can learn about investment strategies. All of these are very nice. They are printed on nice paper. They are personalized with my name. They were delivered to my door.
And then there is this (a Bible). Look at it. It’s just a book. There aren’t even any pictures. And look at this (the font). It’s just a bowl of water, not even special water. It’s just tap water. And check this out (the elements of Communion). Bread and wine. Not nice bread. Not fresh-baked artisanal bread. Just some small flat wafers of bread and only a sip of wine.
But what’s here in front of you? Wisdom says this is understanding. Wisdom says this is insight. Jesus says this is life. This is knowledge of the true God who created all things.
You are invited. Amen.
Now may the peace of God which far surpasses our human understanding guide and keep us in the one true faith until life everlasting…Amen