DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Hieromartyr Clement, Bishop of Ancyra
1st Vespers Hierarch: Proverbs 3:13-16 Epistle: 1 Peter 3:10-22 Gospel:
St. Mark 12:18-27
Wisdom’s Blessing: Proverbs
3:13-16 LXX, especially vs. 13: “Blessed is the man who has found wisdom, and the mortal who knows
prudence.” Herewith begins a series of five
meditations drawn from two of the Lectionary readings for the Vespers of a
Theologian (cf. St. Gregory the Theologian, January 25th). These two readings are, first Prov.
3:13-16, 8:6-10, and second, Wis. 6:12-16, 7:30, 8:2-4,7-9,21,
9:1-4,10-11,13. All the selected
passages are concerned with Wisdom: the blessings and promises of Wisdom, the
discernment and counsel of Wisdom, and a concluding prayer for Wisdom offered
by the Prophet and King, Solomon.
Solomon observes that the man who finds Wisdom
is blessed (Prov 3:13 LXX), having discovered her only through arduous
struggle. This certainly applies
to true theologians; for once one knows Wisdom, he understands that “no
precious thing is equal to her in value” (Prov. 3:15 LXX), learning from Wisdom
“righteousness...law and mercy” (vs. 16 LXX).
Truly, the man who has “found Wisdom” is
blessed, for he is able, in the words of St. Gregory of Sinai, to discern “in
the essence of created things the presence of the divine Logos, the substantive
Wisdom of God the Father” (cf. 1 Cor. 1:24). In other words, by receiving Christ within himself, the wise
man becomes a true theologian. As
St Gregory Palamas says, such a man knows that: “...Truth and Wisdom constitute
a Logos that befits His Begetter, a Logos that rejoices with the Father as the
Father rejoices in Him” (cf. Prov. 8:30 LXX).
The Holy Fathers teach that the blessed ones
who find Wisdom do so because the grace of God enabled them to take the first,
humble, elementary steps in spiritual knowledge, after which they were then
able to proceed to more advanced understanding. This is a warning.
If any would like to find Wisdom, let him recognize that he will not
likely learn much of value unless he is aided by the grace of God. Still, even the thought or impulse to
find Wisdom may well be evidence that one already possesses a tiny bit of
grace, the God-given entryway to Wisdom.
As St. Peter of Damascus says in this vein, “Although our first steps in
spiritual knowledge may be very slight, unless we make them we will not acquire
any virtue at all.”
Let us cry out to Wisdom that He would grant
us grace even to undertake the journey whose goal is Wisdom Himself. However, let us hear the caution of St.
Maximos the Confessor concerning this divine pilgrimage: “...it is impossible
for a man to attain wisdom, unless first, through fear and through the
remaining intermediary gifts, he frees himself completely from the mist of
ignorance and the dust of sin.”
The present passage not only encourages us
toward Wisdom, but exposes the false attractions of this world. “She is more valuable than precious
stones: no evil thing shall resist her: she is well known to all that approach
her, and no precious things is equal to her in value” (Prov. 3:13 LXX). Wisdom’s value surpasses all that is held
to be valuable in this world: precious stones, gold and silver, wealth, glory,
and years of life (vss. 15,16).
Further, in Wisdom we obtain that for which the Lord taught us to pray -
deliverance from evil (Mt. 6:13).
Wisdom’s greatest gifts to men are
“righteousness...law and mercy” which are “in her mouth” and “upon her tongue”
(Prov. 3:16). St. Gregory of Nyssa
affirms that Wisdom is the source of these great moral and spiritual
virtues. “Wisdom...has, as a
possession, strength and prudence...and...walks in the ways of righteousness
and has...conversation in the ways of just judgment.” By Wisdom, he declares, “kings reign, and princes write the
decree of equity.”
Lord, in Thy mercy, through the outpouring of
Thy Holy Spirit, grant that the light of understanding, piety, and wisdom may
illumine us.
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