DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Friday, January 26, 2007 Translation of the
Relics of the Venerable Theodore the Studite
2nd Vespers Hierarch: Wisdom 7:30-8:9 Epistle:
2 Peter 1:1-10 Gospel: St. Mark
13:1-8
Wisdom’s Counsel: Wisdom
7:30-8:9, especially vs. 9:
“Therefore I determined to take her to live with me, knowing that she would
give me good counsel....” Among the peoples of the Middle East,
it was the ancient People of God, Israel, who uniquely elevated Wisdom by
establishing its origin within God.
Wisdom provides a trustworthy guide for life - including matters of
universal concern - prudence in secular affairs, skills in the arts, and moral
sensitivity; but Wisdom only does all this when its recipient has genuine “fear
of the Lord” (Prov. 1:7).
Therefore, in the Old Testament, Wisdom always
is closely associated with God - a vision illustrated and apparent in
statements of the sort found in the present reading: “She glorifies her noble
birth by living with God, and the Lord of all loves her, for she is an initiate
in the knowledge of God, and an associate in His works” (Wis. 8:3-4). Note: because the noun, “hokmah” is
feminine in Hebrew, as is its counterpart in Greek, “sophia,” the personification
of Wisdom regularly was cast in feminine imagery, as is amply demonstrated in
today’s passage.
However, with the Apostle’s proclamation of
the Lord Jesus as “the Way, the Truth and the Life” (Jn. 14:6), the Church
perceived from earliest times that true Wisdom is fully and finally revealed in
the Person of Christ, the “Agia Sophia,” the Holy Wisdom. Naturally, the Holy Fathers of the
Church also discerned that true wisdom derives from and participates in the
Logos, in God the Word, in Holy Wisdom Himself, a theme set up by the Apostle
Paul in First Corinthians (1:24).
In time, the Great Church, the primary Cathedral of Constantinople, in
the first exclusively Christian City, was named the Church of the Holy Wisdom.
Read in this light, this present passage is a
remarkable commentary on the Person of God the Word, our Lord Jesus Christ as
Holy Wisdom. As such, He is
revealed as Creator, the first love of every Christian, and the ultimate
Teacher and Counselor of the Faithful.
Wisdom “reaches mightily from one end of the
earth to the other, and…orders all things well” (Wis. 8:1). Christ Jesus our Lord is “Light of
Light, Very God of Very God...by Whom all things were made.” As the blessed Apostle teaches us: “God
also hath highly exalted...and given a Name which is above every name: that at
the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in
earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:9-11).
Thus, the heart and soul of every true
Christian loves Him Who first loved us.
From our “youth” in the Faith, He has been our first love - the One with
Whom we long to be united, being “enamored” with His beauty (Wis. 8:2).
Christ Jesus as Wisdom is the great Teacher
and Counselor of the Faithful and is regularly portrayed for us in the icon to
the right of the Royal Doors. Many
say, “Money talks.” Ah, but “what is richer than Wisdom Who effects all
things?” (vs. 5). Granted,
“knowledge is power,” but Who is mightier than the Fashioner of all that
exists? (vs. 6). “Honesty is the
best policy,” yet Christ our Counselor is the best Teacher of “self-control and
prudence, justice and courage” (vs. 7).
We agree that “experience teaches,” but “if any one longs for wide
experience, [Christ our God] knows the things of old, and infers the things to
come” (vs. 8).
What better conclusion can we affirm than the
choice which Solomon indicates?
Let us declare with him, “Therefore I determined to take [Him] to live
with me, knowing that [He] would give me good counsel and encouragement in
cares and grief” (vs. 9).
Today Thou hast appeared to the universe, O
Lord, and Thy light hath been shed upon us, who praise Thee with knowledge,
saying, Thou hast come and appeared, O Holy Wisdom!
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