December 17 Jesus is Wisdom: Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus in old Bibles) 24:2; Wisdom 8:1

Throughout the remainder of the Jesse Tree days, each passage will be about Jesus. These may be a little more challenging to write because they are not necessarily about people - but concepts. Jesus is Wisdom. According to the passages, Wisdom is not afraid to make herself known.  (Wisdom is depicted as female - sorry guys.) She stands in front of God and His angels. She spans the entire world and governs all things well. And Jesus is Wisdom.

I'm really relying on the Holy Spirit for this one today. The passages aren't much to go by. Single sentences. That's it. My first thought when I read the passages are that Wisdom must not be present in our current government structure. I don't get the feeling that Wisdom argues over petty things or makes decisions based on political polls. Wisdom doesn't worry about popularity. Wisdom just knows. Knows what's right and what's wrong. What's good and what's bad. What's just and unjust.

I believe we all have our share of Wisdom. We just sometimes don't call upon her when we are making decisions. Sometimes, she asserts herself as if she was standing in front of God. At those times, when we are heading down a path that we know is wrong, Wisdom is the one making our stomachs grumble and our heads ache and our pulses quicken. Wisdom is the one asking, "What are you doing and why are you doing this?"

When we think of Wisdom as Jesus, it gets even more complicated. As Christians, we want to develop and maintain that relationship with Jesus. We want to do what He commands. But here's the conundrum. Jesus speaks in a quiet voice. We only hear Jesus when we are quiet enough to listen. Wisdom can be a bit more demanding. It's easier for us to say, "I just didn't hear what Jesus wanted." It's much harder to say, "I didn't realize that Wisdom was telling me not to...." Of course, my nearly 14 year old son has a very difficult time understanding Wisdom. I'm beginning to believe that Wisdom has chosen to speak a foreign language to him.  He and many of his friends do not understand Wisdom. They believe Humor and Wisdom are the same. Why did you.....? "Because I thought it would be funny!" Sigh. I do believe I read somewhere that Wisdom does regain a foothold in boys brains at around the age of 25. Only 11 more years.

But here's the thing about Wisdom and Jesus. As a parent, I am obligated to try and translate Wisdom to my son (and my daughter of course, but remember, Wisdom is a she, so they speak the same language most of the time.) It's best if I do it in Jesus' gentle manner. I also have to figure out the best time for him to be receptive and to listen. When we share Wisdom, that's the key. Timing and delivery are everything.

I'm praying hard for Wisdom. This Christmas, I want to do something. Wisdom seems to be struggling with this decision. It feels right...every part of it. But there's a tiny voice that's casting doubt. Not sure if that's Wisdom or fear putting the doubts in my head. I'm going to pray long and hard about it and pray that the decision I make is what Jesus as Wisdom would want.

December 13 Solomon: 1 Kings 3:5-14, 16-28

A sword can make all the difference. It can cut down an enemy, it can intimidate a foe or it can cut straight to the truth. In King Solomon's case, two women - one devious, one honest were faced with a sword that would destroy a lie. One woman gave birth to a healthy baby - one to a baby who died. The two women claimed that the baby who died was the other woman's baby. One said that she awoke to find her baby dead, but realized it wasn't her baby. UGH, women problems brought before the king. Luckily for the baby, that king was the wisest that ever lived. When King Solomon ordered the live baby to be cut in half with each half given to one of the mothers, the real mother would not allow her child to be harmed. She'd rather see the baby raised by a lying, conniving woman than to have it die. King Solomon recognized that this selfless response came from the real mother.

There are several ways to go with this story - the pain of the mother, the deception of the other woman, the wisdom of Solomon. But what struck me about today's passage was Solomon's innate wisdom that encouraged him to ask God for wisdom. Imagine God asking you today - whatever you want, my child, I will give to you. What would you ask for? Solomon knew what he needed - not what he wanted. He looked upon his leadership position and realized that what he needed most was wisdom to guide the people. He could have asked for strength or money or power or whatever else, but instead, he looked at what he perceived as his main weakness. He wanted wisdom. And God gave it to him in abundance. 

It takes a lot to examine our inner selves and figure out what we really need. If we really were sitting across the table talking to God, what is the thing we need most. Not what we want most, but what we need. God does tell us to ask Him for what we need. Sometimes, what we need most is food, clothing or shelter. Sometimes the need for that overshadows all other needs and until those are met, we are unable to look past them. But through it all, wisdom is the most important thing we need - above everything else. If we have wisdom, we'll figure out how to get the other things we need. Wisdom will bring us out of poverty - whether that means spiritually or financially, it makes no difference. Wisdom will shed light on friendships and relationships that may be causing us to think we need something else. Wisdom will guide us when we are forced to choose a path. So perhaps, we don't need to pray to get the next meal on the table, but the wisdom of how to get that next meal. Wisdom can obtain for us all of our desires and the ability to understand if those desires are real or imagined. If they are good for us or bad for us. 

Several years ago, I worked for a woman who was diagnosed with cancer. I had only been working for her about a year and a half and it became apparent that I was the only one who could run her business while she was in recovery. She prayed for me to have the wisdom to do that. I mean she really prayed. We sat in her office, closed our eyes, she laid hands on me and prayed for the Wisdom to handle this new venture. And God obliged. She could have prayed for her business to stay afloat. She could have prayed for her clients to remain loyal. She could have prayed to be cured so that I wouldn't have to be in charge. Instead, she prayed that the person leading her business would have wisdom to do it right. I think it worked. Although I eventually left her after she recovered and became cancer-free, I believe that prayer kept that business flourishing while she was in treatment. I couldn't have done that without that prayer for wisdom.

My prayer today is to remember to always pray for wisdom first, then everything else will fall into place. I pray to know how to use that sword to cut to the truth in every matter.