Pr 8

What comes to mind when you hear the word “passion”? That’s something I asked during the 9am Sanctuary of Hope service a couple of weeks ago. What do you think of when you hear the word “passion”?

Last month, Banu and I spent a weekend at Mount St. Benedict monastery in Erie. The idea of passion occurred to me during that time. Two Sundays ago, it’s a subject about which I claimed to be quite an authority! And since I am widely recognized as an expert on passion, this morning I would like to elucidate on the matter.

Actually, what got me thinking about passion were the quotes I read in the May issue of The Monastic Way. That’s a publication of Benetvision, an outreach of the Benedictine Sisters of Erie.[1] They put them in the guest rooms. There’s a quote for each day of the month, but I’ll just mention a few. A couple of them include references from other people, but I’m not really sure who they are.

Here’s a nice one to get started: “Do not spend your life on small questions. Trina Paulus says, ‘There must be more to life than just eating and getting bigger.’”

“If you want the world to be a better place, ask yourself what makes you feel alive, what makes your nerves tingle and your blood run faster. Then, go get involved in it.”

“It isn’t true that some people are passionless. As Rachel Field says, ‘There’s plenty of fire in the coldest flint.’ [That’s good news for those whose emotional state could rarely be called “fervent.”] The problem is that they have simply not done anything to bring it to flame. If you know someone like that, invite them along.”

And here’s one that I find especially encouraging: “The most searing question of age is this: What did I ever do in my life to change one thing that needed changing? If the answer is ‘nothing,’ think carefully. There is still time.”

That reminds me of the scripture verse in Ecclesiastes: “Whoever is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion (9:4).” As I said a couple of weeks ago: if I compare myself to a lion, and then to a dog, I’d have to go with the dog. But at least I’m still alive! There’s still time to follow my passion and make a difference.

And that brings me to a question that I’m often slow to answer. “What is your passion?” What is my passion?

Not long after he started as interim transition leader for our presbytery, Tim Rogers-Martin visited several of the pastors in the Southern Tier. One day he had lunch with Tom Sweet and me. I don’t recall his exact words, but he basically asked us that very thing: what is your passion?

I remember saying something along the lines that I like music and reading. But are they my passions? I’m interested in peacemaking. But is peacemaking my passion? Most of all, is Jesus Christ my passion? To each of those questions, I would have to say “yes.”

So why am I reluctant to use the word “passion”? During the service last month, I included the Shema. That’s the Hebrew confession of faith in Deuteronomy 6. It gets its name from the first word, “Hear” ([m'v], sh^ema`). “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (vv. 4-5).

That’s an extreme statement; it could also be described as a passionate statement. But if passion is about more than mere emotion (and I underline “if”), what does it mean to love God with all one’s heart, soul, and might? Isn’t love itself more than just an emotion? Isn’t it about the way we live our entire lives?

That brings me to today’s Old Testament reading. In the book of Proverbs, wisdom is personified as Lady Wisdom. And in chapter 8, we’re presented with probably her most interesting speech. The author introduces it by saying, “Does not wisdom call, and does not understanding raise her voice?” (v. 1).

Let’s continue with the passage. “On the heights, beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand” (v. 2). Wisdom doesn’t seem to be shy about getting up in front of everyone. We see that “beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries out: ‘To you, O people, I call, and my cry is to all that live’” (vv. 3-4).

Lady Wisdom doesn’t do this number: “Psst. Hey. Come here.” She isn’t mumbling. Instead, she lifts up her voice; she cries out. She calls out to everyone boldly, even passionately.

It might be asked, “Are you saying that simply being a loudmouth is the kind of passion to be applauded?” This is where the second half of my sermon title comes into play. Is there wisdom in passion? For passion to do more than merely focus on ourselves, it must be directed by wisdom.

Here’s a question that I myself pose to our scripture text: why is this a reading for today, for Trinity Sunday? One quick answer is that nothing in the Old Testament is suitable for a day named after a Christian doctrine. It’s an anachronism. (Nonetheless, that’s an answer I would disagree with!)

In verses 22 to 31, wisdom claims to have been present with God at the beginning of creation. No doubt, that’s why it’s the reading for today. People have seen Lady Wisdom as a personification of God, perhaps in the way the members of the Trinity are. Others have seen her as God’s consort, God’s companion.

Even Jesus seems to portray wisdom as a person. In Luke 11, he declares, “the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute’” (v. 49).

People have gotten into all kinds of debates as to what extent wisdom should be seen as a quality of God, or a dimension within God, or the means by which God creates, or any number of other attributes.

Still, I don’t see these rather technical explanations as terribly relevant—certainly not if we leave it at that. Consider something from our call to worship. “The Trinity is not a definition of God, but a cry of faith from the heart of the Christian experience.” This is the proper setting for the Holy Trinity—not theological textbooks, but lives of passion and wisdom.

Think of it this way. Think of the Holy Trinity as the perfect model of the self-giving community. Each Person of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer)—lives and moves in a bond of pure love. This is a community with no reserve, but instead has the utmost in passion. This is a community with no arrogance, but instead has the utmost in wisdom.

Passion and wisdom are intimately related to the Holy Trinity. When we recall—when we experience—the fierce love of God, how can it be otherwise?

Still, it’s probably no secret that a lot of people would say that passion and wisdom are enemies. And if they’re not enemies, they’re definitely not on good speaking terms. No, I’m afraid that wisdom is often portrayed as an ivory tower pursuit. It’s the domain of the idle dreamer.

The problem with that image, as I’ve tried to suggest, is that it has very little to do with real life. “Wisdom is not,” Joan Chittister says, “the fine art of serene oblivion.” Quite the contrary: “with wisdom comes the obligation to deal with life head on, head up, with open eyes and honest heart and courageous conviction.”[2]

If passion and wisdom are at the heart of what it means to love God, then there’s no way it can be an ivory tower pursuit. What does it mean to love God? As our scripture poetically says, wisdom is woven into creation. Loving God means loving God’s creation. Loving God’s creation means loving each other, and it means even more.

Loving creation means loving the animals, loving the plants, and even loving the rocks and rivers. It means not defiling God’s good gift of each other—and not defiling God’s good gift of planet Earth. That is peacemaking, and that is something to be passionate about!

A little story is told. “‘Holy One, what is the difference between knowledge and wisdom?’ the disciple asked. And the Holy One answered: ‘When you have knowledge, you use a torch to show the way. When you are wise, you become the torch.’ Those who follow God down circuitous [winding] paths wherever life steers become a torch for others.”[3] There’s a word there for us. Be passionate; be wise. Don’t be complacent; don’t be foolish.

[1] www.benetvision.org

[2] www.csec.org/csec/sermon/chittister_4108.htm

[3] www.csec.org/csec/sermon/chittister_4108.htm