Luther Seminary

A daily devotion brought to you by the alumni of Luther Seminary

Archives for May 20, 2013

Monday, May 20, 2013

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 (NRSV)

Read Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31 on biblegateway.com

Chapter 8Does not wisdom call,
and does not understanding raise her voice?
Verse 2On the heights, beside the way,
at the crossroads she takes her stand;
Verse 3beside the gates in front of the town,
at the entrance of the portals she cries out:
Verse 4"To you, O people, I call,
and my cry is to all that live.

Verse 22The Lord created me at the beginning of his work,
the first of his acts of long ago.
Verse 23Ages ago I was set up,
at the first, before the beginning of the earth.
Verse 24When there were no depths I was brought forth,
when there were no springs abounding with water.
Verse 25Before the mountains had been shaped,
before the hills, I was brought forth-
Verse 26when he had not yet made earth and fields,
or the world's first bits of soil.
Verse 27When he established the heavens, I was there,
when he drew a circle on the face of the deep,
Verse 28when he made firm the skies above,
when he established the fountains of the deep,
Verse 29when he assigned to the sea its limit,
so that the waters might not transgress his command,
when he marked out the foundations of the earth, Verse 30then I was beside him, like a master worker;
and I was daily his delight,
rejoicing before him always,
Verse 31rejoicing in his inhabited world
and delighting in the human race.

Devotion

Tradition sets aside this week for reflection on the Trinity. Many of us have probably had more than one lesson on how complex and weighty a matter it is to comprehend the Trinity. But here the voice of wisdom invites us to experiment with a lighter touch. If you want to understand the Trinity, perhaps it's better not to let your thoughts run too deep; let them range imaginatively to the joys of cherished relationships and to the rich wonders of creation. Wisdom recalls with delight being the first of creation, and then "being there beside him like a master worker." Here we find a deep sense of playfulness in the way God rejoices in the "inhabited world" and in the "human race." In contemplating the particularities of creation, the earth and fields, the "first bits of soil," or God's assigning the limits for the seas, perhaps we will come closer to understanding our God, this Trinity who longs to share with creation and us in the wonder and goodness of our world.

Prayer

O God our wondrous Creator, when we are tempted to be confused or put off by mind-boggling complexities, invite us to delight with you in the wonder of your creation and to risk joining you in the playfulness of relationships that fill us with ever-unfolding new joys. Amen.

Jim Boyce Professor Emeritus, New Testament/Greek, Luther Seminary