Proverbs 1.20-33: Wisdom Cries Out

Most of us have probably had occasion to see a street-corner preacher. Speaking loudly and sometimes reaching out toward passers-by, street preachers proclaim the message they have received from scripture. They call people to repent. They tell of God's love. They offer the rewards of heaven and the punishments of hell.

Wisdom is one of those preachers (Proverbs 1:20-33), shouting the consequences that are coming to the people who have turned their backs on her. I tried to tell you, she cries. I reached out to you. But you did not respond. I tried. 

Wisdom is usually portrayed in relation to other virtues or vices. This week's Art&Faith Matters' Facebook post takes a look at one painting's vision of that pairing in a classical setting. Wisdom is poised...usually. Wisdom is calm...usually. Wisdom is strong and good and attractive. She is sure and eternal. But what happens if we change how wisdom looks? What happens if wisdom is frantic in her efforts to reach the people? What happens if wisdom has reached the point of despair because the people just won't listen. Just. Won't. Listen.

In Edvard Munch's iconic work "The Scream" the air has turned to blood and the faces of his friends  became a garish yellow-white. A huge endless scream coursed through nature. I tried. I reached out. I tried. How does our perception of these verses change if the Wisdom who looks more like Munch's work and less like a poised, powerful classical goddess? 

Edvard Munch. The Scream. 1893. National Gallery of Oslo.

This week, Art&Faith Matters' Facebook page considers Wisdom at the crossroads. 
For thoughts on Mark 8:27-38, click here.

Wisdom and Foolishness and Blessings and Woes

The Beatitudes (Matthew's version is 5:1-12) may only feel true if you also know I Corinthians 1:18-31. Both texts are read on Epiphany 3A. Both texts seem to turn traditional wisdom on its head. Who would believe that mourning, persecution and poverty are signed of blessedness? Not most people. But the Corinthians passage reminds the reader that wisdom and foolishness are different when seen through God's eyes.

Paul reminds us that what the world says is foolish - notably the cross and Christ's death on it - is God's wisdom. In God's wisdom, the covenant with Abraham is fulfilled and sinful humans don't have their sins held against them. In God's wisdom, greater love has no one than to lay down life for friends. In God's wisdom, being persecuted for God's sake means you are doing faith right.

Marc Chagall. The Madman Who Sold Wisdom. From The Fables of Jean La Fontaine. 1927-1930. Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art. http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/art-object-page.41937.html

Russian artist Marc Chagall illustrates the collision of wisdom and foolishness in an illustration that is part of The Fables of La Fontaine.  "The Madman Who Sold Wisdom" (Le Fou qui vent la Sagesse) tells the tale of a fool who announces that he has wisdom for sale. Soon enough people line up to buy wisdom, and what he gives them is a length of cord and a slap on the side of the head. Some were angry that they had paid for this; others simply walk away, believing they will look more foolish if they try to argue with a fool. One purchaser of wisdom goes to a sage to ask for an explanation. The wise person answers that the purchaser should stay as far away from the fool as the length of the cord he received. Anyone who stands closer to that will surely get the same slap on the side of the head. "You weren't fooled," the wise one concludes. "He did sell you wisdom."

God's wisdom. The wisdom of the world. The world's foolishness. The foolishness of God. Blessed are those who...



For thoughts on Micah 6:1-8 click here.

And this week on Art&Faith Matters' Facebook page...something entirely different.

Proverbs 8.1-4, 22-31: Holy Wisdom

By Trinity Sunday, Christ has ascended and the Holy Spirit has descended. The disciples have preached and thousands have been baptized. And with Trinity C's reading from Hebrew scripture (Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31) we find ourselves back at the beginning. The very beginning. Creation. At the beginning, God drew a circle on the face of the deep, and Wisdom was there.

The structure pictured here is Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. It is now a museum. Before that it was a mosque. But at its construction it was a Christian church. Hagia Sophia. Which is not a reference to St. Sophia. The official name is Ναός τῆς Ἁγίας τοῦ Θεοῦ Σοφίας, Naos tēs Hagias tou Theou Sophias, "Shrine of the Holy Wisdom of God."

The Wisdom tradition in Hebrew scripture explores the idea of wisdom: who is wise, what it means to be wise. When writing to the Corinthians, Paul refers to Jesus Christ as the wisdom of God (I Corinthians 1:24). The church of Holy Wisdom (sophia) honors Jesus as divine wisdom. In the Divine Liturgy, the Gospel Book is brought into the center of worship and lifted up by the priest as he exclaims, "Wisdom!" The people reply, "Come, let us worship and bow before Christ." Christ is the wisdom.

One of the mosaics in Hagia Sophia (left, bottom) shows Byzantine emperor Leo VI (called "the Wise") bowing before an enthroned Christ. The mosaic is located in the tympanum over the Imperial Door in Hagia Sophia - the door used only by the emperor. On the left of Christ is his mother Mary, the Theotokos. On the eve of feasts of the Theotokos, one of the traditional readings is Proverbs 9:11. (see more about this on Art&Faith Matters' Facebook page), which ties Mary to Wisdom. In the mosaic to the right of Jesus is an angelic figure. The figure is identified sometimes as the archangel Gabriel, sometimes as the Angel of Great Counsel. "Angel of Great Counsel" (alternatively "Messenger of Great Counsel") is how the Septuagint translates the phrase in Isaiah 9:6, which the NRSV translates as "Wonderful Counselor." Christians read that verse during Advent with its reference to a child who has been born for us and a son who has been given to us. Again, Christ is associated with wisdom - great counsel.

The current structure, which is neither the first on the site nor the first called Hagia Sophia, was built between 532 and 537. Justinian I, Byzantine emperor, charged Isidore and Anthemius with the design and construction of the building, which features a dome that rises 180 feet above the floor. The dome rests on four piers, which transfers the weight of the dome through a series of smaller outer domes. The cathedral was the first great work of Byzantine architecture. For more about the church, see: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/turkey/istanbul-hagia-sophia

In verse 30 of Proverbs 8, the Hebrew word אָ֫מ֥וֹן is variously translated. One approach relates that word to the noun אומן, which means artisan or architect. In that translation, Wisdom is the architect at God's side as the earth is being created. Holy Wisdom is the architect. Holy Wisdom is also the architecture.

For thoughts on Trinity Sunday, click here.

I Kings 2: The Big Show of Wisdom

It seems a bit ironic that in the text (I Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14) God commends Solomon's request for wisdom (Proper 15B/Ordinary 20B/Pentecost 12). Solomon is commended for not asking for things like wealth and influence and popularity. Instead, Solomon asks for an interior gift - an understanding mind (also translated as "a listening heart"), a gift that would not have obvious external attributes.

Italian artist Luca Giordano seems not to have grasped the interiority of Solomon's request. Or if he grasped the interiority of the request, he rejected that as the moment of the story to paint. Instead, he has painted a spectacle that is the opposite of interior.

Luca Giordano. The Dream of Solomon. c. 1693. Madrid: Museo del Prado.

In the painting, Solomon (of the golden tresses) sleeps on his fantastic couch. At the lower left corner are two men, perhaps courtiers. In the upper three-fourths of the canvas Solomon's room is filled with clouds that support floating angels, a traditional first person of the Trinity and a helmeted warrior whose shield bears the emblem of a dove. She is Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom...though she holds a book and sits with a lamb, prefiguring Christ and the Bible. A beam of light emanates from God's head. moving directly into Solomon's own. Solomon's crown rests on his bedside table at the far right of the picture. The whole scene is infused with a golden-white light. Solomon's request pleased God, and God promised that in addition to what Solomon asked, he would also get those things for which he did not ask.

Andrea Sacchi. The Triumph of Divine Wisdom. 1629-1630. Rome: Palazzo Barberini. 

It seems that wisdom will always be a heavenly spectacle. Andrea Sacchi's fresco of the Triumph of Divine Wisdom shares many of the same elements as Luca's painting. In the center of the ceiling, the female figure of wisdom sits on a throne. In her hand is a scepter topped by the eye of God. Her throne is guarded by lions, as was Solomon's throne (I Kings 10:19ff.). She is surrounded by clouds and angels making music. 

Unlike many ceiling frescoes, Sacchi uses no architectural elements in the ceiling. The "view" is open directly to the heavens. The earth and the sun occupy prominent places, and even they speak to divine wisdom. The sun, behind Wisdom on her throne, is at the center of the composition. The earth is below and to the right and appears to be circling around the sun.

This arrangement reflects the knowledge...wisdom...of the day. The fresco seems to support the heliocentric arrangements of the universe advocated by Galileo Galilei. In 1615 Galileo's writings were submitted to the Inquisition, and the scientist was instructed to abandon his teaching and writing on the subject. One of Galileo's supporters was Maffeo Barberini...Cardinal Maffeo Barberini...who in 1623 became Pope Urban VIII. Just a handful of years later, Galileo's theory is pictured on the ceiling of the Barberini family's newest palace. It is worth noting, though, that the artist gave Divine Wisdom a little earthly help. In addition to the lions via Solomon that guard the throne, wisdom's throne is topped with bees, a symbol of the Barberini family.