We find life wisdom in the oddest places sometimes – in cartoons, greeting cards, in old school notebooks, in Shakespeare, in scripture. When we discover a special understanding that changes us, it stays with us deep inside – like God stays with us. Wisdom (chockmah in Hebrew; sophia in Greek) is a feminine noun – a distinction we don’t have in English. Wisdom was understood as a feminine aspect of God who is without gender, beyond gender. Wisdom is often thought to dwell in the heart, and the intellect, in the head. Are these stereotypically female and male understandings? What does it mean to be smart, sharp, canny? What does it mean to be wise, deep, profound? We need both in our personal lives and in our community life together. Neither one is “male” or “female.”
Many men lead with their hearts and their instincts. Many women have powerful, insightful intellects. Power and objectivity are not limited to men. Warmth, concern and empathy are not limited to women. We cannot survive in this world, nor thrive in our search for the realm of God, without both to make us whole persons and whole communities. Jesus was known as a sage, the Wisdom of God, a man of the heart. Use your mind and follow your heart. Blessings —
Pastor Carol
