18 September 2013 - wisdom vindicated

18 September 2013 - wisdom vindicated

‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.
We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’

There is a time for dancing and there is a time for weeping.  But they often aren't when we want them to be.  We are called to rejoice amidst worldly affliction and to weep amidst spiritual poverty even in the midst of worldly affluence.  In many ways, Jesus afflicts the comfortable and comforts the afflicted.

We must look beyond our own preferences and appetites for a standard by which we can judge.  We must look to the Church, which is "the pillar and foundation of truth."  We have an unbelievable capacity for self-delusion.  The Church is an objective standard which can save us from this risk.  If we try to figure everything out on our own our disordered desires will corrupt the results little by little.  The ways will be so subtle we won't even realize it until we find ourselves set in opposition to the teaching of Jesus and his Church.  But if we form ourselves according to the Church from the beginning this will not be an issue.

But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

Jesus is ultimately vindicated by the resurrection.  As Paul says, he is "vindicated in the spirit".  This is the proof that his view on about what to weep and dance is worthy of our trust.  The working of the Spirit in the lives of believers also vindicates the teachings as Jesus as he bears his good fruit within us.  It is the resurrected life of Jesus being made manifest in us even now.

Majesty and glory are his work,
and his justice endures forever.
He has won renown for his wondrous deeds;
gracious and merciful is the LORD.

His works are great indeed, worth of all our trust.