This morning I'd
like to focus some thoughts on the reading from Proverbs. Because the bride in
this passage - yowsers. Right? In 21 verses we hear some AMAZING things this
woman can do. Let me list them for you.
A capable wife who can
find? She is far more precious than jewels.
Awesome.
The heart of her husband
trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.
She's completely reliable.
She does him good, and not
harm, all the days of her life.
Pure, consistent, positive, supportive.
She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
So, hard-working with only the best materials.
She is like the ships of
the merchant, she brings her food from far away.
Cooks wonderful, exotic meals.
She rises while it is still
night and provides food for her household and tasks for her servant girls.
Organised and organising, domestic engineer.
She considers a field and
buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
Owns her own property, and knows the land. Quite the fruitful (pardon
the pun) gardener.
She girds herself with
strength, and makes her arms strong.
Sees the value in regular exercise. Can carry her own boxes and move her
own furniture.
She perceives that her
merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night.
Good business sense. A forward-thinker, careful planner.
She puts her hands to the
distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
(for the record, in spinning: a distaff holds the unspun fibres, and of
course the spindle collects the thread) So, this woman is hands-on in making
sure that all work is done right.
She opens her hand to the
poor, and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She's generous, compassionate, seeks justice.
She is not afraid for her
household when it snows, for all her household are clothed in crimson.
Dual meaning here. Firstly, scarlet or crimson symbolises the celestial
love of good - a focus on all good things. Secondly, the dyes were very hard to
set in those days, so to wear crimson was usually reserved for the very
affluent, as they had to wear something underneath -or watch their skin turn
red. So a household clothed in crimson meant this wife is making sure that all
her household (including the staff) have sufficient clothing, and it's of good
quality. She's looking out for her own.
She makes herself coverings;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Again - the dyes bleed, so purple is rare and expensive. Yet this
thrifty woman is making her own clothing - so not only does she know how to
sew, but these skills make those dollars stretch a long way.
Her husband is known in the
city gates, taking his seat among the elders of the land.
She has taken for her husband a man of good repute and reputation.
She makes linen garments
and sells them; she supplies the merchant with sashes.
Not only is she using her skills for herself and her household, but
makes a business of it.
Strength and dignity are
her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.
Strength, dignity, sense of humour. This is a woman of high integrity.
She opens her mouth with
wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She's wise, worldly, a teacher.
She looks well to the ways
of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.
A good manager, not lazing about while others do her dirty work.
Her children rise up and
call her happy; her husband too, and he praises her:
She ensures a happy family life.
"Many women have done
excellently, but you surpass them all." Charm is deceitful, and beauty is
vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
So a woman of faith, who knows what is important and what is temporary.
She won't be swayed by fads or trends.
Give her a share in the
fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the city gates.
She is known for
her faith, integrity, and works; in the neighbourhood and beyond.
What a woman! What
a wife, what a bride.
Now I'm going to make some suppositions here. About half of you are likely thinking "WHEW! That's the woman for me!"
And about half of
you are thinking "WHEW! *hair flip*
That woman is me!"
All kidding aside - we get from the reading that the work is being done for the benefit of all - those within the household, those who relate to the household, those who do business with household members, and even strangers on the street or in the marketplace. The wife has a lot to offer, and so she's always trying to find news ways to share what she has.
Why? No really - why is she doing all these things?
Because for her,
doing 'just enough to get by' just isn't good enough. Not for her, not for the
family, not for the community. Instead, she sees that all of her gifts and
virtues are there as a means to bring about the common good - to make things
better and more just, by using wisdom and integrity and compassion.
Not so that she
will receive, but because the opportunity to share brings her joy. And she
recognises that the more she gives, the more she will benefit - and so will all
those around her. So she wants to do more, give more, act more. She want to
increase what she offers, knowing that what she is giving is making a
difference for the better now AND for the future. She's looking out for the
common good of her community.
Think about the
end of the passage again - she earns a share of the fruits of her hands - not
just what she is expecting, but more than she had imagined. And then her works
praise her in the city gates - her great reputation for faith and good works is
being shared with everyone who passes into and out of that city.
What she gives,
because she gives fully and faithfully and joyfully, revisits her and her
household, with abundance.
The more she
gives, the more they all benefit. The more she gives, the more she inspires
those in her house to give, too. And the gifts increase, and the community
improves, and the people want to keep doing more for one another, simply because
they can.
Whew! What a woman! What a wife! What a bride! Who wouldn't want to find her? Who wouldn't want to BE her?
So here it is. What if we already ARE her?
Because, my
lovelies, we are. We, the church, the ekklesia, are referenced throughout the
scriptures to be the bride of Christ. We are called to be faithful, committed,
dedicated, having vowed our fealty and devotion to Christ.
So with that,
let's consider ourselves under the premise of the 'capable wife' that we've
just been discussing. We, as the church, as the bride of Christ, have a lot to
live up to; we have a lot to offer, and a lot to gain.
We want to be the
bride that recognises that 'just getting by' isn't enough. We want to be the
bride who is inspired to only offer the best of hospitality, justice,
compassion, &c. We want to be the bride that is focused not on what we will
receive, but on how to give.
This is where this
passage gets a little bit easier for us. Because suddenly the 'perfect bride'
is not in one person, but an amalgam of all of us. So while we don't have to do
everything ourselves, what we do should be the very best of what we do; what we
give of ourselves should be the very best of ourselves.
And what do we
give? We give our time, we give our skills, and yes we give our money.
But what if we don't? Somebody else will make up the difference, right?
Hmm. Are you okay
with that? Do you turn to someone else to ensure that your other relationships
are getting everything it needs? Is "good enough" actually good
enough?
Or can there be
more? Can you give more. Can you commit more?
When it comes to time, there are always things that can be done - there are all sorts of people that do all sorts of things here with their time - thanks be to God! - maybe with a bit of time from each of us we can do even more for the love of God - more praying, more phoning, more bible study, more faith-based conversations.
When it comes to
skills, there are always things to do -again, thanks be to God for the
tremendous gifts that are already being given here! So imagine what more could
be done with skills being shared - more volunteer opportunities, more outreach,
more hospitality - the sky's the limit. "It's never been done before"
is not a reason to not try it now.
When it comes to
money, yes, I'm going to talk money - there's always more that can be given.
That's a conversation that I will encourage you to have with God. Yes, this
parish always seems to find "good enough" in late December, but a
look at the books throughout the year shows that we dip into debt and are
paying interest on a regular basis. Imagine if we decided that 'good enough'
wasn't - imagine if we decided we wanted to do better, to do more. Imagine if
we got so excited about the mission and ministry of this parish that we wanted
to increase our support of what we do. Hmm.
So I invite you to
spend some time focusing your prayers and meditations this week on who we -
together - are. We are all part of something big, something exciting, something
inspiring. We are the church; the ekklesia; the bride of Christ. And when we
focus on the cross of Christ, and love fully, as was preached on Thursday
evening, great things will happen.
A perfect bride... a capable wife, who can find?
Well, we can find,
if we truly want to - we only need to look to ourselves - and live into our
role of the generous, wise, compassionate, faithful bride of Christ.
