"A capable wife" Sermon on Proverbs 31.10-31

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.