Preaching Helps: First Sunday of Advent-Transfiguration of Our Lord, series B

Richard Rollefson

Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany February 2, 2003

Deuteronomy 18:15-20

Psalm 111

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Mark 1:21-28

First Reading

Wisdom, knowledge, and authority are words that stand Out in our readings today. "Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," says the psalmist (v. 10). According to Paul, "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." And in Mark, Jesus is perceived as one who teaches "with authority," one whose teaching "does what it says" (1:27, The Message)

A common definition of wisdom is knowledge plus experience. Wisdom is something more than information acquired from a book; it is only gained over time because it includes experience in the real world. Wisdom is knowledge where "the rubber meets the road," where what we know is tested through action and refined by practice.

But from the biblical perspective, wisdom is something still more: it is life grounded in honoring the authority of the Creator. Wisdom is not only lived knowledge, it is knowledge of that by which we live. Recognizing our dependence upon the grace of God is the starting place for authentic wisdom; it is the foundation of a life where what we say and what we do come together to form a whole.

In philosophical discussion, the concept of "praxis" is used to suggest the integration of theory and practice where the commonplace division between words and actions is mediated and overcome. Praxis is theory in action and action subjected to reflection.

In the realm of theology, however, the disjunction between faith and practice that parallels the theory/practice bifurcation seems to continue unabated as "faith versus works." Our Lutheran tradition is probably most responsible for perpetuating this disjunction. While Luther was clearly right to make a theological distinction between justification and sanctification, to reject the notion that justification is dependent upon good works, and to distinguish between faith and love, the subtleties of his argument seem to get lost. What we end up with is a notion of faith divorced from practice. But faith, as Luther understood it, is not simply intellectual assent; instead, it is trust in God lived out in daily life. Ordinary life is where faith is tested and refined, even as faith redescribes the ordinary world as the locus of God's saving grace. For this reason faith is probably better understood as "faithfulness," the praxis of trust in God, where belief and behavior come together to form a whole--and a whole p erson.

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and they who live by it grow in understanding." According to Psalm 111, wisdom begins with respect for God. For Paul, knowledge needs always to be connected to love. Wisdom--the knowledge that matters--is knowledge plus love. Yet, for Paul, it is not simply our intent to be loving but rather the experience of God's love that grounds our love of neighbor. As we have been loved by God, so we are empowered to love. So it is that Luther spoke of the life of faithfulness as "faith active in love."