We experience excitement in listening to the wisdom we need to travel dangerous paths together into the heart of darkness to crush evil under our feet.
Matthew 12:20-21a. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench.
Ephesians 1:7-8. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
Colossians 1:9-10. And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Wisdom That Calls Us to Listen
An imaginative and creative wisdom kindles within us a bold humility to listen to the Word and discover in the mystery of the Father’s will how to walk dangerous paths that must be taken to overcome evil with good.
Wisdom inspires us in the third movement of the Liturgy and in our lifestyle practice of listening to:
- Dare to imagine the Father uniting all things in Christ, the Word of God.
- Receive the Word as revealed by symbol, Scripture and Spirit.
- Receive the Word as the revelation of Father’s will in Christ for all areas of thought and life.
- Imagine a kingdomcultural alternative to the fallenness in ourselves, others and creation.
- Unite the story of our lives to the Epic Story of God’s Kingdom.
- Cultivate the Epic Story of the Kingdom in the daily and seasonal rhythms of the Church Year.
- Be emboldened by story to accept mystery which is vital to cultivating a Basileian lifestyle.
- Not subculturally run in fear from evil.
- Not counterculturally attempt to rule in pride over evil.
- Kingdomculturally replace evil in bold humility, exhausting it by remaining obedient like Christ.
- Worship, think and act outside the box.
- Resolve false dichotomies ecclesiastically, covenantally and kingdomculturally.
- Interpret and apply the Law of God out of our loving relationship with Him as Lawgiver.
- See, hear and mark the Word of God in the Council of the Lord.
- Engage in consensus decision-making to come to the knowledge of the truth.
- Enter into the Council of the Lord as partakers of the divine nature.
- Respond to Christ gathering us in council, not to give us answers, but to ask us questions.
- Cultivate mystery as the vital context of coming to the knowledge of the truth.
- Cultivate the presence of God as the context in which we hear His Word.
- Invite exploration, discovery, pioneering, adventure and questions in finding truth.
- Embrace cosmic personalism vs. cosmic impersonalism as the context of all true knowledge.
- Regard Wisdom ultimately as the Person and Word of God.
- Exercise wisdom in knowing what to do even when we don’t know what to do, namely, pray.
- Relate Revelation, the Church, Creeds and Tradition according to the Apostolic Rule of Faith.
- Be Storytellers who follow the lectionary in rhythm with the Church Year.
- Be Pattern-Keepers who interpret the Word according to the Apostolic Rule of Faith.
- Be Overcomers who observe our Constitution.
