On the brink of a New Year, perhaps it’s time we learn something from Sophia and the Logos, something we maybe should have learned a long time ago. We’ve endured 2020 and 2021. The predictions for the next couple of months in terms of COVID are pretty ugly given the omicron variant’s high contagion rates. Everyone of us knows at least one person who has died from COVID. The impact of pandemic on the economy is scary enough for the CDC to change it’s quarantine recommendations. It’s easy to get lost in the dire predictions, the despair, the grief and the misery of politics and White supremacy culture. What about the Light that cannot be overcome by any darkness?
Jeremiah promises that God will save God’s people, morning will turn to joy, and gladness will come in place of sorrow. For Jeremiah that was in the future. It is supposed to be in the present for us because we’ve seen what God has done for all those who came before us. The people of God have come through far worse than a global pandemic. And they come through it because there were enough people trying to love their neighbors enough to do what was necessary. Isn’t it time we remember that we are all deeply connected and that what we do matters to more than just ourselves? Omicron would not exist if we all cared enough about our neighbors to get vaccinated, wear masks in public, and keep physically distance. All that is broken in our society would be healed if we cared as much about our neighbor’s needs as we do our own. If we trusted God enough to guide us into a future filled with Light. We aren’t supposed to be part of the world that does not recognize the Logos, the Light – Sophia.
If we embrace Wisdom, then we become part of a “holy and blameless race” according to the Wisdom of Solomon. No matter what we call ourselves, as long as we put our wants above our neighbors’ needs, we lack Wisdom and we are not followers of the Word. Paul tells us quite clearly in Ephesians that we are adopted as children of God through the Christ, the Word. Is it enough that we claim we believe, yet the belief is not evident in our lives?
While I fully belief that we are loved by God without condition, I also believe that God is waiting for us to embrace and embody all that has been taught to God’s people throughout history. Sophia leads us to raise up those who are low and to bring down those who are elevated. Logos tells us that we are a part of Creation and cannot separate ourselves from those around us, from the needs of all Creation. What needs to happen for everyone of us to recognize that we are deeply connected to Creation and to one another? The body of Christ is made up of individuals and cannot function without all the parts. What do we need in our lives to live this truth out loud?
Facing into 2022, can we make Wisdom and Word, Sophia and Logos, our guides? Can we make an effort to recognize how interdependent on one another we really are? Can we at least try to love our neighbors as ourselves? Can 2022 be the year we leave our scarcity mentality in the past and embrace God’s abundance. We are meant to be a holy and blameless people full of Wisdom and Light. Let’s commit to naming the “darkness” (fear, division, hatred, violence, etc.) for what it is and embracing Sophia and Logos for the Light they bring.
What’s your next right move?
RCL – Christmas 2C – January 2, 2022 – Jeremiah 31:7-14 or Sirach 24:1-12 • Psalm 147:12-20 or Wisdom of Solomon 10:15-21 • Ephesians 1:3-14 • John 1:(1-9), 10-18
