Daily Devotion: The Logos and The Sophia of God

Bible Readings for Saturday, July 2nd, 2011
– The Week of The 3rd Sunday After Pentecost

*Click on each bible passage to expand the text.

Psalm 145:8-14

8. The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9. The LORD is good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made.
10. All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD, and all your faithful shall bless you.
11. They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power,
12. to make known to all people your mighty deeds, and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures throughout all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words, and gracious in all his deeds.
14. The LORD upholds all who are falling, and raises up all who are bowed down.

Zechariah 4:1-7

1. The angel who talked with me came again, and wakened me, as one is wakened from sleep.
2. He said to me, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it; there are seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it.
3. And by it there are two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
4. I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
5. Then the angel who talked with me answered me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
6. He said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
7. What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring out the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”

Luke 10:21-24

21. At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
22. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
23. Then turning to the disciples, Jesus said to them privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see!
24. For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.”

• They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom, and tell of your power, – Psalm 145:14
• He said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts. – Zechariah 4:6
• For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” – Luke 10:24

The Power of The Word and Wisdom of God

Luke 10

22. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Trinity.

How masculine, and how utterly lacking!

I believe to assign only one gender the triune facets of God is to conceal all of their wonderful symbolic meaning in modern pretext. Personally, I would much rather see Luke 10 read something like this:

Luke 10

22.  All things have been handed over to me by God; and no one knows who the Word is except God, or who the God is except the Word and anyone to whom the Word chooses to reveal God.”

God, The Word of God and The Wisdom of God. The Holy Trinity.

Why this concern with semantics? Because, the ancient understanding of the triune God was paramount to understanding the role of God throughout the historical fables of the bible.

Long, long before The Son, there was the Word of God, or the Logos of God. Please see my previous post for greater detail on the powerful meaning behind the Word of God.

Long before The Holy Spirit, there was the Wisdom of God, or the Sophia of God.

It is fascinating to notice that in the ancient Greek, the “sophia” was a feminine aspect of God. The “logos” was masculine. The guiding principle of God is female, the creative AND destructive principle of God is male.

Suddenly, we have stripped the Trinity of God of all modern pretext, and we are beginning to see a more holistic view of the nature of the divine. Both male and female (and neither). Both creative and wise. Both powerful and nurturing.

But it is most important to note that the Spirit of God is also known as the “Breath of God”, and the Word cannot be formed without the Breath. The creative/destructive nature of God is empowered/enabled by the Spirit/Breath/Wisdom of God.

That is why, I believe, in our reading from Zachariah today, that the Angel of the Lord adds this little qualifyer to his statement to Zechariah:

Zechariah 4

6. He said to me, “This is the Word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the LORD of hosts.

This is the Word of God, by God’s Wisdom, sent through Christ, to all of us.