There is a wonderful passage in Paul's letter to the church in Corinth:
God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit. God's various expressions of power are in action everywhere; but God himself is behind it all. Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful:
wise counsel
clear understanding
simple trust
healing the sick
miraculous acts
proclamation
distinguishing between spirits
tongues
interpretation of tongues.All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God.
These gifts of the God's Spirit are what many Christian traditions believe are given people to further their sanctification and help "complete and perfect the virtues of those who receive them." In his book, Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas points out that the first four of these gifts (wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and counsel) direct the intellect, while the other three gifts (fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord) direct the will toward God.
From my vantage point, our world seems to yearn for people who can offer wise counsel. Every so often, there is someone you run across who is wise, who seems to live and think and react on a different plane. jen lemen is one of those people for me, as is danah boyd , Fareed Zakari, Clay Shirky , Amy Goodman and Brian Eno.
It is a sad statement of my view of churchianity that I do not know many wise people who are paid to lead churches - even fewer who write book or get media attention. I know solid managers, clever speakers, brilliant proclaimers, people nimble enough to work with the Spirit - but a paltry number of people who have the gift of the judicious application of knowledge. I've come to understand it is not "their" fault, but "ours" - churches annoint leaders who are talented at making things happen, at putting on a great show, at pre-chewing the wisdom of others. It is a rare thing for a group of Jesus followers to favor wisdom over pizzaz, at least in my experience.
This is Phyllis Tickle, who is wise. She is an exception to my sad realization. She has the wisdom of a mother of 7. She has the wisdom of someone who lives on a small farm outside of Lucy, TN - but spends more time away from home than she does with her husband of more than 50 years, Sam. As Clive Thompson said in a recent WIRED piece: Don't trust anyone who wants to put an age limit on innovation.
Phyllis is the author of over two dozen books in religion and spirituality, most notably the Divine Hours series of manuals for observing fixed-hour prayer. Her book have covered the landscape, unearthing wisdom about the intellect & will. Phyllis was the founding religion editor of Publisher's Weekly, in many way pre-staging the extraordinary rise in religious publishing in the late 20th century in America. She is so wise people seek her to understand religion in America, as complex a topic as splitting an atom or crack the human genome.
Phyllis has a new book out:
The Great Emergence
I am eager to dive in and swim in the waters of wisdom Phyllis writes of this book. I heard her speak on this topic several times, with insights that just take your breath away (sometimes in awe, sometimes in laughter). Phyllis takes the view of someone who think in 50 year windows, but also the view of someone who spend an hour a day on Facebook. That is a rare, rare thing.
I love Phyllis Tickle's books, love her lectures, love her jokes - but that is not where her greatest wisdom flow from, at least for me. Phyllis is someone who encourages, particualrly those on the edges of the giant orbiting thingee that is churchianity. She is a gifted listener, as countless folks know who have shared their tales of pain & hope with her.
Throughout history, wisdom has been protrayed as a female figure. Sophia (pronounced sew-fee'ah) in Greek, Hohkma in Hebrew, Sapientia in Latin, Celtic goddess-figure Sheela-na-gigs - all mean wisdom.
I suspect in the Southern dialect of America, Phyllis Tickle may mean wisdom - I know in my heart & soul she does.
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