Daily Devotional • May 18
A Reading from Wisdom 7:22-8:1
22 for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.
There is in her a spirit that is intelligent, holy,
unique, manifold, subtle,
agile, clear, unpolluted,
distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,
23 irresistible, beneficent, humane,
steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,
all-powerful, overseeing all,
and penetrating through all spirits
that are intelligent, pure, and altogether subtle.
24 For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;
because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.
25 For she is a breath of the power of God
and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.
26 For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.
27 Although she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God and prophets,
28 for God loves nothing so much as the person who lives with wisdom.
29 She is more beautiful than the sun
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be more radiant,
30 for it is succeeded by the night,
but against wisdom evil does not prevail.
1 She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other,
and she orders all things well.
Meditation
Just before sunrise, there is a fleeting moment of transition—it is no longer night but also not yet day. The sky becomes a mirror reflecting the beauty of both heaven and earth, showing the vastness of the sea and the height of the mountains. Whatever the passing night has borne or the coming day will carry, for this brief respite, all things are well, and creation is at rest. Whether our souls are light with joy or heavy with grief, wisdom—“the fashioner of all things”—beckons us into her divine company. Wisdom takes our imaginations to the dawn of creation, and her insight encompasses all human knowledge and experience. Wisdom seeks to dwell in us: a key to unlock the doors of mystery as we navigate life in Christ.
Eastertide is an annual reminder that the wisdom of God sometimes seems foolish to the human mind, and yet, we know in the deepest places of our being that that same wisdom is the key that unlocks eternity. The ancient book of Wisdom, attributed to King Solomon, invites us to reflect on the many aspects of the spirit of wisdom present in our world. Solomon’s wisdom, while impressive in its own right, is ultimately a precursor to the greater wisdom revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus embodies divine wisdom in its fullest sense, not just in terms of intellectual insight but in how wisdom is manifested in living out God’s will through perfect obedience and love. Let the dawn from on high shine through you today and may the wisdom, love, and light of Christ greet everyone in your path.
The Very Reverend David duPlantier has served as Dean and Rector of Christ Church Cathedral in New Orleans, LA since 2002. He is founder and Chair of the board of the Jericho Road Episcopal Housing initiative: https://jerichohousing.org
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Daily Devotional Cycle of Prayer
Today we pray for:
The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem & The Middle East
St. George’s Episcopal Church, Nashville, Tennessee
