Tag: Proverbs

Links for today’s readings:

Feb 16  Read: Proverbs 7 Listen: (2:21) Read: Psalm 37 Listen: (4:21)

Scripture Focus: Proverbs 7.7-13

Reflection: Beyond Femme Fatales

By John Tillman

The film noir term femme fatale came from French, meaning “deadly woman.”

Proverbs 7 reads like a classic 1930s film noir scene. Like Humphrey Bogart peering through the blinds of his detective office down on a dirty and dangerous city, the father looks down on his street. 

Imagine Bogart narrating…

The street grows dark. Wise folks hurry home before full dark falls. But a young fool walks towards a dangerous corner. Is he ignorant that the corner is frequented by Miss Temptation? Or does he know? The lady leaps out of the dark and grabs him, kissing him suddenly and seductively. Her smooth, sultry voice sings of food and pleasure. Like a lost puppy, he follows. Might as well be signing his own death certificate.

The father is demonstrating a particular temptation but the lesson is not intended to blame women for initiating sin or cast all women as temptresses. Both genders employ temptation and both fall victim to it. We must look beyond “femme fatales.”

We must also do more than attempt to avoid temptation. If the foolish young man had been home for Shabbat with his family, nothing bad would have happened. But that’s not enough today.

It’s not that we have no dangerous corners to avoid. It’s that dangerous temptations no longer stay on dangerous corners. Temptations leap right into our bedrooms and living rooms through our televisions, apps, and devices.

The recent NFL Championship broadcast set aside ten percent of advertising spots for gambling apps and sites such as FanDuel, DraftKings, and Sportsbook. These apps multiply gambling addiction by algorithmic addiction.

We don’t live in a film noir world where only the dark is dangerous and only the foolish are tempted. “Femme Fatales” of temptation such as apps, algorithms, Ai companies, and the paranoia factories we call political media are everywhere.

Temptation will grab you like a headline, an advertisement, or an algorithm. It will kiss you like a comfortable lie or false promise. What will you do? How will you resist?

The father says to make God’s commands part of your being. (Proverbs 7.1) The apple of your eye, the tips of your fingers, and the beats of your heart must be shaped by scripture. (Proverbs 7.2-3) You must also make Lady Wisdom your sibling. (Proverbs 7.4)

Only through scripture and the help of Jesus, our brother, can we resist temptation. Flee to him when you feel temptation’s clinging grasp.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Refrain for the Morning Lessons

You strengthen me more and more; you enfold me and comfort me. — Psalm 71.21

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Listen to: Lady Folly

Wisdom is the guard against the places where seduction can bait a fool.

Read more: Justice Starts Within

Justice starts within. It doesn’t stop there.

Links for today’s readings:

Feb 9 Read: Job 42 Listen: (2:41) Read: Psalm 30 Listen: (1:32)

Scripture Focus: Proverbs 1.20-27

20 Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, 
she raises her voice in the public square; 
21 on top of the wall she cries out, 
at the city gate she makes her speech: 
22 “How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? 
How long will mockers delight in mockery 
and fools hate knowledge? 
23 Repent at my rebuke! 
Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, 
I will make known to you my teachings. 
24 But since you refuse to listen when I call 
and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, 
25 since you disregard all my advice 
and do not accept my rebuke, 
26 I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; 
I will mock when calamity overtakes you— 
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm, 
when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, 
when distress and trouble overwhelm you.

Reflection: What’s Funny About Foolishness?

By John Tillman

If you are like me, when asked for examples of foolishness, you first think of comedy. I think of the Muppets. I think of Sam the Eagle asking Gonzo, “Will you stop this foolishness?” and Gonzo replying, “What foolishness would you like to see?” I think of Monty Python and the “Ministry of Silly Walks.” I think of the recently passed Catherine O’Hara singing “God Loves a Terrier” with Eugene Levy or struggling to explain to Daniel Levy what “folding in the cheese” means.

Proverbs gives very different examples of foolishness. The second section of chapter one describes a young man tempted to join a criminal plot to ambush the harmless, steal valuables, live easy, and gamble with their loot. Joining these thugs would be stepping on the path to his own death. The teacher writes that they will spill their own blood. This is a way of saying they are as good as dead, even before being caught or killed.

Biblical foolishness is not comedic. It is tragic. Yet God and Lady Wisdom laugh when fools face their fate. Wisdom laughs when the disaster she warned of strikes and the calamity she advised avoiding collapses on its victims. God laughs at the foolishness of the kings of the earth gathering to oppose him and at the wicked stubbornly headed toward their fate. (Psalm 2.4; 37.13; 59.8)

What’s funny about foolishness is recognizing that Lady Wisdom’s laughter at the wicked is tinged with lament. Wisdom, personified as a prophetess, laughs at the foolish only after pleading with them to be wise. God holds out his hands to the wicked, saying “Why will you die?” (Isaiah 65:2; Ezekiel 33.11) Our laughter should not come from a hard heart, but a broken one. The level of our laughter should match the level of our warning, pleading, and prayers on behalf of the foolish.

We also must recognize the joke could be on us. Foolish characters are funny partly because we see ourselves in them. The exaggerated foolishness of bizarre or slapstick comedy is a funhouse mirror. The reflection is extreme and twisted into odd shapes, but it is still our reflection. Our laughter should lead us to cautious humility, not smug superiority.

The fall of the wicked can bring joy and laughter. Be sure your laughter is humble and tinged with lament.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Request for Presence

Satify us by your loving-kindness in the morning; so shall we rejoice and be glad all the days of our life. — Psalm 90.14

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle.

Read more: Crushing Bruised Reeds

We do not need to abandon essentials to charitably embrace those in distress who struggle to define “essentials.” They need love, not contempt.

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Scripture Focus: Proverbs 31:29
29 “Many women do noble things,
     but you surpass them all.”

Reflection: The Impossibility of Proverbs 31
By Erin Newton

Growing up with Proverbs 31 as the “checklist” of being a woman felt impossible. The excellence required stood in direct opposition to the predetermined lifestyle for women set by our brothers in the faith.

• Be productive (vv. 13-16). This woman is entrepreneurial and hardworking. Her job takes her out of the home, and she invests with financial freedom. I was told to dream only of home and let my husband decide our (or his) finances.
• Be strong (v. 17). This woman was physically strong. Knowing her work required heavy lifting or strenuous tasks, she probably didn’t worry when her biceps bulged. I was told my body was a blessing and a curse. I should keep a “feminine” frame (be thin) to remain the weaker vessel.
• Be talented (vv. 18-19, 22, 24). She works in agriculture and husbandry. She makes clothing and textiles—a “Jane” of all trades. I was told I could have hobbies, as long as they stood in the shadows of my role in the family. I felt like Elizabeth Bennet responding to the supposed qualifications of a woman: “I never saw such a woman. She would certainly be a fearsome thing to behold.”
• Be a wise teacher (v. 26). She is revered for her instruction—a feature that usually only comes from extensive learning. I was told my speaking had limits and boundaries. I was accepted if it was within the walls of a classroom not a church, on a Saturday not Sunday, behind a lectern not a pulpit, called a devotional not a sermon, and under the title of teacher not pastor.
• Be extraordinary (vv. 10, 28-29). She is so rare she can hardly be found. She is not like everyone else. She excels in every possible way. She is a rare gem and worthy of honor and praise. I was once called special and one of a kind—by another married man who was supposed to be my religious leader.

I do not mind having her as an example for my life, but the Church sometimes prevents that which it demands. She sets a high bar filled with opportunity, independence, and strength. She is probably Woman Wisdom, making this the bookend of female encounters in Proverbs. If she is the ideal for all women, she is also the ideal for all men—not as a requirement for one’s spouse but as a required way of life.

Divine Hours Prayer: The Call to Prayer
Sing praise to the Lord who dwells in Zion; proclaim to the peoples the things he has done. — Psalm 9.11

– From The Divine Hours: Prayers for Summertime by Phyllis Tickle.

​Today’s Readings
Proverbs 31 (Listen 2:50)
Psalm 48 (Listen 1:28)

Read more about Lady Wisdom
After the cloying voice of the temptress, and vivid descriptions of her hapless victims, a new voice speaks out in Proverbs—Lady Wisdom.

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