The Wisdom Jesus

Lenten Book Study 2013

The Wisdom Jesus

By Cynthia Bourgeault

A Prayer Before Reading and Reflecting

God, you have made known your love through Jesus’ life and words. Help us to receive his teaching, to find the fullness of love, and share its power with others. Amen.

A Prayer After Reading and Reflecting

Jesus, receive our love and worship. Show us how to give what we have, for nothing is too big or small for us to offer, or for you to use. Amen.

Session 1: Chapters 1 - 3

1. In the gospels, Jesus asks, “Who do you say that I am?” The author suggests that this is the “crucial question.” How would you answer Jesus? Has your answer changed over time?

2. At the end of Chapter 1 the author writes that it’s only the people who stick with Jesus are those “who have met him in the moment: in the instantaneous, mutual recognition of hearts and in the ultimate energy that is always pouring forth from this encounter.” Do you think this is true? Has it been your experience and the experience of faithful Christians you have known?

3. What do you make of the author’s description of “sophiological” Christianity? Have you seen, read or heard Christianity presented this way before? Is it more or less appealing than “soteriological” Christianity? Why?

4. How would you summarize the author’s “revisionist” take on Jesus? How different is her view from what you have known or considered before?

5. The author offers several ways Christians have understood “the Kingdom of Heaven.” What do you think Jesus meant by “the Kingdom of Heaven?” Does this understanding change how you love out your Christian faith?

6. What do you think of what the author writes about metanoia and repentance? Do you agree that this is what Jesus meant? Why or why not?

7. So far, do you find Bourgeault’s description of Jesus as a wisdom teacher appealing, intriguing, puzzling, infuriating…?

Session 2: Chapters 4 - 7

1. After the reading the opening of Chapter 4 do you think about the Beatitudes differently now? Are you more or less convinced of the author’s thesis?

2. Have you thought of the parables as “subversive” before? Does this make Jesus’ teaching more or less meaningful for you? Why?

3. What are the major differences between the Gospel of Thomas and the four canonical gospels? Do the sayings from the Gospel of Thomas presented in Chapter 5 “sound” like the Jesus you know?

4. Bourgeault claims that for Jesus “the center of gravity” is kenosis. Why is this so unusual and counter-intuitive? Do you think kenosis really is the heart of Jesus’ teaching and life? Have you seen examples of kenosis in your own life?

5. The author writes, “The Trinity, understood in a wisdom sense, is really an icon of self-emptying love.” Do you find this notion helpful in grasping the notoriously difficult doctrine of the Trinity?

6. The author insists that Jesus was definitely chaste but perhaps not celibate. Would it matter to you if Jesus were not celibate? Why?

Session 3: Chapters 8 - 11

1. What does the author suggest is the best way to understand the meaning of the Incarnation? Do you find her take more meaningful than the traditional understanding of Jesus rescuing us from the consequences of the Fall?

2. On page 100 the author writes, “At any rate, I have often suspected that the most profound product of this world is tears.” What does she mean by that? How does this statement fit in with the rest of her book?

3. How does the author view the Passion “a sacred path of liberation?” Does her take offer you new insights on this very familiar story?

4. “The false self is ultimately what crucified Jesus.” (pg. 114). What does the author mean by this? Do you think she is right?

5. What does the author see as the meaning of the “Harrowing of Hell?”

6. How are the Resurrection appearances part of what the author calls Jesus’ “recognition drama?”

7. Bourgeault writes, “Jesus in his ascended state is not farther removed from human beings but more intimately connected with them.” (pg. 134) What does she mean by this? Do you think she’s right? How?

Session 4: Chapters 12 - 16

1. Have you ever practiced centering prayer or lectio divina? If yes, have you found these practices helpful? If no, would you be interested in giving them a try? Why or why not?

2. Bourgeault suggests that “The Welcoming Prayer” is a way of “putting on the mind of Christ.” Do you agree? What might be other ways of “discovering in our own selves the secret of Jesus’ capacity to open himself to life in such an extraordinary way”?

3. How would you sum up the author’s understanding of what Jesus was “up to” at the Last Supper? Does this understanding enhance your own experience of the Eucharist?

4. Do you experience Christianity primarily as “a religion about Jesus rather than a religion of Jesus”? Why? How?