The passages that we heard from Matthew's gospel chapter 11 today are rather like a magnificent patchwork quilt. Sometimes Sophia, Holy Wisdom, is hidden in the Greek text, sometimes she stands forth very clearly saying "Wisdom is justified by her deeds."

One of the clear images of Sophia that we have from the first chapter of Proverbs in the Hebrew Scriptures, is of her standing on a busy corner, or in the marketplace calling out for people to listen to her words.
Here in Matthew's gospel we have a quilt window on a flute player in the marketplace inviting people to her dance. It is a dance for children and old people, for gay people and straight people, for black people and white people, and Sophia the flute player is playing a lively and inclusive tune.

Closely connected to this quilt window is another showing Sophia the dancer.
Songwriter Sydney Carter hints at her dancing in the stars, dancing in the morning, dancing for her critics, dancing against adversity, and dancing an invitation to new life, inviting us to be there in the spiral dance. All these hints are hidden in our text for today as we walk into the market place and hear some children playing flutes.

In the next window we have an image of Sophia furious and wailing. She is lamenting closed attitudes that have no place for hospitality, no place for difference, no place for celebration. She is lamenting the unjust and barbed criticism that is leveled at her prophets.
Firstly at John the Baptist who chose a very disciplined way of life that included fasting and natural clothing, secondly at Jesus who chose a contrasting, celebratory, partying, way of life that included in, those that other people thought should be on the outer.

Then we see another window on the quilt where the words of Sophia in the Wisdom book Sirach are very strongly echoed. In Sirach 6:18-37 Sophia invites people to take on her yoke, and not to let it go because people will find rest and even though few perceive her they will find that her yoke is golden, the cords are purple and she gives people a splendid crown.
This window on the background of Sophia's invitation to take on her yoke is colourful indeed. Strong purples and golds streak across this window.

Then there is a window on the yoke as Torah. In the Jewish literature of the time taking on a yoke was often a metaphor for taking on study of the torah, the first 5 books of the Hebrew scriptures. In this window we see the scrolls and scholars engaged in intellectual struggle and understanding - one aspect of Sophia's invitation. She is there inviting scholars to grow in understanding and insight.

Then there is another window on the yoke. This time it is understood as taking on the struggle against oppression, part of the prophetic tradition.
Here in taking on the yoke Sophia will give strength for the struggle and people will find that the yoke will actually be light and easy. In this window we will see struggle and laughter hand in hand .Quite a challenging image to quilt.

There is another window in the gospel today and this window became the dominant image in interpreting Matthew's gospel but it has no place in a Sophia quilt. That is the patriarchal window that hid wisdom under the language of Father and Son.
It is exclusive and elite language rather than the open ended invitational language of Sophia. Elizabeth Schussler Fiorenza says about Matthew 11: 25-7 "the introduction of Father-Son language into early Christian sophialogy is bound up with theological exclusivity that reserves revelation for an elect few and draws a line between insiders and outsiders.

This window introduces the note of tension that still exists when we see a beautiful Sophia quilt. Sophia's invitation to take on her yoke and join the struggle for justice is still sounding for us today.

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