We come to the end of Proverbs and the end of the church year at the same time this coming Sunday. The tension is that chapter 31 of Proverbs feels just a little odd for the Sunday of Christ the King. To many American evangelical Christians, the good woman of this chapter seems like a fit subject for Mother’s Day, but it’s hard to see how she relates to a celebration of our Lord’s royal reign over His church and all creation.
However, let’s note that the Gospel lesson for this Sunday is Matthew 25:31-46. There Jesus compares His kingly judgment of the nations with separating sheep from goats, the sheep being those who were kind and helpful to people in need and the goats being those who neglected to offer such kindness and help. But the clincher for our text from Proverbs is that Jesus tells us “I was hungry… I was thirsty… I was a stranger… I was naked… I was in prison.” We are see help rendered to those in need as help given to our Lord.
Note what the good wife of Proverbs 31 does. She keeps her family fed and clothed. She is constantly serving and blessing her husband and children. And in verse 20, “She opens her hands to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.” She’s also industrious, wise, frugal and completely honorable.
As my wife has often noted, the wife of Proverbs 31 is a pretty intimidating role model. And we might ask why it is wives who get singled out for all these expectations here in Proverbs? Why not a similar list for husbands? One answer might be that all the rest of the book is aimed at male virtue, as the writers speak to young men, counseling them away from foolishness and wickedness and toward a variety of virtues, including faithfulness and care for the poor. So perhaps this chapter doesn’t signify some extra burden of expectation on wives, but demonstrates that women actually need just a little encouragement, less than men, to do well.
But I also want to follow Augustine and other church fathers who saw here in the good wife of Proverbs the bride of Christ, the Church. As I began to suggest above, it is the work of the Church to feed and cloth and care for God’s people, especially those in need. It is the work of the Church to give honor to her Lord. It is the work of the Church to teach wisdom (verse 26). And, as in verse 28, it is the Church’s joy to receive the approval and praise of her Lord.
So it’s a little odd to read this chapter on Christ the King, but not totally bizarre if we all place ourselves in the good wife’s role, together as the Church being faithful to our King. Let us serve Him and His family by acts of compassion and mercy, and let us live in such a way that Christ is “known in the city gates,” by the good impression of His Church.