Wisdom

495.doc

Scripture: Lectionary 495: Wisdom 13:1-9. Psalm 19:2-3.4-5. Luke 17:26-37:

Wisdom continues to be our nourishment through the Holy Scriptures. We now see how it touches upon the philosophical and theological destiny of humans and how their search for meaning is necessarily a battle with good and evil. Wisdom is a theodicy of divine inspiration given to the author from Alexandria, Egypt. He writes close to the time of Philo, Paul, and Jesus; perhaps as late as 50 B.C. He is now in chapter thirteen attacking the great problems of life, sin, and evil. Idolatry is the focus over against knowing about God through creation and seeing how good creation is in contrast to all other thoughts about it that are idolatrous. Only by fidelity to the true traditions of Israel and the Torah are correct in what Wisdom is. “Wisdom is a gift of God. Genuine wisdom means belief in the one God of Israel and fidelity to his law. Wisdom delivers the believer from all evil…Revelation in Wisdom is an internal and the guide of life.” (J.L.McKenzie).

Today we are pushed more into the realm of philosophical and existential thought by the revealed word of God in the Book of Wisdom. We recall the five proofs of Thomas Aquinas in thinking about the existence of God especially through first cause and uncreated cause. We think of Augustine’s struggle with the beauty of created things and forgetting about the loving Creator. St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans comes to mind as he offers evidence of God’s work in creation to help those who are searchers find God in the works of creation.

Our own reason and our experience are part of the way in which we get in touch with God’s revealed Wisdom in this book. We realize that when we take time to pray and reason about our faith we realize the world, the cosmos, and all of nature helps us to speculate and pray about the Creator. We need to be influenced by our faith when we read the Scriptures. Our reflections are spurred on by a living faith and an enduring hope that lead us to charity toward the other who may not believe or even resist believing in the existence of God. Through our own faith we accept what Wisdom is telling us.

Psalm nineteen is a wisdom psalm and helps us to enter the world of spiritual wonder and amazement like that of a child discovering things for the first time. “The heavens proclaim the glory of God and the firmament his handiwork.”

Jesus shows us his teaching in a wisdom manner by using his own Scriptures in Genesis to speak of Noah and the flood, then Lot and the destruction of Sodom and Gemorrah. Jesus leads us to think about the end and the final cause of creation which leads us to redemption and the Coming of the Messiah. Wisdom speaks of the beginning; Jesus of the end. He, of course, speaks of both at times since he is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. We need both a loving creator and a compassionate and powerful redeemer to understand who is the judge of all of life and creation. We learn how to reach our goal from Jesus the fountain and source of wisdom. Amen.