True wisdom comes from God, but our minds cannot really grasp the totality of His wisdom
Every three years, the cycle of readings during the liturgical year repeats. We heard these readings for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time three years ago, but the themes that are presented in these readings are ones we often hear.
The two major themes that are presented in these passages seem to be running stories throughout the Old and New Testament. True wisdom comes from God, and our human minds cannot grasp the totality of God’s wisdom. We can keep studying what God has told us to do, but we will never truly grasp the wisdom of God. The other theme is the future of the world will be determined by the use of our possessions. The things that we believe are ours and their use have consequences for our life and the world.
I don’t usually make broad generalizations, but I think I would be safe in saying that every single one of us has — at some point in life or even on a regular basis — questioned the wisdom of God. It might be about what God tells us to do in our lives. The behavior code that clearly defines how we should speak, how we should inhabit the world and how we treat other people and the rest of creation has consequences.
The wisdom of God tells us that we are to treat each human being with dignity and respect. That is the wisdom of God, but we argue with it all the time. When is the last time we gossiped about someone who wasn’t present? How many times have we entertained the idea that we should get rid of some person or some group of people so that we can be better? How often have we allowed someone else to assault, with words or actions, another human being and done nothing about it? We may say we follow the wisdom of God but oftentimes we don’t.
God’s wisdom is clear that any possession that we have is intended for the common good. Many of us have questioned that wisdom and decided that our possessions are meant for us and our family and it’s really no one else’s business what we do with those. We have radically confused what is a need and what is a want. Our disconnection from other people allows us to actively question God’s wisdom by the way we choose.
This year, we celebrate the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time in the first weekend of September. Is it possible to see the beginning of a new month as the possibility of the beginning of a new habit in how we treat God’s wisdom? I’m sure we are all as vulnerable as I am to all the prompts and ads that come our way trying to convince us that we need something when we really don’t. I love to use the example of a bathroom trash can. For most of us, we would truly only need one throughout our lifetime. And yet we are convinced that the old one we had isn’t the right color, the right style or doesn’t have the utilities of more modern bathroom trash cans. This is certainly a very small item in the list of choices we make about our possessions, but it is indicative of how quickly we move from need to want to consumption to materialism.
Each day we are given the opportunity to live out the wisdom of God. What is our next step in following the wisdom of God more deeply?
Father Donald Wester is retired and serves as lecturer of homiletics at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary.
