Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I
was talking to a high school student from Lansing Catholic a couple of weeks
ago. He was showing me his iPod
and all the songs he had on it, and talking about how the songs he had were
true music. So, I showed him my
iTunes library on my phone to compare.
As it turns out, according to him, I only had a few songs that were
actually “music.” The rest was
just “noise,” apparently. Now,
sometimes high school students in any grade know it all. But if there’s one class that
epitomizes the attitude that they know it all (because, after all, they’ve studied) it would certainly be a
sophomore. You see, in general,
freshmen know that they don’t know anything and that they’re just starting
out. Juniors and have studied enough
to realize that, while they know a lot in their particular area of interest,
that they have only scratched the surface of available knowledge. Sophomores, on the other hand, think
they know it all, but haven’t learned enough to realize that they don’t: a
particularly dangerous combination.
But that’s why we use the word sophomore to describe their class year:
it comes from the Greek words sophia
and moros, meaning wisdom and
fool. Sophomores are, again in
general, wise fools.
The
Word of God in today’s readings talks about wisdom, and sets before us two
types of wisdom: the wisdom of the wicked, and the wisdom from above. Our first reading focuses on the wisdom
of the wicked. In their mind, the
just one needs to be eliminated, or “taken care of,” as a wise guy might
say. The wicked consider a holy
person obnoxious, and they are insulted by his correction of their faults. They are ready to put the just one to
the test and see if all this “God talk” adds up, and if God will really protect
His so-called servant. The wicked
see a holy life as a threat and a danger to their way of life, and so they have
to destroy it so that they can continue in their own way.
The
wisdom from above, on the other hand, is “pure, then peaceable, gentle,
compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or
insincerity.” It is a different
way of looking at the world. It
does not waver in the face of threats, and is always sincere and true. It seeks peace, not just an absence of
conflict, but true justice for all.
It forgives wrongs and does not go looking for a fight. Jesus also tells us in the Gospel that
the wisdom from above turns the wisdom of the world on its head. Whereas in the view of the world the
truly great person is the one who is in charge of everything, in the wisdom
from above, the great person is the one who is the servant of all.
If
it were that easy to pick out the two types of wisdom, our world would probably
be a better place. But we are
beset by weakness, but concupiscence, the desire for lesser goods, and the
wisdom of the wicked often looks more enjoyable, more attractive. When it comes to skipping class, or
alcohol, or sex outside of marriage, the wisdom of the wicked seems much more
appealing. But wisdom from above
gives true happiness, not just passing pleasure.
If
we are truly convinced that Jesus is the
Way, the Truth, the Life, rather than just one
way, or one truth, or one life, then we who have the wisdom
from above should seek to share it with others. If the Gospel truly is Good News, and true wisdom, than to
keep it to ourselves not only does us harm, but also does those who need to
hear that Good News and that wisdom harm.
That is one way that we serve others: by sharing with them the wisdom
and joy that we have in Christ.
Have you asked a roommate or a friend, whom you know is Catholic but is
not coming to Mass, to join you on Sundays for Mass, or for men’s or women’s
group? We are not called to
condemn, but to invite. We warn
others about the dangers of the wisdom of the wicked, but we do not cajole
others into joining us. We simply
extend an open hand of love and joy.
When
those who are wise in wickedness are confronted—by a friend, a family member,
or religion—it’s always portrayed as people just trying to rain on the
parade. We may be called obnoxious
by our friends. Laziness, drunkenness,
and debauchery look like a ton of fun.
And they certainly are pleasurable. But they do not lead to happiness. They quickly fade, and often leave a path of destruction in
this world. Meanwhile, the just,
those striving for holiness, often put up with a lot more suffering, a lot more
pain, certainly less pleasure in the eyes of the world. But, if God created the world, and He
knows best how it works, and He is the best answer for the desire of every
human heart, then following the wisdom from above makes sense, not just in this
world, but also in the world to come.
A life of restraint and service is what makes for a great life, not a
life of license and using others.
It’s upside down from our view.
But if we take it from God’s perspective, then it’s just the way God
intended it.
We
can stay sophomores in our faith; we can be wise fools. God gives us that freedom. We can pretend that we can do whatever
we want now, and just make up for it in some possible future act of repentance
that we may never make. Or, we can
be truly wise, and move beyond our sophomoric ways, and live by the wisdom that
comes from above, that gives us and those around us true peace and joy. And then, being truly wise, we will see
the need to serve others by sharing with them the wisdom from above, so that
they can find that peace and joy that we have by living a truly wise life.