Everyday
Wisdom
Over
the years I’ve invited people to a Bible study who are afraid to come. They’ll
tell me that they just can’t understand the Bible. No matter how much they study
the bible, they didn’t get or understand a lot of it. Maybe, a lot of us are
like this.
As a
deacon I have certain things I do. Every day, I pray. Every day, I read a
little bit of the Bible and study. I usually do these early in the morning, and
late in the evening. I put daily verses
and prayers on facebook or email. I share short pieces of the Catechism on
Twitter. These are part of my studies and I pray that I get them right.
We
live in a culture where wisdom and intellect is paired with how we think, book
smarts, and a formal education. This comes from the ancients Greeks; a people
of philosophy, who liked to sit around, ponder and argue ideas. This sounds
like bible study. We tend to forget that wisdom is more. I said I pray that I
get it right; but no matter how much I study to understand. I don’t always get
it right. Someone or something can always open my eyes more fully to the Lord’s
wisdom.
In Hebrew,
the word for wisdom is more a tactile thing. The word is “chokmah” (hokhmah.) It’s
the wisdom we find every day in God’s creation. Wisdom is the building of the
house, the setting of the pillars, the preparing of the meal, and even the
eating of the meal. True wisdom comes from God. Sharing in creation is sharing wisdom.
In
this proverb, wisdom is found in action. Ultimately wisdom is abandoning foolishness
(simpleness, ignorance or errant thoughts.) To do this, Wisdom calls for action
“come and eat my food.”
Brothers
and sisters, this proverb points us to Jesus Christ. The house is the Church
that Christ built; the seven pillars are the sacraments. Each of us is called
to the table of thanksgiving. All of these things are visible concrete actions
of Christ, of wisdom.
Paul warned
believers to watch how you live – don’t be foolish or ignorant but know the
will of the Lord. This was his call to the action for believers. How many of
our fellow Christians have forgotten this?
Jesus
tells us: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this
bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the
life of the world.... Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal
life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my
blood is true drink. Whoever eats my
flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him…. whoever eats this bread
will live forever.”
Sometimes
it is hard to understand what Jesus asks of us. The words that Jesus speaks will
cause many of his followers to leave him. Trying to understand by studying the bible is
a good but hard if all we do is sit back and think. The true wisdom comes by
living what Jesus taught. Taking Jesus and chewing on him making him part of
us.
Wisdom is the action in our lives that bring Christ. We become one with Christ through the Eucharist, the sacrament that is the meal of the risen Christ. God is alive. God is in us. What a great call to action!!
That call to action opens our eyes to the Lord’s wisdom maybe more
than the reading and study. It’s that tactile form of Wisdom. I understand what
Christ asks of me when I bring communion to a patient in a dementia ward than
in studying the bible. In this I find Jesus who calls me to his table and eat
the bread of life. I chew on Him; He nourishes me; He remains in me. This is
truly studying his word.
Wisdom found in every day. May we build his house, set his table, and call
others to eat. May we have every day wisdom of the Lord Jesus Christ in our lives.
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