Word to the Wise
Friday, March 20, 2015 - 4th Week of Lent - Fri
[Wis 2:1a, 12-22 and John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30]Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, reproaches us for transgressions of the law and charges us with violations of our training. He professes to have knowledge of God and styles himself a child of the Lord. [Wisdom]
I was once invited to speak to a group of third grade elementary students on the subject of Wisdom. I came into the room fairly confident that I would be the teacher, but when I asked if someone could tell me what Wisdom is, a little boy piped up: "Knowledge gained from experience!" I suddenly became the student!
The psychological insight of today's passage from the Book of Wisdom is profound. It shows a train of thought that is altogether familiar. It is the reaction of any corrupt group or society to a prophetic figure. This passage describes the thinking of Jesus' adversaries as the tension built up between him and the religious authorities of his time, especially those in Jerusalem. The gospel scripture today in the last lines shows that the authorities were looking for a way to arrest him and get rid of hiim.
One very good way to benefit from the last days of Lent is to read the gospel passages that deal with the late stages of Jesus' ministry, especially after his entrance into Jerusalem. Can we see how the thinking of the crowd and the authorities is going? Do we find ourselves possibly complicit in all this if only because we thought about someone else at some time in the way that Wisdom describes? Wisdom is not about one person's experience. It is the collective experience of years of human living. We cannot divorce ourselves from that and remain human, nor can we divorce ourselves from the experience of Jesus that lies ahead. AMEN