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Word to the Wise

Sunday, September 8, 2019 - 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - C

[Wis 9:13-18b; Phlm 9-10, 12-17; Luke 14:25-33]
Or who ever knew your counsel, except you had given wisdom and sent your holy spirit from on high? And thus were the paths of those on earth made straight. [Wisdom]


     Whenever I preach a retreat for clergy, I find myself using examples from my own pastoral experience to illustrate the points I am making.  As I look back on them, I sometimes wonder how on earth I came to  certain decisions that had an outcome far more positive than I was anticipating.  The words from the Book of Wisdom in the first scripture for this Sunday seem to underline why the positive result came about:  God sent a spirit of wisdom.
     One of the experiences I have in mind occurred when I was asked to talk to a classroom of third graders on the subject of wisdom.  I sailed into class, confident of the subject, and decided to first ask the children what they thought wisdom to be.  The first kid I called on stood up and said: "Knowledge gained from experience!"  That pretty much deflated me and taught me that wisdom is where you find it and experience reveals it.   I have many of the same experiences with the college students I meet everyday here at Texas Tech University, where I live.  They face many challenges and decisions that they have no experience to help them with.  I pray that God's holy spirit of wisdom will fill the words that I speak when a student speaks to me about one or more of those challenges and decisions.
     Taking a few moments at the end of each day to reflect on the experiences of the day and how we met them with God's help is a great way to see how our "paths on earth are made straight."  AMEN

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