Word to the Wise
Saturday, November 16, 2019 - Saturday in the 32th Week in Ordinary Time
[Wis 18:14-16; 19:6-9 and Luke 18:1-8]When peaceful stillness compassed everything and the night in its swift course was half spent, your all-powerful word, from heaven's royal throne bounded.....[Wisdom]
I have seen these words from the Book of Wisdom on Christmas cards. Used in that way, they evoke the sentiments of "Silent Night" and other Christmas carols that depict Jesus' birth occurring in a stable covered with snow! The author(s) of the Book of Wisdom would probably be amazed or amused at that use of their words. The entire passage is about the Exodus and the last of the signs that God performed to convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites - the slaying of the first-born children in Egypt. The "word" is depicted as a mighty warrior, sent to carry out God's command.
Nevertheless, the Christian community, in its reflections on the "Christ-event" and its significance, found an apt image for God's deliverance through the incarnation of Christ. The same would be true of the significance of the Last Supper as a "new Exodus," taking place at the time of the feast of the Passover. The blood of the lamb sacrificed for the Passover meal and smeared on the doorposts of the Israelites, sparing them from the avenging angel, would become in later Christian reflection the blood of Christ, the paschal lamb, poured out for our deliverance.
Such reflections will not disturb the peaceful scene evoked by the Christmas card, but reading the entire passage (actually two) from the Book of Wisdom and appreciating the depth of its meaning can add to our appreciation and understanding of God's overarching Wisdom. AMEN