Word to the Wise
Monday, February 24, 2020 - Monday in the 7th Week in Ordinary Time
[Jas 3:13-18 and Mark 9:14-29]But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace. [James]
Who among us would not want the kind of wisdom that James speaks of in the passage quoted above? I know that I have prayed for it on many an occasion either in pastoral or personal life. How can I respond to the problem a student has brought to me? What is the way forward in the challenges of growing older? A third-grader once said to me that "wisdom is knowledge gained from experience". Lord knows that there are plenty of experiences that leave us wondering how we ever survived them, but then we realize that we have learned from them so that we can avoid repeating them. I have found that when I "dialogue" with God after such experiences that I discover the wisdom that was present before but I was unaware of.
Experience also teaches us that human beings find their appetites to be better guides than wisdom and almost inevitably disaster follows, whether it be in international affairs or individual health care. The appetite for power seems insatiable! The desire for pleasure seems overpowering and easier to "listen to" than the wisdom that would tell us of the dangers ahead.
Faith itself is a form of wisdom that, when listened to, can tell us when our understanding is being distorted by appetite and our desire for power will hurt others. The gospel for today about Jesus being able to cast out a demon when the disciples were unable to do so tells us that God can do things for us even when our faith is very weak. Wisdom can help us to work with God from the outset to find a way forward. AMEN