Word to the Wise
Friday, March 24, 2023 - 4th Week of Lent - Fri
[Wis 2:1a, 12-22 and John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30,322]The wicked said among themselves, thinking not aright: "Let us beset the just one, because he is obnoxious to us; he sets himself against our doings, repreaches 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. To us he is the censure of our thoughts; merely to see him is a hardship for us, because his life is not like that of others, and different are his ways. [Wisdom] "You know me and also know where I am from. Yet I did not come on my own, but the one who sent me, whom you do not know, is true. I know him, because I am from him, and he sent me." [John]
The Book of Wisdom was put into writing not very long before the time of Jesus' life. It is a kind of literature that could be found throughout the MIddle East, going back centuries. In our own time, collections of wise sayings - "wisdom" - are often published. I am thinking of Robert Fulghum's best-selling book: ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN. One might also recall Benjamin Franklin's POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC. The difference for us, of course, is that the Book of Wisdom is considered inspired scripture (at least for Catholics) and deserves the attention of faith. This is why the first scripture today, taken from the Book of Wisdom, is downright eerie because it seems to describe the thought processes of Jesus' adversaries that lead them to seek to get rid of him.
Those thought processes are not unusual. They are a kind of "Who invited him?...." thinking. They describe the reaction to any prophetic figure whose words and actions threaten our own cultural or political biases. Jesus' preaching and challenges to the religious authorities of his time earned him their deep animosity. The musical JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR sums up their thinking with the words, "HE'S DANGEROUS!" It's an apt description of what Wisdom says. Those who follow Christ and his teachings can be "dangerous" to accepted cultural and/or political norms. History is filled with denunciations of sincere Christian (or Moslem, HIndu, etc.) believers as "religious zealots." Indeed, modern atheists blame religion for much of the violence in the word!!! But violence is contrary to Jesus' teachings even if his teachings seem to inspire others to violence, as the Book of Wisdom and the Gospel According to John show us today. Would our lives as Christians, especially as Catholics, be considered "dangerous?" It makes for an interesting Lenten question in light of what we will soon celebrate in Holy Week! AMEN