Word to the Wise
Monday, September 23, 2024 - Monday in the 25th Week in Ordinary Time
[Prov 3:27-34 and Luke 8:16-18]Refuse no one the good on which he has a claim when it is in your power to do it for him. Say not to your neighbor, "Go, come again, tomorrow I will give," when you can give at once. Plot no evil against your neighbor, against one who lives at peace with you. Quarrel not with a man without cause, with onewho has done you no harm. [Proverbs]
SEPTEMBER 23 ST. PIUS OF PIETRELCINA [Padre Pio]
The Book of Proverbs, like the Books of Wisdom, Sirach, Ecclesiastes and Job is a form of literature that exists in many cultures. In American history, we can look to Benjamin Franklin's POOR RICHARD'S ALMANAC for such "proverbs" as "A penny saved is a penny earned!" In modern American literature, Robert Fulghum's ALL I REALLY NEED TO KNOW I LEARNED IN KINDERGARTEN is a good exampe (e.g. "Hold hands when crossing the street!") Archaeologists have found collections of proverbs, adages, axioms, "sayings" in ancient sites or else the wisdom is copied over and over again to be passed down to succeeding generations. In Jesus' time, the "wisdom literature" was considered by Jewish authorities as "the writings" to distinguish them from "the Law and the Prophets."
The quotation from today's first scripture from the Book of Proverbs could be summed up as "Don't be stingy!" and "Don't pick fights!" The gospels, especially the three synoptic gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke, contain sections which are like lists of proverbs from the wisdom of Jesus. Indeed, the early Christian community considered Jesus to be the personification of "Wisdom."
All of this may be a tribute to common sense which occasionally can get lost in religious fervor. We are not required to abandon common sense in our practice of faith. Excessive devotional exercises can lead to frustration if we allow an adage like 'MORE IS BETTER' to take charge. The daily life of faith can be nourished by steady and realizable sacramental and devotional practice and attention to the scriptures. The "wisdom literature" of the scriptures is a good resource for this. AMEN