Twentieth Ordinary Sunday, Year B
Theme: Christ Is Our Wisdom 基督是我們的智慧
The first reading today is taken from the book of Proverbs which is one of the books in the Wisdom Literature in the Old Testament. King Solomon is an embodiment of wisdom and scholars believe that he wrote the book of Proverbs which is a collection of so called proverbs, couplets, poems and even proses of wisdom. They are different from modern day one-liner proverbs such as “Actions speak louder than words”, “Beauty is only skin deep” and “Practice makes perfect” etc. because most proverbs are culturally conditioned and we exist in history. Time changes and what was once significant may no longer be relevant nowadays. For example, when the Temple in Jerusalem still existed, Jews followed the precepts of the Hebrew Scriptures to offer sacrifices there. Now that the Temple no longer exists, Jews can no longer follow the Hebrew Scriptures completely to practise their faith. Those precepts related to oblations and sacrifices have become irrelevant today. Naturally we would ask what about the “wisdom” we find encapsulated in the Wisdom Literature. Is such ancient wisdom able to withstand the test of time and remains relevant today? The answer depends on to what extent we accept the authority of the Church’s interpretations of the Bible.
Nowadays, few people buy the authority of the Catholic Church, not even Catholics themselves. This has been a trend since the Age of Enlightenment when people wanted to get away from the grip of the Church. The Church has her share to blame because she was able to wedge huge authority over the people, including princes and kings. As a proverb goes, “Authority corrupts and absolute authority corrupts absolutely”. The actions of the corrupted clergy disappointed a lot of people. Who wants to be treated unfairly? However, philosophers in the Age of Enlightenment were not exempted from the flaws of human nature wounded by the “Original Sin”. To be persuasive, sophists put forth an oversimplified world view which is easier to understand. It is too mentally challenging to accommodate the existence of a plurality of causes and a plurality of consequences. Black and white is easier to understand than fifty shades of grey than a spectrum of luminosity! “Believing in a Creator God is superstitious. Nobody in his right mind believes in a Creator”. On the other hand, Catholics believe that out of love, God created the known universe suitable for the existence of self-aware beings. “If God is almighty and merciful, why does He allow the good to suffer? He cannot be almighty and merciful at the same time!” On the other hand, Catholics believe that God’s power is best shown in His mercy to forgive. “Read history! Religions are violent. They force people to convert lest they kill them”. On the other hand, Jesus teaches us to be poor in spirit, mournful, meek and be peacemakers in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10). To be candid, the secular reasoning is simpler and more easily understandable than the complex logic of theology! The secular reasoning has won the day up until now and only a few people are able to insist on the theological reasoning of the Catholic Church.
Let’s not complicate the matter. For Catholics who accept the teaching authority of the Church, we do not question her interpretation of the Bible. We believe that the Bible contains God’s revelation and truth related to our salvation. As a spokesperson of God, prophet Isaiah says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways --- oracle of the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my thoughts higher than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9). Therefore, no matter how much progress we have achieved since the Age of Enlightenment, our logic and reasoning will never attain God’s level. Thus, no matter how foolish ancient wisdom encapsulated in the Wisdom Literature may sound to the ears of modern people, it conveys a certain amount of truth related to our salvation, our final destination and our return to our Creator! In Paul’s words, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength” (1 Corinthians 1:25).
People naturally ask what benefits we would gain when we pursue wisdom. The book of Proverbs portrays an enviable picture for us. People with secular mentality want power to control people. Wisdom has her maidservants at her disposal (Proverbs 9:3). People want wealth to enjoy life. Wisdom has a house with seven columns (9:1). It must be a palace and she would treat her guests with meat and wine (9:2) which were no ordinary food of subsistence. Wisdom must be very wealthy as well. So wisdom is worth pursuing as much as power and wealth, if not more. But here comes the twist. Who should pursue wisdom? “Let whoever is naïve turn in here; to any who lack sense I say, Come, eat of my food and drink of the wine I have mixed!” (9:4-5). Wait! In a competitive commercial society like Hong Kong, who want to admit that they are naïve or they lack sense or to show frailties and vulnerabilities in front of the others? Alas! Let’s face it. Who is invincible? Who has no Achilles’ heels? The philosophical maxim “Know thyself” is always right. Let us be humble in order to have a genuine assessment of our mental and spiritual situation. Only then can we lead an authentic life. In Wisdom’s word, “Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding” (9:6).
I used the term “authentic life” instead of “eternal life” above because “eternal life” is a concept found in the New Testament only. It needs another treatise to trace its development in the Old Testament because it is impossible for Jesus to talk about “eternal life” out of thin air. In hindsight, we Catholics understand what Jesus meant when He says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:51). Jesus was teaching us the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is more than establishing personal relationship with our Saviour. It is a global relationship. In receiving the Holy Eucharist, all humanity will be in communion in Christ, including those whom you like or you hate.
I pity the contemporary audience of Jesus because Jesus’ claim was beyond their understanding. Even though the Jewish society at that time was not as competitive as Hong Kong today, at least doubting Jesus’ claim was in the majority. It was common sense that the Galilean carpenter rabbi would be unable to give his flesh for people to eat. Who could afford to be an odd man out?
Beloved brethren! In hindsight, we interpret the Wisdom in the book of Proverbs as a personification of the Lord God. In the light of the Trinity theology, we understand that Jesus Christ, the Son of God is the visible sign of the invisible Father. Therefore, Jesus Christ is the invisible Wisdom made visible. Moreover, wisdom is the first gift of the Holy Spirit Catholic received in the Sacrament of Confirmation. In fact, the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church manifest more fully the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believers. The last gift of the Holy Spirit is “The fear of the Lord”. In the Wisdom Literature, we find that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom” (Job 28:28; Psalms 111:10; Proverbs 1:7; Sirach 1:16). So the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit come in a full circle and are intimately linked. It is a topic worth meditating in yet another treatise.
God bless!
Picture Credit: creator.nightcafe.studio
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