Wisdom Has Built Herself a House
Aug. 18, 2024
Our first two readings for this week speak of wisdom. In the first, the Book of Proverbs tells us that Wisdom has built herself a house and invites all to come and feast at her table. In the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, we are told to not live foolishly, but with wisdom.
In the Old Testament, Wisdom is seen as a person. She is seen as a companion of God, who was present and active in the creation of the world. Later much of what is said about Wisdom in those writings will be said of Christ and the Holy Spirit. This theme of Wisdom is a beginning of the Jews moving toward a theology of the Trinity but will not be very fully developed.
Wisdom is the mind of God that can be found in all of creation, especially in how creation operates. For human beings, this Wisdom is God’s will and plan for how we are to live and how we are to act. They believe, and Christians believe, that the will and plan of God can be largely discerned from His creation. When we live according to that plan, we are living according to God’s will. When we move from that plan, we are living in sin.
This plan of God, written into the very fabric of creation, is known as the Natural Law. For instance, we do not need a law telling us, “Thou shalt not kill.” Because I know that I don’t want you to kill me, the law against killing is written into my heart. The same can be said about stealing and other wrongs.
St. Paul is using the word “wisdom” much more in line with how we usually think of that word. Act wisely means to be aware that actions and decisions have consequences. When we can see which of these actions and decisions will lead to negative consequences, then we can avoid those. When we see which actions and decisions lead to positive consequences, we can choose those. This is wisdom. It is not intelligence, for there are many who are intelligent who are not wise.
—Fr. Mike Comer
Our first two readings for this week speak of wisdom. In the first, the Book of Proverbs tells us that Wisdom has built herself a house and invites all to come and feast at her table. In the Letter of St. Paul to the Ephesians, we are told to not live foolishly, but with wisdom.
In the Old Testament, Wisdom is seen as a person. She is seen as a companion of God, who was present and active in the creation of the world. Later much of what is said about Wisdom in those writings will be said of Christ and the Holy Spirit. This theme of Wisdom is a beginning of the Jews moving toward a theology of the Trinity but will not be very fully developed.
Wisdom is the mind of God that can be found in all of creation, especially in how creation operates. For human beings, this Wisdom is God’s will and plan for how we are to live and how we are to act. They believe, and Christians believe, that the will and plan of God can be largely discerned from His creation. When we live according to that plan, we are living according to God’s will. When we move from that plan, we are living in sin.
This plan of God, written into the very fabric of creation, is known as the Natural Law. For instance, we do not need a law telling us, “Thou shalt not kill.” Because I know that I don’t want you to kill me, the law against killing is written into my heart. The same can be said about stealing and other wrongs.
St. Paul is using the word “wisdom” much more in line with how we usually think of that word. Act wisely means to be aware that actions and decisions have consequences. When we can see which of these actions and decisions will lead to negative consequences, then we can avoid those. When we see which actions and decisions lead to positive consequences, we can choose those. This is wisdom. It is not intelligence, for there are many who are intelligent who are not wise.
—Fr. Mike Comer
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