Both readings for mass today mention light. Of course this isn’t the main focus of either one of the readings for mass today, but it is still something that we shouldn’t ignore either. The first reading is about the timeless beauty of wisdom. These scripture verses describe the many attributes of wisdom, but they also compare her to light. “For she is an aura of the might of God and a pure effusion of the glory of the Almighty……For she is the refulgence of eternal light…..she is fairer than the sun and surpasses every constellation of the stars. Compared to light she takes precedence.”
It is very difficult to explain the nature of wisdom in physical, earthly terms. Wisdom permeates everything kind of like light but wisdom is far superior to the light. The Pharisees in today’s gospel also had trouble grasping what the Kingdom of God was like, in earthly terms too. We can not walk through the streets in the Kingdom of Heaven and we can not take wisdom and hold it in our hands and examine it either, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t real.
The first reading describes wisdom as an intelligent spirit that permeates and transcends everything, indeed mirroring God’s own nature. All wisdom originates in God. The purity of the wisdom that is described in today’s first reading is imparted by the Holy Spirit. Many people are not aware that the Holy Spirit existed before the time of Christ and was experienced by many people in the Old Testament. The Spirit of God was not called the Holy Spirit until the time of Christ though. The book of Wisdom was written one hundred years before Jesus was born and the Holy Spirit most definitely inspired the author of this book. It is the inspired writings of God. However, the Protestant bible does not include this book in their bible.
Wisdom is real and so is love even if we can’t touch them. The Kingdom of God is among us because love lives within us, and when we share our love with one another then the Kingdom of God is manifested on earth. When we die, it will just be a continuation of what we are already experiencing. Death is simply a door we walk through. Our relationships with one another and with God will be eternal and we are already experiencing this right now. Eternal life is a continuation of the life we are already living.
Jesus doesn’t want us to be too concerned about death, or the end times, the end of the world, or when he is going to return though. In today’s gospel Christ said, “For just as lightening flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day.” If you remember, there was an eclipse of the sun at the moment of Christ’s death. The centurion who was present when Christ died realized that Jesus was truly the son of God when he witnessed the eclipse of the sun.
It is fitting that Jesus will return to us surrounded in light so strong that it will light up the entire sky. There will be no doubt about who he is on that day either.
Something to think about today’s readings might be to realize that everything that we see and touch in the material world will not last into eternity. The things that are truly of lasting value, lie hidden. Our world is so focused on looks and the outward appearance of things, that are of no lasting value in the long run. Even the most beautiful person in the world will one day die and what matters then is the beauty that a person carries inside of them, and that’s something that all of us need to work on a little more, especially in our family relationships. Whatever separates us from being as close as we should be to our family members is beside the point in the bigger picture of the Kingdom of God. We should give a little more thought to building up the Kingdom of God is among us, than the material things that so many people spend their lives pursuing.
Daily Mass Readings:
Wis 7:22b-8:1 / Ps 119:89, 90, 91, 130, 135, 175 / Lk 17:20-25
