Albert Einstein, the scientist who gave us the Theory of Relativity, was once asked, “What is the most important question?” His answer was, “Is the universe a friendly place or not?”
Since I heard that quote years ago, I have thought about it much. I don’t know if it is THE most important question, but it is ONE very important question. Our bodies, our minds, our souls work differently, depending on whether our internal chemistry is the chemistry of adrenaline and other stress hormones or the chemistry of wisdom and peace.
If I am working with a couple or family who is having trouble, the first thing I must do is create enough safety that people can believe there is goodness in both self and other. Without a sense of perceived goodness, we human beings judge, protect, and move into “survival of the fittest.”
Those are not the ways of wisdom or of love.
The Book of Wisdom
The first readings all this week come from the book of Wisdom. While the book of Wisdom is named the Wisdom of Solomon, it was written in Greek long after Solomon’s death, no earlier than 200 BC. It is one of the books removed from their Bible by Protestants during the Reformation. The author was a well-educated Jew living in the Nile delta region of Egypt. He was familiar with both Jewish and Greek culture. Both cultures valued wisdom, and the book speaks to both cultures. You might say that the book of Wisdom was the Amazon synod or Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire of its day—it sought to express the voice of God in a way that spoke in the context of the culture of its readers, who were Hellenist Jews.
Today’s Reading
Today’s reading is the beginning of the book of Wisdom. The book begins with a description of what wisdom is. The poetry of it is beautiful:
Love justice, you who judge the earth;
think of the Lord in goodness,
and seek him in integrity of heart;
Because he is found by those who test him not,
and he manifests himself to those who do not disbelieve him.
For perverse counsels separate a man from God,
and his power, put to the proof, rebukes the foolhardy;
Because into a soul that plots evil, wisdom enters not,
nor dwells she in a body under debt of sin.
For the holy Spirit of discipline flees deceit
and withdraws from senseless counsels;
and when injustice occurs it is rebuked.
For wisdom is a kindly spirit,
yet she acquits not the blasphemer of his guilty lips;
Because God is the witness of his inmost self
and the sure observer of his heart
and the listener to his tongue.
For the Spirit of the Lord fills the world,
is all-embracing, and knows what man says.
(Wisdom 1:1-7, NAB from USCCB website)
What Is Wisdom?
Today’s reading gives these characteristics of wisdom: making decisions from a sense of justice, seeing God as good, integrity of heart (a sense of alignment between what we say, think, feel, and do), careful rather than foolhardy, free from evil or evil plotting, disciplined, able to identify and reject foolish advice, standing against injustice—yet also kind, merciful, and gentle in speech.
Somewhere I was taught that the Holy Spirit gift of Wisdom is the ability to see things like God sees them. That actually seems a good summary of today’s reading.
The catechism doesn’t have a section on wisdom, yet the concept permeates what we as Catholics believe about God, ourselves, and the world: God’s truth is wisdom (216). God’s wisdom determined Christ should be crucified as a way to overcome evil (272). Because God creates out of wisdom, his creation is ordered (299). God’s wisdom creates each creature, each person with inherent goodness (339). Man participates in the wisdom and goodness of the Creator who gives him mastery over his acts and the ability to govern himself with a view for the true and the good (1954). Moral law is the work of divine Wisdom (1950). God’s wisdom can also be communicated through nature, beauty, and sacred art (2500). Supernatural wisdom is a gift of the Holy Spirit (1831) [All numbers from the Catechism of the Catholic Church].
Einstein, Wisdom, and Me
Is the universe a friendly place or not? Is God with us or not? Is God good or not? Does God really pay attention to me? So often I do not feel wise…yet, I can see goodness around me. I can live in the glory of God by seeking to see the goodness around me and within me…while also remembering God’s universe is ordered, there is moral law, and I am called to participate today in the wisdom and goodness of God.
Today’s psalm is one of my favorites, Psalm 139.
O LORD, you have probed me and you know me;
you know when I sit and when I stand;
you understand my thoughts from afar….
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know the whole of it.
Behind me and before me, you hem me in
and rest your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
too lofty for me to attain.
That psalm makes God’s wisdom and God’s wisdom in me personal. It reminds me that God is good, God IS the standard for goodness—and that God knows me. God sees me. And God “hems me in and rests his hand upon me.” THAT is very, very comforting to me. I want God to hem me in—because he knows me. I can trust him to lead me on the right paths.
Today in the Gospel I hear Jesus give me more wisdom: Occasions for sin happen, but don’t be the cause! Correct others….and forgive them. Even a little faith can lead and guide me.
That’s a LOT to feed me today! I hope it feeds you, too.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for wisdom…in the world, in goodness, in YOU. You do know me. You see my inmost thoughts. You see how messy they are some days. Where can I go from your spirit? Lord, don’t let me go anywhere. Let your hand guide me and hold me fast. I do trust your goodness. Let it always be the light by which I see. Be Thou my vision. Lead me, guide me, Lord.
