Twentieth Sunday Ordinary Time (Cycle B)

The tie between today’s readings: Wisdom is for the humble

 Psalm 34: 2-7, Proverbs 9: 1-6, Ephesians 5: 15-20, John 6: 51-58

The first step in gaining wisdom is humility. The God who loves us has opened up “Wisdom House” (Proverbs 9:1-6) and advertises to the world to come and learn from Him…free lunch provided. Our problem is that each new technical breakthrough swells our pride. The faster we unlock the secrets of the universe the more we push the Almighty into a smaller and smaller corner of irrelevance. Who needs God? He is us. Yet, despite this, no one can seem to answer the big question: If we’re so smart, why can’t we live in peace with each other…or even with ourselves?  Political leaders, doctors, and philosophers offer their often diametrically opposed solutions to remedy our disintegrating existence, but to no avail. That’s because we have knowledge without wisdom. It is one thing to know that a tomato is a fruit, but we lack the sense to stop heaping it into our fruit salads.

 If you want to know what water is like, don’t ask the fish. (Chinese Proverb) 

Like the fish, we lack the objectivity to make judgments about life because we are so deeply entrenched in it. We can’t see the forest for the trees. Wisdom has to come from a higher objective perspective. It must be true, experienced, and universal. The good news is that it has to come already to those who give up their own self importance. For just as God is Love, He is Wisdom also. Ask and you shall receive.

Psalm 34:2-7 (NASB)

² My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
³ O magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ They looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will never be ashamed.
⁶ This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.

Our Gospel reading today, John 6:51-58, once again, illustrates the foolishness of man balking at the wisdom of God: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.” Drilling down to the core of the issue we note that, with sacrifices, each penitent person would eat part of their offering as a way to be identified with it. To eat and drink the flesh and blood of Jesus is to intimately participate in Christ’s sacrifice. You can’t have an arm’s length Eucharist.  You need to see yourself spiritually fused on the cross with Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away YOUR sins. My flesh, My blood, given for you. The Bible also says to present your body as a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). In effect, responding back to God, “This is my body, my life, which I give up to you in return.”  

This communion unites you into a whole different and wonderful body: the Church. In the power of the Holy Spirit we serve one another in Christ community of believers (Eph5: 15-20). Our Lord also mandates us to go out to the whole world as Jesus’ body to love even our enemies. In this we appeal to our fellow man to be reconciled to God and eat of the Bread of Life for themselves.  

So Christ, the Wisdom of God, answers our deepest problems of existence, co-existence, and beyond. The Lord gave you this big box when you were born. It has many marvelous and curious pieces in it. They all join together into a grand puzzle called “Eternal Life”. If you’re having trouble fitting the parts together forget asking the other fish swimming around. They don’t know anymore than you do. Go to the Master. Pray. Read His manual, the Bible. Seek the Lord. He will help you. Don’t go it alone. Be humble. Be wise. Life awaits.