Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.
Sell what you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven.
How do Wisdom and riches and purity relate? This Sunday’s readings give us a chance to see how, because all of them are part of the Kingdom of God.
The book of Wisdom (Chap. 7), is more than a serenade. It is a poem of praise that invites my personal response more urgently than any song or campaign speech I have ever heard. Notice the strength of the verbs in these verses as you read it over again: prayed, given, pleaded, came, preferred, deemed, liken, loved, chose, yields, came. It is a poetic “call and response” that speaks to my heart. I have to spend time with it, alone, and let it steep, and seep into my deepest part.
There are riches in Wisdom, the vast treasury of Almighty God, and they are closer to me than my own fingertips. How much do I reach out for them? And set other things of lesser value aside? Can I make His will my one “bottom line” priority? Isn’t there really only one priority for a Christian after all? Mary chose the better part and she gained it from Him (Luke Chap. 10). What is “the better part” that Jesus wants for me? What is my treasure now?
The readings today speak about a kind of purity, eliminating all the things I cling to and focusing on essentials far beyond. Gazing outward, I know that at times the Holy Spirit will lead me to step out into the current, letting go of the raft of my possessions or whatever gives me security, and reach out to the eternal shore. The wisdom in this is that I will lose nothing that matters and gain all that does. Each one of us who does this will gain. Our dependence on God will increase.
This wonderful freedom isn’t only about material things. I can be more pure and free spiritually if I “let go and let God” take care of some of the many invisible things that preoccupy me and clutter my life. Wisdom tells us that God will provide when I ask. “I prayed, and prudence was given me.”
Wisdom comes through people very close to us, too. Around the time my dad converted to Catholicism (at age 68!), the big old mill building in Baltic caught fire and burned down. Astonished and helpless,from the fourth floor of our Motherhouse, I took photos as the flames raced along and devoured the huge building. Dad had taught history for many years so I thought he would be sorrowful about a landmark lost. Instead, when I called to tell him, he gave a simple and wise response, “It’s only a temporal thing.”
Temporal things are necessary for life, however, and we show how pure our love for God is by how we use them. As we pray and sacrifice for the many victims of recent natural disasters, we ask God to bless the recovery efforts. “Prosper the work of our hands for us! Prosper the work of our hands! (Psalm 90)” We invite Our Lord and His holy angels into the human efforts, to help them repair and replace the material things that our neighbors in distress need.
Some may have heard God’s call like the rich young man and turned away. or … like St. Peter (Mark Chap. 10) have “given up” all that they hold dear “house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands” for Jesus’ sake and for the sake of the Gospel. God sees all. They will receive a hundred times more; Jesus’ word is unfailing. Let our wise Lord number our good deeds for us, as we turn more surely toward Him. “No creature [and no good deed] is concealed from him….to whom we must render an account (Hebrews Chap. 4)” That is good news for us.
What is eternal Wisdom calling me to do with my riches as I surrender them to Him? We thank you once again for the help you faithfully help us to give to others in need. Have a blessed week!
and then