With the internet at our fingertips we have access to unlimited knowledge, but it doesn’t all add up to the gaining of wisdom. Today’s readings offer ideas on what constitutes a quality life. Walking in the way of the Lord is the answer. ‘Do it my way,’ Jesus assures us, ‘and you will find deep peace in your inmost being.’ There is true wisdom in that.
Wisdom 3:1-9
This reading comes from the Wisdom of Solomon (also known as the book of Wisdom). The author is unknown but all available evidence suggests that it was written in Greek by an Alexandrian Jew sometime between 100 BCE and 50 CE . His aim was to recount the role played by Wisdom in delivering Israel from its enemies over the centuries and then to exhort his Jewish community to keep faith with God through living out the values of Torah. His message is, people who live good lives according to Jewish Wisdom will live forever. Although he lived centuries after King Solomon the author takes on the persona of Solomon who was the great figure of wisdom in Hebrew tradition. This gives authenticity and a measure of gravitas to his writing.
It is sheer madness to refuse to walk in the way of the Lord
The sufferings of good people seem like punishment, but the writer assures us that overcoming difficulties in life is part of the process of discipline and the testing of faith. Those good people who overcome trials and hardships are heading for the reward of life. They are destined for immortality and the prize of enjoying the fulness of the reign of God. The writer compares the testing of good people to the purifying of gold by fire in a furnace. The finished product is a brilliant and precious specimen.
The wicked, however, have no hope for a future as long as they remain in their opposition to God. In the wisdom books of the Hebrew tradition opposition to God is called folly. It is sheer madness to refuse to walk in the way of the Lord
Psalm 23
This well-known psalm is a confession of the faithful pilgrim that the Lord is the only shepherd who guides the just and gives them authentic spiritual nourishment. The pastoral lyricism of this song emphasises the reliance of the sheep on the shepherd for safety, nourishment and ultimate rest and assurance.
One thing that commentators generally do not deal with is the comparison that could be made between human nature and the obstinacy of sheep who are prone to a measure of stupidity and panic. Israel’s prophets are known to have pointed out the obstinacy of their people in turning away from God at different times.
We might speculate that the psalm echoes the sentiments of the first reading where the singer looks forward to dwelling in the house of the Lord all his life.
Romans 5:5-11
Paul is clearly writing here out of his own experience. He is personally aware of the impact that God’s love has had on his life through the Holy Spirit. He has been buoyed up by the gift of the Spirit in so many tangible ways during his missionary journeys. It is quite likely that in referring to the Holy Spirit Paul is alluding to the founding event of the Christ movement at Pentecost.
But God’s gift (χαρις – grace) has become supremely demonstrated in the sacrifice of Christ for undeserving sinners. Paul points out that a person might be prepared to die for someone who was deserving – though he acknowledges this would be rare – but for someone to die for a no-hoper, well, that’s unlikely to ever happen. And yet Christ’s death proves the depth of divine love for us. Christ’s self-sacrifice also shows that as the crucified one he was the Messiah.
Our part is to sign on to living by the values of Jesus
Paul is clear that our union with God through Christ’s death was not a single once only event. Rather, the outpouring of divine love is an ongoing reality and we are privileged to share in it by virtue of our commitment to Christ. And hearkening back to the first reading we can appreciate that our part is to sign on to living by the values of Jesus and being a part of the community of the genuine ‘tryers’, trying to put our best foot forward in all that we do.
John 6:37-40
The context of this extract is that Jesus had just declared that he is the bread of life, using a metaphor drawn from the manna that the Israelites under Moses were given to eat. We know that the manna was survival food and Jesus is saying that what he has to offer is survival food for our life in the Spirit.
Bearing in mind that the Johannine Jewish Christians in the 90s of the first century were made unwelcome in the synagogues because of their beliefs in Jesus Christ, the writer is contrasting their being driven out of the synagogues with the assurance that Christ himself will never drive them away. Jesus is describing himself here as an agent sent by God to gather followers who want to be part of the reign of God. His followers might be rejected by their own people but there is no way Jesus would ever reject them. He is the source of their nourishment, growth and security. The shepherd metaphor fits in here. The shepherd looks after the sheep and they know him and he knows them intimately.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.
John 10:14
Faith in Jesus, his charisma and his wisdom, is impossible without God’s divine initiative and regard for us humans. But how we respond to this generosity is up to us. Genuine belief in Christ implies commitment to him and his formula for living a life in the Spirit.
The Jewish people have always held that the word of God and the Torah, their guide for living, came down from heaven. Second Isaiah uses the comparison with rain and snow that come from heaven to water the earth and enable vegetables and grain to provide food for humanity:
so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:11 (NRSV)
So, Jesus is the word that comes from heaven to be the food for our spiritual lives. Everything about Jesus, his words and his deeds is our guide for living.
Jesus and his message for quality living is our way to God
Just as the Torah came from God (as described in Exodus 19) to guide the Jewish people in their way to God so Jesus and his message for quality living is our way to God. The guarantee from Jesus is that whoever follows his way will never be lost.
A final thought, Jesus assures us that living his way will bring satisfaction and the contentment of inner peace. We all know his assuring words:
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Matthew 11:29-30 (NRSV)
In ancient times oxen were yoked in pairs to pull a plough and Jesus is inviting us to pair up with him and go forward together in partnership. In effect, he is saying, do it my way, that is, live by my standards and you will find deep peace in your inmost being. He is not saying that his way is not demanding but he is saying that it is not complicated with unnecessary burdens and regulations, like the way of the Pharisees. A sound relationship with him and our fellow human beings is not littered with scores of laws and controls. He has kept it simple. Jesus is not a control freak.
Cast your burden on the Lord
and he will sustain you;
he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 55:22
Whizzing around a sharp bend on a country road a motorist ran over a large dog. A distraught farmer’s wife ran over to the dead animal.
‘I’m so very sorry,’ said the driver, ‘I’ll replace him, of course.’
‘Well, I don’t know,’ said the farmer’s wife, ‘are you any good at catching rats?’
by Laurie Woods