Wisdom and Compassion

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to go beyond contemplation of our mission to accepting interruption of our plan by the Spirit to act for the good of others.

Wisdom for Action

The reading from the First Book of Kings presents the early promise of Solomon’s Reign in seeking a wise and discerning mind.

* [3:1–15] The third major unit of the Solomon story depicts the bright beginning of his reign. It includes the narrator’s remarks about Solomon’s marriage and his building projects, and a divine appearance to Solomon. Compare 11:1–13, where the same themes recur, but in negative fashion. The story of the divine appearance is told also in 2 Chr 1:1–13. (1 Kings, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 119 praises the Glories of God’s Law.

* [Psalm 119] This Psalm, the longest by far in the Psalter, praises God for giving such splendid laws and instruction for people to live by. The author glorifies and thanks God for the Torah, prays for protection from sinners enraged by others’ fidelity to the law, laments the cost of obedience, delights in the law’s consolations, begs for wisdom to understand the precepts, and asks for the rewards of keeping them. (Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB, n.d.)

 

In the Gospel of Mark, after the return of the Twelve, Jesus feeds the Five Thousand.

* [6:30] Apostles: here, and in some manuscripts at Mk 3:14, Mark calls apostles (i.e., those sent forth) the Twelve whom Jesus sends as his emissaries, empowering them to preach, to expel demons, and to cure the sick (Mk 6:13). Only after Pentecost is the title used in the technical sense.

* [6:31–34] The withdrawal of Jesus with his disciples to a desert place to rest attracts a great number of people to follow them. Toward this people of the new exodus Jesus is moved with pity; he satisfies their spiritual hunger by teaching them many things, thus gradually showing himself the faithful shepherd of a new Israel; cf. Nm 27:17; Ez 34:15. (Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB, n.d.)

Barbara Dilly (2016) comments that the Solomon story is less about how to gain God’s favor than it is about how we are to interact with God’s goodness to us.  The first thing Solomon said to God was that he had already received much.

I think that before we ask God for anything, we should take stock of all the blessings we have already received.  That will better help us see what else we need.  There is a common practice in Christian spirituality retreats of asking participants to take a blessing inventory.  What God has already given us helps us see what God expects us to do with our blessings.  But all of us need help in further spiritual development to direct our blessings toward their best use.  We need help in discerning and developing our gifts more purposefully and effectively.  We need to have those regular conversations with God in our prayer life.  So, rather than what do we want, our question should become what do we need in order to do what God wants us to do? (Dilly, n.d.)

Don Schwager quotes “The good shepherd feeds us with the words of God,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"The pastures that this good shepherd has prepared for you, in which he has settled you for you to take your fill, are not various kinds of grasses and green things, among which some are sweet to the taste, some extremely bitter, which as the seasons succeed one another are sometimes there and sometimes not. Your pastures are the words of God and his commandments, and they have all been sown as sweet grasses. These pastures had been tasted by that man who said to God, 'How sweet are your words to my palate, more so than honey and the honeycomb in my mouth!' (Psalm 119:103)."(excerpt from Sermon 366.3) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 6:30-34 comments that when we are faced with an overwhelming challenge, it can be easy to focus on fixing things right away. But remember Solomon! His first reaction was to turn to God. He was humble enough to know he needed guidance from the Lord. Remember Jesus as well! His flexible, open heart enabled him to hear his Father’s will and switch his plans quickly. As a result, not only was he able to minister to the huge crowd, but he also had the opportunity to perform one of his greatest miracles: the multiplication of the loaves and fish (Mark 6:34-44).

Both readings today show that God’s wisdom is not a book, a philosophy, or a management style. It’s a Person, Jesus himself. He sees the “crowds” in your life, and his heart is always filled with compassion for you. He knows the challenges you’re facing, and he is always ready to help you and guide you.

“Jesus, teach me your wisdom—the wisdom filled with understanding and love.” (Meditation on Mark 6:30-34, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the request of Solomon for Wisdom as he encounters God in his sleep at the shine in Gibeon. In contrast to Solomon’s fame for Wisdom, he turned in some ways from the Lord. Friar Jude notes that people desperate for a shepherd interrupt Jesus gathering with the Apostles in a deserted place.

Brian McLaren and Carmen Acevedo Butcher offer this meditation. Brian McLaren comments that we all know that there are many other stories at work in the world, stories that are wounding people, stories that maybe wounded each of us. Let’s realize that we can be tempted to respond to those stories that wound in a way that continues that [wounding] story. For a few moments, let’s hold in our heart a prayer, a request, a plea for help, that our lives would not be sucked into the stories that wound, but that we would live on a steady course of a story that heals.

McLaren: May I live in the story of peace, whose hero is love. May that story live in me.

Butcher: May the story of God’s peace bring healing to us and to the world.

McLaren: And may the story of God’s love bring healing to us and to the world. Amen. (McLaren & Butcher, 2024)

When we seek wisdom to move forward on our journey, we should be prepared to experience that wisdom in the acts of love and compassion that we practice in our environment.

References

Dilly, B. (n.d.). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved February 3, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/020324.html 

Mark, CHAPTER 6 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 3, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/6? 

McLaren, B., & Butcher, C. A. (2024, February 3). The Seven Stories: Part One: Weekly Summary — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 3, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-seven-stories-part-one-weekly-summary/ 

Meditation on Mark 6:30-34. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved February 3, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/02/03/888006/ 

1 Kings, CHAPTER 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 3, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1kings/3?4 

Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved February 3, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/119? 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 3, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=feb3 

Pruned for Full Life

 

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today invite reflection on pruning that has been part of our journey.

Ready to prune?

 

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles gives background to the Council at Jerusalem.

 

* [15:1–5] When some of the converted Pharisees of Jerusalem discover the results of the first missionary journey of Paul, they urge that the Gentiles be taught to follow the Mosaic law. Recognizing the authority of the Jerusalem church, Paul and Barnabas go there to settle the question of whether Gentiles can embrace a form of Christianity that does not include this obligation.1

Psalm 122 is a song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem.

 

* [Psalm 122] A song of Zion, sung by pilgrims obeying the law to visit Jerusalem three times on a journey. The singer anticipates joining the procession into the city (Ps 122:1–3). Jerusalem is a place of encounter, where the people praise God (Ps 122:4) and hear the divine justice mediated by the king (Ps 122:5). The very buildings bespeak God’s power (cf. Ps 48:13–15). May the grace of this place transform the people’s lives (Ps 122:6–9)!2

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is the True Vine.

 

* [15:1–17] Like Jn 10:1–5, this passage resembles a parable. Israel is spoken of as a vineyard at Is 5:1–7; Mt 21:33–46 and as a vine at Ps 80:9–17; Jer 2:21; Ez 15:2; 17:5–10; 19:10; Hos 10:1. The identification of the vine as the Son of Man in Ps 80:15 and Wisdom’s description of herself as a vine in Sir 24:17 are further background for portrayal of Jesus by this figure. There may be secondary eucharistic symbolism here; cf. Mk 14:25, “the fruit of the vine.”3

Joan Blandin Howard asks herself, how was God/Spirit with her, abiding in her, as she sat in vigil with her beloved tree being taken down.

 Gradually, I did experience a glimmer of gratitude for the numerous gifts over decades that tree had given.  I sat with this, savoring it and very gradually experienced a sort of joy. There is more here to savor.  Ask yourself, when and how have I experienced God/Jesus/Spirit abiding in me in a tragic moment – maybe sometime during this year off COVID? Take your time sitting with Spirit.  Where is God’s lifegiving fruit of joy in my life?  Difficult questions in hard times.  In love the answer, the comfort, the joy will come.4

Don Schwager quotes “Cleansed by Jesus' word,” by Basil the Great, 329-379 A.D.

 "So the world - life enslaved by carnal passions - can no more receive the grace of the Spirit than a weak eye can look at the light of a sunbeam. First the Lord cleansed his disciples' lives through his teaching, and then he gave them the ability to both see and contemplate the Spirit. He says, 'You are already made clean by the word I have spoken to you' (John 15:3). Therefore 'the world cannot receive him, because it neither sees him nor knows him... You know him, for he dwells with you' (John 14:17). Isaiah says, 'He who settled the earth and the things in it; and gives breath to the people on it, and Spirit to them that tread on it' (Isaiah 42:5). From this we can learn that those who trample earthly things and rise above them become worthy to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." (excerpt from ON THE HOLY SPIRIT 22.53)5

The Word Among Us Meditation on John 15:1-8 notes Jesus has said he is the true vine.

 

The more we acknowledge him as our source of life, remain in him, and ask him to remove obstacles to his grace in us, the more like him we will become. We will bear good and lasting fruit! “Jesus, help me to remain in you as a branch in a vine. I want to bear fruit for your kingdom!”6

Friar Jude Winkler explains the controversy about how to treat Gentile Christians. The meeting in Jerusalem practiced discernment. Friar Jude is reminded of the Eucharistic references in the Gospel of John.

 

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, shares the thoughts of Sherri Mitchell, Attorney and activist from the Penobscot Nation and Kaitlin Curtice, a member of the Potawatomi Nation on trauma and healing.

 The collective and intergenerational trauma that Sherri Mitchell describes manifests in individual bodies and requires healing on multiple levels. Kaitlin Curtice, a dear personal friend and member of the Potawatomi Nation, shares: I am someone who journeys with trauma. The next step after naming my trauma—the trauma of assimilation, the trauma of being an Indigenous woman who grew up in the Baptist church, the trauma of a broken family, the trauma of struggling with anxiety, and more—was to learn how to live with the reality of those traumas, because once we name something out loud, it becomes true in a way it wasn’t before. My journey with trauma includes learning to love myself in a more embodied way, continuing therapy, and actually stepping out of toxic church spaces and institutions into a fuller journey with the Christian faith that accepts me as I am.7

Trust the nudges of the Spirit as we accept pruning to enhance our capacity for love and compassion.

 

References

1	(n.d.). Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. Retrieved May 5, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/15
2	(n.d.). Psalms, PSALM 122 | USCCB. Retrieved May 5, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/122
3	(n.d.). John, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. Retrieved May 5, 2021, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/15
4	(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections - Online Ministries - Creighton University. Retrieved May 5, 2021, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/050521.html
5	(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved May 5, 2021, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/
6	(2021, May 4). 5th Week of Easter - The Word Among Us. Retrieved May 5, 2021, from https://wau.org/meditations/2021/05/04/188825/
7	(2021, May 2). Trauma and Healing Archives — Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved May 5, 2021, from https://cac.org/themes/trauma-and-healing/