Wisdom and Support

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to seek the gift of Wisdom to guide our choice of preparation and action as disciples of Christ in our environment.

The Gift of Wisdom

The reading from the Book of Sirach proclaims rewards of Wisdom.

* [4:11–19] The Hebrew text in vv. 15–19 presents wisdom speaking in the first person, as in chap. 24. The precious fruits of wisdom—life, favor, glory, blessings, God’s love—arouse desire for her (vv. 11–14). Her disciples are like ministers (v. 14) and judges (v. 15), whose descendants have her for their heritage (v. 16). They enjoy happiness and learn her secrets after surviving her tests (vv. 17–18). Those who fail her are abandoned to destruction (v. 19). (Sirach, CHAPTER 4 | 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, the disciples encounter another Exorcist.

* [9:38–41] Jesus warns against jealousy and intolerance toward others, such as exorcists who do not follow us. The saying in Mk 9:40 is a broad principle of the divine tolerance. Even the smallest courtesies shown to those who teach in Jesus’ name do not go unrewarded. (Mark, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB, n.d.)

Maureen McCann Waldron comments that throughout the New Testament, we can imagine Jesus shaking his head at his disciples who “get in wrong” missing the point of his stories and actions. We are all called to spread the good news Jesus brought. Jesus asked us to love one another and to spread his teachings by the example of our lives. 

I haven’t been asked to drive out demons. But can’t I work on my own demons of jealousy and envy?  Can I decide today to love my family better, to be kinder to the neighbor who always wants to talk too long?  To stop judging those who are different than me?

Loving Jesus, take my hand today as I try to follow your teachings more closely.  Help me to open my heart to those around me who are part of my life.  And especially let me see those on the margins who are not ‘inside my circle’ and too easy for me to pass by or ignore.  You gave me your example of how to live and love others.  Let me follow it today. (McCann, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “Encouraging good works done in Christ,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"We ought not be disturbed because some who do not belong or do not yet belong to this temple, that is, among whom God does not or does not yet dwell, perform some works of power, as happened to the one who cast out devils in the name of Christ (Mark 9:38, Luke 9:49). Although he was not a follower of Christ, Christ ordered that he be allowed to continue because it gave a valuable testimony of his name to many... The centurion Cornelius also saw the angel that was sent to him to say that his prayers had been heard and his alms accepted (Acts 10:3-4), even before he was incorporated into this temple by regeneration." (excerpt from LETTER 187, TO DARDANUS 36) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 9:38-40 comments that Jesus is not about exclusion. His kingdom is open to everyone equally. No one gets special access or receives special treatment. Quite the opposite, in fact. If anyone is the “greatest,” it’s the “one who serves” (Luke 22:27). It’s the one who welcomes little children (Mark 9:37) and who feeds the hungry, visits prisoners, and clothes the naked (Matthew 25:35-36). In other words, it’s the ones who strive to be like Jesus, who “did not come to be served but to serve” (20:28).

Jesus told his disciples, “Whoever is not against us is for us” (Mark 9:40). Anyone who works to liberate people—emotionally, spiritually, physically—is doing God’s work. The world is hurting too much for us to worry about who is and who is not part of our group. The only real question is whether we are joining Jesus in his work of salvation.

“Jesus, give me your heart of humility and love and service.” (Meditation on Mark 9:38-40, 2025)

Friar Jude Winkler comments that the Sirach passage is a continuation about Wisdom. She tests people to see if they are willing to surrender to God’s will. If we choose foolishness we suffer foolishness. If we are wise, we know and serve God. Jesus asserts that driving out demons is not a monopoly. Friar Jude reminds us if we see good we should celebrate not meditate on hidden motives or association. God works in many ways.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces scholar Wendy Farley who writes about the Rhineland mystic Mechthild of Magdeburg.

Mechthild uses royal imagery for God (empress, queen, or lord). But because she conceives of power as a form of love, she understands monarchical metaphors in a distinctive way. God’s majesty and omnipotence are qualities related to the divine desire for intimacy with humanity. For Mechthild, it is not sheer power that makes God divine. It is love. This play between love and power is evident in the preface of Mechthild’s book, where God claims authorship of the book. “I made [gemachet] it in my powerlessness [unmaht], for I cannot restrain myself as to my gifts.” [2] This is a paradoxical way of describing divine power. Even God is powerless to contain God…. God is powerless to stop giving gifts to humanity. Because the divine nature is love, to do so would require the unmaking of divinity itself.  

Theologians such as Augustine and [Martin] Luther struggle to understand how to reconcile love and justice or divine omnipotence and human agency. This is in part because they think of power as coercive or univocal agency. But for Mechthild, God’s desire for humanity is incompatible with sheer omnipotence, not because God has less power but because it is a different kind of power. God renounces power as “might,” in favor of love…. (Rohr, n.d.)

We contemplate the role of our membership and participation in groups in society and implore the Spirit for the Wisdom that retrains our openness to others and their needs.

References

Mark, CHAPTER 9 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/9?38 

McCann, M. (2025, February 26). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved February 26, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/022625.html 

Meditation on Mark 9:38-40. (2025, February 26). The Word Among Us. Retrieved February 26, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/02/26/1210968/ 

Psalms, PSALM 119 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/119?165  

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Mechthild of Magdeburg: God’s Power Is Love. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved February 26, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/mechthild-of-magdeburg-gods-power-is-love/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Any One Who Does a Mighty Work in My Name. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved February 26, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=feb26 

Sirach, CHAPTER 4 | USCCB. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved February 26, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/sirach/4? 

Truth and Division

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today illuminate our tendency to indifference in relation to the attending to the Will of God in our daily interactions with people and Nature.

The path of Truth

The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah declares abuses in Worship.

* [7:22] I gave them no command: right conduct rather than formal ritual was God’s will concerning his people (v. 23). (Jeremiah, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 95 is a Call to Worship and Obedience.

* [Psalm 95] Twice the Psalm calls the people to praise and worship God (Ps 95:1–2, 6), the king of all creatures (Ps 95:3–5) and shepherd of the flock (Ps 95:7a, 7b). The last strophe warns the people to be more faithful than were their ancestors in the journey to the promised land (Ps 95:7c–11). This invitation to praise God regularly opens the Church’s official prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours. (Psalms, PSALM 95 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Luke contrasts Jesus and Beelzebul.

* [11:19] Your own people: the Greek reads “your sons.” Other Jewish exorcists (see Acts 19:13–20), who recognize that the power of God is active in the exorcism, would themselves convict the accusers of Jesus. See also note on Mt 12:27.

* [11:22] One stronger: i.e., Jesus. Cf. Lk 3:16 where John the Baptist identifies Jesus as “mightier than I.” (Luke, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB, n.d.)

Edward Morse urges us to heed the instructions of the Psalmist; do not harden your hearts by quieting the voice that says, “return to course”.  God provides instructions for living in order to free us to live in dignity and to love as we ought, rather than leaving us enslaved to sin and our distorted passions, desires, and wills.

Jesus shows us that truth in today’s Gospel, where he heals a mute man.  The crowds were “amazed” when that man spoke.  Giving a voice to a silent person was indeed a wondrous thing – a gift to dignify him and restore him to a place of acceptance and wholeness.  Hallelujah!  But not all saw it that way.

Jesus also tells us “whoever does not gather with me scatters.”  Walking with Him may entail turning around and picking up what we have scattered along our path.  Let us ponder these things on our Lenten journey.  Thanks be to God. (Morse, 2024)

Don Schwager quotes “God's help for our complete conversion,” by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.

"When we transform our old life and give our spirit a new image, we find it very hard and tiring to turn back from the darkness of earthly passions to the serene calm of the divine light. We must ask God to help us that a complete conversion may be brought about in us." (excerpt from Commentary on Psalm 6,5) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 11:14-23 comments that Jesus longs to unite his people today as well. The evil one seeks to divide families and churches, and he does it by wielding weapons like gossip, envy, half-truths, and lies. But the kingdom of God is at hand! Jesus is always working for unity. And whenever we choose to love, he works through us. Where there is distrust, we can sow honesty. Where there is bitterness, we can sow mercy. Where there is division, we can be a force of forgiveness and understanding.

Today you will have opportunities to build God’s kingdom of love. Will you chime in to a gossipy office conversation or steer it in a better direction? Will you react angrily when you don’t understand a decision, or will you assume the best of intentions? Will you avoid a difficult person, or will you reach out with kindness?

It’s not easy; unity requires commitment, humility, and even greater measures of God’s grace. But take heart: the kingdom of heaven has come upon you!

“Lord, help me to love.” (Meditation on Luke 11:14-23, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler notes the theme of the passage from Jeremiah that God has spoken and the people have not listened. This passage is contemporary with Deuteronomy. Love and truthfulness (chesed and emet) are characteristics of God. The “Lord of the Flies” translation of Beelzebul arises from Baal and Zebul. Friar Jude reminds us of the Jewish teaching that we must make a choice between good and evil.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces author Debra Rienstra who considers the destructive role humanity has often played in relation to the earth.

If humans didn’t exist at all, life would continue on earth. Let’s not flatter ourselves: biologically speaking, the earth does not need us to tend and care for it. Life on earth existed for eons before we arrived. Have we made the earth better by our arrival? Theologians have long interpreted Genesis 1:26–28 [“be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it”] as God’s instruction to humans to unfold the potential of creation. Very well, but in our unfolding of potentials, we can also destroy, especially now that we have become so very fruitful and multiplied to so many billions. “Stewarding” and “caring” are only necessary because humans take things from the earth to survive. (Rohr, 2017)

Rienstra responds to Christians who do not take responsibility to care for the earth, believing “God will do something” to rescue us.

God allows people a great deal of freedom to do evil and ruinous things. Giving humans moral responsibility entails allowing us to act immorally and to suffer the consequences of our actions—or in the case of climate change, to let other people to suffer the consequences, at least at first. Do we really want to find out just how far God will let this go before God “does something”? Or could we instead perceive that God is indeed doing something, through the knowledge and work of people and through the self-healing powers built into the planet? The question for each of us is whether to resist or cooperate….

What can we give back through a pattern of reciprocity to a planet that gives us so much? What will make the more-than-human creation glad that we are here? [2] (Rohr, 2017)

When we decide not to hear the Wisdom and guidance that the Holy Spirit offers in the words and lives of contemporary Christians, exercising their Baptismal anointing as a prophet, we are rejecting the path to full life that Christ offers.

References

Jeremiah, CHAPTER 7 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/jeremiah/7?23 

Luke, CHAPTER 11 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/11? 

Meditation on Luke 11:14-23. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved March 7, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/03/07/908254/ 

Morse, E. (2024, March 7). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved March 7, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/030724.html 

Psalms, PSALM 95 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved March 7, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/95?1 

Rohr, R. (2017, November 9). A Pattern of Reciprocity. YouTube: Home. Retrieved March 7, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/a-pattern-of-reciprocity/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). God's Kingdom Has Come upon You. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved March 7, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=mar7 

Danger and Demons

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today challenge us to assess the conflicts with the “demons” in our lives and seek the reconciliation path offered by the Spirit.

Demons and Distractions

In the reading from the Second Book of Samuel, David Flees from Jerusalem and Shimei curses him.

Psalm 3 seeks trust in God under adversity.

* [Psalm 3] An individual lament complaining of enemies who deny that God will come to the rescue (Ps 3:2–3). Despite such taunts the psalmist hopes for God’s protection even in sleep (Ps 3:4–7). The Psalm prays for an end to the enemies’ power to speak maliciously (Ps 3:8) and closes peacefully with an expression of trust (Ps 3:9). (Psalms, PSALM 3 | USCCB, n.d.)

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac.

* [5:1] The territory of the Gerasenes: the reference is to pagan territory; cf. Is 65:1. Another reading is “Gadarenes”; see note on Mt 8:28.

* [5:2–6] The man was an outcast from society, dominated by unclean spirits (Mk 5:8, 13), living among the tombs. The prostration before Jesus (Mk 5:6) indicates Jesus’ power over evil spirits.

* [5:7] What have you to do with me?: cf. Mk 1:24 and see note on Jn 2:4.

* [5:9] Legion is my name: the demons were numerous and the condition of the possessed man was extremely serious; cf. Mt 12:45.

* [5:11] Herd of swine: see note on Mt 8:30.

* [5:19] Go home: Jesus did not accept the man’s request to remain with him as a disciple (Mk 5:18), yet invited him to announce to his own people what the Lord had done for him, i.e., proclaim the gospel message to his pagan family; cf. Mk 1:14, 39; 3:14; 13:10. (Mark, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB, n.d.)

Andy Alexander, S.J. comments that it can be wonderfully grace-filled and liberating to do an honest examination of the "demons" that trouble our lives and our relationships with others.

Lord, Jesus, I know your heart goes out to me in my struggles. I know you have authority over all the forces of evil. Please purify my heart by driving out the demons that compromise my peace, my joy, my freedom, my ability to love the way you have loved me. (Alexander, 2024)

Don Schwager quotes “The God-Man beheld,” by Gregory of Nazianzus (330 - 390 AD).

"Yes, he is recognized by demons (Luke 4:33-34, Mark 1:23-24), drives out demons (Matthew 8:16, Mark 1:34), drowns deep a legion of spirits (Matthew 8:32; Mark 5:9,13; Luke 8:30,33) and sees the prince of demons falling like lightning (Luke 10:18). He is stoned, yet not hit (John 8:59; 10:31,39); he prays yet he hears prayer (Matthew 8:13; Mark 1:35). He weeps (John 11:35), yet he puts an end to weeping (Luke 7:13; 8:522; 23:28). He asks where Lazarus is (John 11:34) - he was man; yet he raises Lazarus (John 11:43-44) - he was God." (excerpt from ORATION 29, ON THE SON 20) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Mark 5:1-20 comments that sometimes following Jesus means making a dramatic change—like when Jesus called Simon Peter, Andrew, James, and John to leave their careers as fishermen and travel with him. But sometimes following Jesus means staying right where you are and making a difference there.

Staying in the same place doesn’t always look exciting, but it can sometimes take more courage to do God’s work right where you are. Each of us has a different calling; no two will look the same. Jesus knew what was best for this former demoniac, and he knows what is best for you. If parts of your life—a job, family duties, a home—feel stuck, Jesus may be nudging you to make changes. But prayerfully consider a different perspective: maybe he wants you to be an agent of his love right where you are.

“Jesus, help me to grow in holiness and share your message no matter where I am.” (Meditation on Mark 5:1-20, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the attitude of David to the revolt of Absalom and the curse of Shimei as a punishment as a result of God’s curse on him, that he is willing to accept. The demoniac is possessed by evil spirits who, like the centurion at the foot of the Cross recognize the Son of God as truly present. Friar Jude reminds us that Mark describes a nature miracle, an exorcism, and a healing miracle that would indicate to the people that Jesus could do it all.

Brian McLaren and Gareth Higgins create a tale of the origin of seven stories ( The Seventh Story: Us, Them, and the End of Violence ) of how humans—The People—interact and live with one another.

They were destined to fail because they invited every human being, who is already interdependent with every other human being, and even with the earth itself, to pretend instead that we are in a competition.… The poet had a radical idea, the seed of a Seventh Story that will heal the world.… In the Seventh Story, the story of reconciliation, we still get to win, just not at anybody else’s expense. In the Seventh Story, human beings are not the protagonists of the world. Love is. (McLaren & Higgins, 2024)

We ponder the nature of the “Legion” of demons that distort our health and understanding of our God given mission to be agents of mercy, trust, and love in our environment.

References

Alexander, A. (2024, January 29). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/012924.html 

Mark, CHAPTER 5 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/mark/5? 

McLaren, B., & Higgins, G. (2024, January 29). The Stories That Don't Work — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/the-stories-that-dont-work/ 

Meditation on Mark 5:1-20. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://wau.org/meditations/2024/01/29/884755/ 

Psalms, PSALM 3 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/3?2 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). Tell Them How Much the Lord Has Done for You. Wikipedia. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2024&date=jan29 

2 Samuel, CHAPTER 15 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/2samuel/15