Frank was out to dinner with a few friends when an angel suddenly appeared before him and said, “I’ll grant you whichever of three wishes you choose: wisdom, beauty, or ten million dollars.” Without hesitation, Frank chose wisdom, and in a flash of light, he was immediately transformed before his friends’ eyes. But Frank just sat there staring at his pasta primavera, so one of his friends nudged him and said, “You have great wisdom. Say something!” Frank looked up, and with a sagely air replied, “I should have taken the money.” Somehow, I don’t think Frank got the same kind of wisdom that Solomon received from God in our first reading, because Frank displayed earthly wisdom, while God’s wisdom is infinite wisdom. Allow me to explain.
We all love Solomon. While far from
perfect, Solomon was the much-acclaimed King of the Israelites known for his
long, prosperous reign, but especially for his great wisdom. Solomon’s
practical, no-nonsense wisdom is the thing of legends – so much so that it’s
alluded to in literature, movies, and even a few jokes, like this one: Two
teens riding on a bus were fighting bitterly over the last available seat.
Another passenger tried to intervene, but to no avail, so the bus driver, who
was as wise as Solomon, shouted, “Let the ugly one take the seat!” The two
teens stood for the rest of their journey.
Why was Solomon so wise? Our first
reading tells us. Solomon’s wisdom was a gift from God, it was a share in God’s
infinite wisdom. Wisdom, of course, is one of the seven gifts of the Holy
Spirit, which means, believe it or not, that we’re all capable of the
same wisdom that Solomon had. Not everyone chooses to exercise that wisdom the
way Solomon did, though, which is why Scripture, in several places, contrasts
God’s wisdom with “the wisdom of this world.”
So what is wisdom? I think we can agree that wisdom is more than just knowledge.
Knowledge is an accumulation of information, but wisdom results from the interplay
of knowledge, experience, and good judgment. For example: knowledge is knowing
that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put a tomato in your fruit
salad. Wisdom has a broader lens; it allows us to see a bigger picture; it
gives us a sense of proportion; and it helps us make the right choices, especially
in the most difficult situations. From the Judeo-Christian perspective, the
gift of God’s infinite wisdom enables us to know God’s purpose and plan,[1]
and to enact it here on earth.
As I mentioned earlier, we’ve all received God’s gift of wisdom, but
it’s up to us to cultivate it and use it—wisely. How do we do cultivate it? I
think there are three essential steps: humility, curiosity, and reflection.
Let’s start with humility. “The first principle of biblical wisdom is that
people should humble themselves before God in reverence and worship, obedient
to His commands.”[2]
We have to accept that God knows everything, and we don’t. As the bard so
eloquently put it, “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows
himself to be a fool,”[3]
and in the words of our humble psalmist, “the revelation of your words sheds
light, giving understanding to the simple.” By humbly emptying ourselves of the
demands of our egos, we open ourselves to God; we listen for his voice, and we
enkindle a desire to learn God’s ways. And that leads us to the second step in
cultivating wisdom—curiosity.
Socrates once said that “wonder
is the beginning of wisdom.” Without curiosity, without that desire to grow in
knowledge and experience, we’ll never be wise. As my former gym teacher, Mr.
Rotella, used to say, “You gotta wanna.” To obtain wisdom, then, we need a
thirst for knowledge and experience, and we need to seek out opportunities to
learn more about God’s infinite wisdom. A great starting place, of course, is
Scripture. Take the example from our Gospel of the merchant searching for fine
pearls. He didn’t just stumble across the pearl of great price; he dedicated
his life to finding it. We should all have such dedication in our search for
God’s wisdom!
The Roman poet Horace had it right, though: “Wisdom is not wisdom when
it is derived from books alone.” We find God’s wisdom in everyday life as well.
Whether it’s in the patterns of nature, our own stories or the stories of the
people we encounter, our daily work, or even in our suffering, we can
find God’s infinite wisdom infused in every aspect of our lives. That’s the
point of the parable of the person who finds the treasure buried in the field.
Unlike the merchant, he didn’t go hunting for the treasure. He found it while
going about his daily business. We can, too, if we’re curious and willing to
put in the sweat equity to find that greatest treasure—God’s infinite wisdom.
Now that we’ve accumulated all of this knowledge and experience, what
do we do with it? We reflect upon it. The key to cultivating wisdom, in my
opinion, is taking the time to reflect upon all that we’ve learned, to discern
God’s movements in our lives as we acquire knowledge and experience, and to
consider how all of this learning leads us to God’s Kingdom. Wisdom requires
understanding, and understanding requires putting the pieces of our knowledge
and experience together, connecting the dots that lead us to God’s ways. Too many of us, myself included, jump to
respond quickly to the situations we face, and when we do that, we don’t always
respond wisely. Jesus’ question in our Gospel, “’Do you understand these
things?’ reinforces a point [also] made in the parable of the sower, namely,
that disciples must ponder and study his teachings until they see how to put
them into practice.”[4]
Putting them into practice is exactly why God shared his infinite wisdom with
us in the first place.
Wisdom is of no value to any of us if we don’t use it to build God’s
Kingdom here on earth. Sure, knowledge and experience can help us find
pleasure, wealth, and power, but those things come from earthly wisdom and do
nothing to make our world more just, more peaceful, or more loving. We can’t
waste our opportunities to us God’s wisdom wisely. Think about the 98-year-old
Mother Superior who was surrounded by her sisters on her death bed. They tried
to make her more comfortable by giving her some warm milk, but she refused it.
So one of the sisters added a generous amount of Irish whiskey to it, and held
it to Mother’s lips. Mother drank a little, then a little more, and before they
knew it, she drank the whole glass. As she began to fade, one of the sisters desperately
said, “Mother, before you die, please give us some wisdom.” Mother raised her
head and said, “Don’t sell that cow!” Earthly wisdom, yes, but God’s infinite wisdom?
I don’t think so. We need to use God’s wisdom to establish God’s Kingdom here
and now. We need to use God’s infinite wisdom wisely.
[1]
Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary.
[2]
Ronald F. Youngblood, ed., Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
(Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), 1316.
[3]
William Shakespeare, As You Like It, Act 5, scene 1.
[4]
Elizabeth M. Nagel, Elaine Park, and Mary Pat Healy, Workbook for Lectors,
Gospel Readers, and Proclaimers of the Word:2020, Year A (Chicago: Liturgy
Training Publications, 2019), 221.
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