Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'A'

Saturday February 12, 2011

Making Practical the Ancient Wisdom

Life was a lot simpler when I was a child. Rules were clear but when doubts arose, clarifications were issued and conflicts resolved without dispute. As my mom would say, “Pay attention to the rules and regulations, and all will be well.” On the other hand, there were not a few arguments over the whys or wherefores of particular house rules. The rebellious cries of an infant signals an early will to power in the human gnome. However, wisdom prevails in seasoned and patient parents who are able to reason with children and over time enable them to understand appreciate the need for household protocols. In the end they not only prevent chaos but they also build character. Good parents are more teachers and mentors than disciplinarians. Of course, children learn more by what their elders do than by what they say. Laxity leads to chaos; rigidity breeds rebellion. Balance is everything.

As children grow in age and rage – er, I mean, grace and wisdom, wise parents make certain to include them in discussions leading to decisions that impact on their individual wellbeing and on the common good of the family. As they reach maturity, their input can lead to decisions that work for everyone or at least, they learn the art of dialogue and the give and take that promote healthy compromise.

The goal of healthy relationships in a household is the ability to interact with others in society in a productive manner that contributes to both the common good and to the wellbeing of individuals.

I’m projecting the ideal, to be sure, but an ideal well worth pursuing particularly in these times when so many forces outside the household compete for the attention not only of the young but of all the members of a maturing family in the pursuit of survival, no, not just of survival but of fulfillment and happiness.

I’d love to boast that I grew up in such an accommodating climate but alas, I as many of you faced many obstacles due not only to human weakness but also to what I would call the spirit of the age—the war years, the depression, illness, to name only a few. Barriers existed then and for most households they are greater today. But I was blessed to have grown up in a mixed family and a neighborhood of mixed cultures, many nationalities and a variety of religious traditions but there were no exclusions at Grandma Lasch’s table.

As I mentioned earlier, one of the outcomes of healthy family living is the ability to make mature decisions—healthy and loving choices—the ability to think through the issues that face us as individuals and as a society. Data based decisions are more effective than power based decisions. What do I mean by this? In essence, it means that I am willing to do the homework necessary to inform myself about the issue facing me. Depending on the impact of the issue, this entails a great deal of research. There is hard data and soft data. Hard data is concrete, objective and do not necessarily demand a lot of proof. Soft data exists at the level of opinion – it’s how I feel about something or someone.

Power based decisions, on the other hand, are based solely on authority. Such decisions are not always and everywhere bad. When the ship is sinking or the building is burning down, we don’t conduct a comprehensive study about the structure of the building or on the depth of the ocean. However, as someone stated, power tends to corrupt and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. We need not look beyond the evening news for a current example.

The Book of Sirach belongs to the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. Written by the philosopher and teacher Judah ben Sira two or possibly three centuries before Christ, it was intended to demonstrate the practical wisdom rooted in the Torah and in the ancient Jewish traditions that could be depended upon as the source of conscientious living.

Sira made it clear that the responsibility for right living rests on us and that God cannot be blamed for the evil and injustice that exist in the world. In other words, we have free will, but when we get into the rhythm of God thinking and recognize the living Spirit that abides in the great traditions, we are able to make wise and loving choices for life, not for death.

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians builds on the wisdom of Sira as he confronts the philosophy of the ‘know-it-alls’ of his age, the Gnostics who believed that in the light of the Jesus’ resurrection, they had an in with God and didn’t have to do their homework. For true believers, the deeper meaning of the resurrection of Jesus lay in his challenge to love unconditionally, even in the face of death. God did not will his death but his faithfulness to life. He was too good to be true and so they crucified him as common criminal. For the faithful disciple there are no cheap graces.

Matthew makes explicit the ancient wisdom of the Torah but his interpretation of the ancient law is more demanding and at odds with the teaching of the Scribes and Pharisees. In other words, to keep the law, one must go beyond the law. In effect, when we live the spirit of the law, the law need not apply because we will have achieved the purpose of the law and the intention of the lawgiver. Think first of others and you will eventually have your own needs met, guaranteed.

The Church is meant to be a wisdom community that enables us to live the wisdom of God but we are not exempt from the responsibility to form our individual consciences so that the human frailty that even afflicts the Church from time to time will not block our lifeline with voice of God that speaks the loudest in the human heart.

In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul puts it this way:
Sisters and brothers,
we beg you,
respect those who guide you in the Lord;
Remain at peace with one another.
See that no one returns evil to any other;
always seek one another’s good
and, for that matter, the good of all.
Rejoice always,
never cease praying,
render constant thanks;
such is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Do not stifle the Spirit.
Do not despise prophecies.
Test everything;
retain what is good.
Avoid any semblance of evil.
May the God of peace make you perfect in holiness.
May he preserve you whole and entire,
spirit, soul and body.
He who calls us is trustworthy.
Sisters and brothers pray for us too.
Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy embrace.

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