8th Sunday after Pentecost 15.7.18 Wisdom
Our Lord praises the astuteness of the steward, not because
of his shady business practices, but for the way he used his brain.
Evildoers can be smart (and the devil certainly is) but their
smartness is an abuse of the great gift of intelligence.
God has endowed us with the ability to think, to reason, to
decide things; to be able to appreciate His wonders – something non-rational
creatures are unable to do.
In giving us this gift He is expecting us to rise to the
occasion and use that gift of being able to think to the fullest possible
degree.
We let His wisdom act on us, the wisdom of the Holy Spirit,
to fill our minds with light so that all we think, say, or do will be also
wise.
We must be as smart as the evildoers and smarter still. The
very fact of choosing goodness over evil is itself a major step.
There are various ways in which we can use our minds wisely:
1) We can grow in our understanding of the Faith. All the
various things we have learned over the years, we can grow in understanding
them, and how they all fit together.
The more we know the more likely we are to hold on to our
faith. Knowledge is important - it can be obtained, and retained, so that we do
not just rely on our feelings which, as we know, are very unreliable.
Our faith should go up, and never down.
2) We can train our minds to keep
the essential things in view: matters of salvation and eternal life. Set your minds on things above, not on
earthly things. Col 3,3)
We do not forget what we started out to do. We do not allow
ourselves to be side-tracked or distracted. We press on to our true home (Ph
3,20).
3) Wisdom tells us who are our friends and who our enemies.
This is not always obvious to the casual observer.
Our world is filled with words, with arguments, points of
view. Who is right? We can work it out, when to agree and when to disagree.
There is a truth underneath all that argument; we can discern it. The word of God shines forth for those who
seek it.
4) With wisdom we can be strengthened to cope with adversity
of any kind, and not let sudden shocks damage our faith. We are the houses built on rock (Mt 7,24-27). We
stand our ground, not being swept along by popular opinion.
We are to be as wise
as serpents and as innocent as doves (Mt 10,16); able to see and resist the
opposing cunning of the devil and his ministers.
5) While knowledge is important we avoid becoming too
rational to the point of losing the need for practical and charitable action.
Not too much theory, but enough to move us to action, and it will be the right
action.
6) Wisdom does not require that we have to be intellectuals.
Some are called to more academic pursuits, but anyone, no matter of what degree
of education can respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Everyone can have at least a basic workable knowledge of the
Faith, and, with humility can grasp what to do or say in situations as they
arise.
The more humble we are the better. Then we are receptive to
higher wisdom, instead of just going off on a tangent.
May the Holy Spirit continue to fill us with wisdom,
knowledge, understanding and counsel. May we glorify God with our minds as with
all else we possess.
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