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| “Allegory of Wisdom” Orazio Samacchini, 1550’s |
Reading 1: Wisdom
7:7-11
I prayed, and prudence was
given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of
wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter
and throne,
and deemed riches nothing in
comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless
gem to her;
because all gold, in view of
her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to
be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness
I loved her,
and I chose to have her rather
than the light,
because the splendor of her
never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together
came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her
hands.
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Commentary on Wis 7:7-11
This selection from the Book
of Wisdom is part of Solomon’s Speech. Here he recalls that he “prayed” for Wisdom (see also 1
Kings 3:6-9 and 2 Chronicles 1:8-10) ,
and it was given, a great prize valued above his riches. Wisdom, prays Solomon,
is cherished in analogy as a beautiful woman who brings him riches beyond any
other.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm
90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
R. (14) Fill us with your love, O Lord, and we will
sing for joy!
Teach us to number our days
aright,
that we may gain wisdom of
heart.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have pity on your servants!
R. Fill us with your love,
O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Fill us at daybreak with your
kindness,
that we may shout for joy and
gladness all our days.
Make us glad, for the days
when you afflicted us,
for the years when we saw
evil.
R. Fill us with your love,
O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
Let your work be seen by your
servants
and your glory by their
children;
and may the gracious care of
the LORD our God be ours;
prosper the work of our hands
for us!
Prosper the work of our
hands!
R. Fill us with your love,
O Lord, and we will sing for joy!
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Commentary on Ps 90:12-13, 14-15,
16-17
The psalm in its entirety is a communal lament. The strophes in this
selection reflect on the mortality of humanity and the brevity of human life.
(It is also an example of the human understanding that God’s immortal view of
time is not like ours.) The selection concludes with the petition that the Lord
will strengthen their own efforts (prosper the works of our hands – cause the crops to have a good yield and their
goods to fetch fair return).
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Reading II: Hebrews
4:12-13
Brothers and sisters:
Indeed the word of God is
living and effective,
sharper than any two-edged
sword,
penetrating even between soul
and spirit, joints and marrow,
and able to discern
reflections and thoughts of the heart.
No creature is concealed from
him,
but everything is naked and
exposed to the eyes of him
to whom we must render an
account.
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Commentary on Heb 4:12-13
The author of Hebrews
addresses the “living” word of God, the Logos. It is, says the author, unambiguous striking
at the heart of faith, directing all and judging all by its statues. All creation is within its jurisdiction all
will be placed against that same bar of justice on the last day.
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Gospel
Longer Form: Mark
10:17-30
As Jesus was setting out on a
journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and
asked him,
"Good teacher, what must
I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why
do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments:
You shall not kill;
you shall not commit
adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false
witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your
mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I
have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved
him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one
thing.
Go, sell what you have, and
give to the poor
and you will have treasure in
heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face
fell,
and he went away sad, for he
had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said
to his disciples,
"How hard it is for
those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God
The disciples were amazed at
his words.
So Jesus again said to them
in reply,
"Children, how hard it
is to enter the kingdom
of God
It is easier for a camel to
pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to
enter the kingdom
of God
They were exceedingly
astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be
saved?"
Jesus looked at them and
said,
"For human beings it is
impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for
God."
Peter began to say to him,
"We have given up
everything and followed you."
Jesus said, "Amen, I say
to you,
there is no one who has given
up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or
children or lands
for my sake and for the sake
of the gospel
who will not receive a
hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and
sisters
and mothers and children and
lands,
with persecutions, and
eternal life in the age to come."
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Commentary on Mk 10:17-30
The story of the rich young man presented today in St. Mark’s Gospel is an
ideal teaching moment for Christ. After he has heard that the young man has
carefully followed Mosaic Law (summarized in the Decalogue the Lord mentions),
Jesus tells the young man he has only one more step to take. Selling all he has
and giving the proceeds to the poor is too much for the rich young man who
leaves downcast.
Jesus uses this example to emphasize first that love of God must come first
and before possessions, before the accumulation of wealth. Those listening were
also down hearted and say “Then
who can be saved?”
Jesus then makes his second point. No one earns salvation from God! Only
the Lord alone can grant it and nothing is impossible for Him. “For men it is impossible, but not for
God. All things are possible for God.”
Following the exchange with the rich young man and the rest of the crowd,
St. Peter brings up the fact that the disciples had given up everything to
follow Jesus. The Lord responds telling them they will receive a reward “a hundred times more” and
“eternal life”.
The last statement “But many
that are first will be last, and the last will be first” is thought
to have been added to reconcile the fact that some called first outlived some
early Christians.
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Or
Shorter Form: Mark
10:17-27
As Jesus was setting out on a
journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and
asked him,
"Good teacher, what must
I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why
do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments:
You shall not kill;
you shall not commit
adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false
witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your
mother."
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I
have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved
him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one
thing.
Go, sell what you have, and
give to the poor
and you will have treasure in
heaven; then come, follow me."
At that statement his face
fell,
and he went away sad, for he
had many possessions.
Jesus looked around and said
to his disciples,
"How hard it is for
those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God
The disciples were amazed at
his words.
So Jesus again said to them
in reply,
"Children, how hard it
is to enter the kingdom
of God
It is easier for a camel to
pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to
enter the kingdom
of God
They were exceedingly
astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be
saved?"
Jesus looked at them and
said,
"For human beings it is
impossible, but not for God.
All things are possible for
God."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mk 10:17-27
The story of the rich young man presented today in St. Mark’s Gospel is an
ideal teaching moment for Christ. After he has heard that the young man has
carefully followed Mosaic Law (summarized in the Decalogue the Lord mentions),
Jesus tells the young man he has only one more step to take. Selling all he has
and giving the proceeds to the poor is too much for the rich young man who
leaves downcast.
Jesus uses this example to emphasize first that love of God must come first
and before possessions, before the accumulation of wealth. Those listening were
also down hearted and say “Then
who can be saved?”
Jesus then makes his second point. No one earns salvation from God! Only
the Lord alone can grant it and nothing is impossible for Him. “For men it is impossible, but not for
God. All things are possible for God.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
Today we find empathy for the
Protestant reformers of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Technology (the printing press) handed them
the sacred texts of the Bible en mass
and the common person had unbridled access to them for the very first
time. What a treasure was placed into
the hands of ordinary men. They must
have felt like Solomon in the Book of Wisdom (which, quite ironically, they
later determined should not be included in their canon of the Bible).
The Church sees both the
blessing and curse (using covenantal language) of this period. The blessing was that great emphasis was
placed by the Protestants in understanding the sacred scripture which yielded
many great scholarly insights into the sacred texts. The curse was that in many ways it was like
giving a child all the candy they wanted with no discipline or authority to
tell it when and where to stop.
When the protestant reformers
told the world that each person had the “right” to read and interpret sacred
scripture as they saw fit, they opened the flood gates of shattered unity. They
said this thinking they only denied the authority of the Holy See, much like a
child saying to an adult; “You can’t tell me how much candy to eat. You’re not my parent.” The reason there are
so many “Christian” denominations and some who were once Christian but have
fallen even further from Christ such as the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses is
because there was no unified authority to correct them at a critical
point. No one was there to tell them
that by focusing on a single concept found in that inestimable treasure that is
the Logos, they had thrown away something foundational to our understanding of
God.
The lesson we learn from this
historical tragedy (indeed St. Paul, if he were here would no doubt cry out in
pain over such a schismatic event) is that there must be a single authority a
steward of Wisdom to guide (not tell us what to think), to encourage, and to
chide. It is far too easy to be like the
young man in the Gospel who believes he has followed all the requirements of
the faith only to discover that the very thing he prizes most stands between
him and the Lord he wants to follow. It
is a great temptation to say that because our loving God is one of inclusion
not exclusion that we can do whatever we want in the name of that inclusion,
even when the authority of the Church is firm in its denial of those actions or
beliefs.
Today we hear of the great
love our faith has for the Wisdom of God embodied in the Logos – the Living
Word of God. We hold it up to be loved
and cherished and rededicate ourselves to the principles of faith there
contained. We continue to pray for the
unification of all Christians and humbly ask God to keep us faithful to all He
hands down through the supreme teaching authority of the Magisterium of the
Church.
Pax
In Other Years: October
14 Saint Callistus I, Pope and Martyr
[2]
The picture is “Allegory of Wisdom” Orazio Samacchini, 1550’s
[3]
The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the
Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for
English in Liturgy (ICEL). This
re-publication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
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