We are not Wisdom

We continue today with the second verse of the Advent hymn:

O Come, O Wisdom, from on high,

Who orders all thins mightily:

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to you, O [Israel].

We are not Wisdom. Sometimes we may be a little wise, and hopefully, as we make our way through the spiritual life we grow bit by bit towards wisdom, but we are still not Wisdom. Let’s take a look at what the book of Wisdom has to say about Wisdom itself (or herself, since Wisdom is personified as female in the ancient writings):

For in her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique,

manifold, subtle, agile,

clear, unsullied, certain,

not baneful, loving the good, keen

unhampered, beneficent, kindly,

firm, secure, tranquil,

all-powerful, all-seeing,

and pervading all spirits,

though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle. (Wisdom 7-22)

If you have the time, I encourage you to read the entire seventh chapter of the Book of Wisdom.

And so, looking at the list, it is easy to understand that we are not Wisdom. (And, by the way, in the New Testament it is Jesus who is called wisdom. (1 Cor 1:24)

And since we are not Wisdom, many of the things we think and the attitudes and opinions we have may not necessarily be wise and true, no matter how much we cling to them or are addicted to them. And that is why we need to pray for the gift of Wisdom and the order and understanding it brings, while at the same time we need to pray for the humility and openness to realize that God’s Wisdom might require us to move in different directions than we are currently moving.

Once again, it comes down to the basic tenet of the 12-Steps: we are powerless, and falsely opinionated (12Steppers call this “stinking thinking” and as soon as we admit that we are ready to fall into the arms of a completely merciful, compassionate and wise Savior.

Our thoughts are not necessarily true, and our opinions are not facts, as much as we’d like to think they are. As one writer put it, “If you’re going to continue thinking the way you’re thinking, you’re just going to end up right where you are now.”

One final suggestion: be particularly careful of those most cherished and passionately held opinions of yours. They may prevent you from experiencing God’s visitation. 

Unmanageable?

Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.

Yesterday we noted how it is a good antidote to pride to acknowledge the fact that we, as individuals, are in need of pity. This is very similar to what happens in 12-step programs where the first step is for an individual to admit a personal powerlessness over a particular problem or addiction and that because of this, his or her life has become unmanageable.

Note that many spiritual writers have suggested that working through the 12 steps is a worthwhile spiritual exercise for anyone, addict or not. In this sense, it would be good to apply the first of the 12 steps to each of the deadly sins.

Today I offer some simple notions about how we are all victims of pride (and in fact, might even want to consider pride to be our personal addiction):

·         Pride makes us blind to our own imperfections and limitations.

·         Pride causes us to dwell on ourselves and to ignore other peoples’ needs.

·         My pride hurts others, to be sure, but it also hurts me.

·         Sometimes I don’t contribute to the good of the community, family, parish or cohort of workers because I think they’re beneath me.

·         Because of my pride, I don’t seek to learn from others.

·         Because of my pride, I don’t take advice, so I fail to develop my gifts and talents.

·         My pride makes it impossible for me to be a “team player.”

·         Pride changes leadership into tyranny.

·         Pride makes friendships impossible or intolerable.

Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me.