Ordinary Time

Pause

In what ways do we think we are already wise? What do we think we already know?

And how might Jesus challenge us to unlearn and relearn these things, so that we can be brought deeper into God’s wisdom?

Listen

What we say is wisdom to people who are mature. It isn’t a wisdom that comes from the present day or from today’s leaders who are being reduced to nothing. We talk about God’s wisdom, which has been hidden as a secret. God determined this wisdom in advance, before time began, for our glory. It is a wisdom that none of the present-day rulers have understood, because if they did understand it, they would never have crucified the Lord of glory! But this is precisely what is written: God has prepared things for those who love him that no eye has seen, or ear has heard, or that haven’t crossed the mind of any human being.

1 Corinthians 2:6-9

Think

It is easy to think that Paul is describing how those who believe in Jesus Christ should feel superior compared to those who don’t. This, however, would be to miss his overall point. Paul’s message is that the wisdom of Jesus Christ cannot be seen by human eyes, heard by human ears, or arrived at by human minds. The folly of the world is to think that it could know everything by its own wisdom. And to feel superior to this is to fall into the same mistake, rather than recognizing the wisdom that is in humility.

We must then relearn what it means to be wise in relation to Jesus. The wisdom of Jesus is not superiority. It is not a wisdom which judges others. It is instead a wisdom which knows that it cannot judge, but must instead love as Jesus loves. And so it is a wisdom which looks for what we cannot see, hear, or know, given to us in Jesus Christ.

Where can you choose love over judgment on this very day?

Ed Watson

Pray

God, I pray that my belief in you might not become an excuse to look down on others. I pray that I instead remember that your wisdom is in Jesus, beyond my capacity to judge. I pray that I remember this wisdom is love to all, even and especially those I think are foolish. Amen.

Go

Be wise today by seeking to relearn wisdom through Jesus.

Look to the ways in which the light of Christ reveals things anew.