Wednesday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
(Sirach 4:11-19; Mark 9:38-40)
Wisdom seeks what is truly good in life. Like a counterfeit detector, she sets off an
alarm with the initially pleasing but ultimately disillusioning. Like a wine taste’s nose, she can sniff supreme
quality in something new. In patriarchal
societies wisdom is compared to a woman with whom a person must share full and
lasting intimacy to realize its promise.
In today’s reading from the Book of Sirach wisdom is
described as a demanding companion who will discipline her pursuant. But for whatever investment of time or energy
she exacts, she brings the inestimable rewards of peace and happiness. This lesson is akin to the Scriptural
dictate, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Making the effort to abide by God’s eternal
laws brings His infinite favor.
We live in a world with a myriad of information at our
fingertips, but wisdom remains elusive.
By taking care not to become absorbed in the ease of attaining the
former but ever pondering its meaning, we can achieve the latter.
