THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK
This week the Old Testament reading is the famous story of Solomon’s request for wisdom. God offered him anything he wanted, but, facing the daunting responsibility of ruling over God’s people, Solomon asked for wisdom. He didn’t always act wisely through the years of his reign, but history has mostly remembered Solomon as a wise ruler. The problem we have as we search for wisdom in our own lives and world is that we sometimes mistake wisdom as something that happens in our heads. Wisdom often does include an insightful mind, but there are many very intelligent people who have little wisdom at all. Solomon realised that he would need God’s help if he was to live with any wisdom at all.
In the Gospel reading, the Lectionary remains in John 6, with Jesus proclaiming himself as the Bread of Life, and offering life to anyone who will “eat his body and drink his blood”. As we have noted, this startling image is meant to convey the idea of taking the nature and Spirit of Jesus into our entire selves so that we are transformed to become like Jesus. As wise as Solomon was, Jesus was far more so, and so if we seek wisdom, we can do no better than to open ourselves to the Spirit of Christ and allow his wisdom to fill us.
One thing that will become clear this week, though, is that wisdom is rooted not so much in what we think, but in how we live. The choices we make, the actions we perform and the relationships we forge can all be foolish or wise. And it’s our deep connection with God in Christ that opens us to the wisdom of God, which empowers us to live wisely. May we grow a little wiser as we journey through this week.
To download this week’s reflections in PDF format, click here.
