Jesus was usually very patient with the apostles, even when they came running with reports that someone else was driving out demons in Jesus’ name! Mark records Jesus’ reply as calm and wise. No one could perform good deeds in his name and at the same time badmouth him. “For whoever is not against us is for us.”

The Gospels have many examples of Jesus’ wisdom throughout his public life. The situations run from simple advice to reactions in complex and dangerous times. The reading from Sirach glorifies God’s wisdom with nine verses speaking of it as feminine: a loving, wise, and caring wife and mother. The Eastern portion of the Church honors this godly attribute much more than the Western half. It was the Byzantine emperor Justinian in sixth-century Constantinople (founded some two hundred years earlier by Constantine, the first Christian emperor) who decreed the construction of the magnificent Church of Hagia Sofia: “Holy Wisdom,” to be the imperial church and seat of the Patriarch of Constantinople.

This holy edifice was unprecedented in size and majesty; when he entered Hagia Sofia for its dedication, Justinian supposedly exclaimed, “Solomon, I have outdone you!” and “I thank God that I have lived to see this glorious day!” {Wouldn’t that last line be a great morning prayer when you first open your eyes each day?)

This holy wisdom is ours to tap anytime we wish. When you meet someone who bashfully admits they were “raised Catholic” but have “fallen away,” zap them with some “holy wisdom”: words of Jesus about love, the greatest commandment, and the Eucharist. Suggest they take another look at the Gospels; Holy Scripture may not have been a big part of their “raising,” but it will open their “adult eyes!”

Let us pray.

Dear God, we thank you for all the words of holy wisdom you have given us. Open our ears, minds, and hearts to take them in and live them. As always, we pray this in the name of Christ our Eucharist.