Pondering the Word …

Most of the OT readings this week are from Ezekiel, and frankly, they are exhausting! If read with an eye toward things happening in our world, there are messages we are wise to heed. Thank goodness we start the week with these beautiful, gentle, and yet subtly challenging words from Lady Wisdom. Let’s consider them:

Lady Wisdom lives, not in a great palace or temple or hall of learning, but in a sturdy house. She is versed in the art of hospitality, and we need not be intimidated to go inside. It is not a sumptuous, over-the-top meal she has prepared for us, but the basics, the essentials. The meaning of “she has sent out her maidens” translates to “she has dismissed” them. Wisdom herself calls to each of us from the heights. Unlike the Queen of Sheba who seeks Solomon’s wisdom, she seeks, not the learned, but those leading everyday lives trying to survive in a confusing, often violent world. The Message by Eugene Peterson presents the last verse this way: “Leave your impoverished confusion and live! Walk up the street to a life with meaning” (p. 632).

Real wisdom emerges when we are steadfast and true to the basics, but able and willing to “advance,” to adapt and change so we can pass this essential wisdom on to the next generation. Not grieving what was, not going backwards. Always moving forward, open to God’s dynamic creation making all things new.

Lady Wisdom—Hagia Sophia—herself is calling from the heights to each of us, and to our churches, our countries, and our world. Are we heeding her call?

“They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom” (Confucius)

Living the Word …

A reflective practice for you to consider this week: As you read scripture, as you read or watch the news, as you look back on your day, return to this reading. What does Divine Wisdom—aka, the Holy Spirit—have to say to me, to us? Apply wisdom and insight to the passages from Ezekiel and see what emerges. There are dire warnings, but also signs of hope.

Two books to suggest on essential wisdom:  for teens and young adults, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho; and, for those more “seasoned,” Falling Upward by Richard Rohr, O.F.M.
 

Mon, Aug 19: “You have forgotten God who gave you birth” (Dt 32:18). In the first reading today, the people hear God’s message through Ezekiel’s loss: You don’t get to mourn what befalls you. You’ve brought it on yourself by forgetting the God who gave you birth. In the gospel, the young man is subtly reminded to look closely at what he holds as his “god.” If God is indeed the source, his riches are not “his possessions.” Provision: Remember to say thanks. Focus today on gratitude. God likes specific thank you notes. List, not just the typical health and good fortune things, but the taste of your coffee, that the car started (and that you have a car!), that you got to see a good doctor today (even if you had to wait an extra 30 minutes!). Don’t forget to say thank you, too, for the lessons the challenges you encountered have taught you. Let Wisdom guide you.

Tue, Aug 20: “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the Kingdom of God” (Mt 19:23-30). “To do for yourself the best that you have it in you to do—to grit your teeth and clench your fists to survive the world at its harshest and worst—is, by that very act, to be unable to let something be done for you and in you that is more wonderful still. The trouble with steeling yourself against the harshness of reality is that the same steel that secures your life against being destroyed secures your life also against being opened and transformed by the holy power that life itself comes from. You can survive on your own. You can grow strong on your own. You can even prevail on your own. But you cannot become human on your own. Surely that is why, in Jesus’ sad joke, the rich man has as hard a time getting into Paradise as that camel through the needle’s eye because with his credit card in his pocket, the rich man is so effective at getting for himself everything he needs that he does not see that what he needs more than anything else in the world can be had only as a gift. He does not see that the one thing a clenched fist cannot do is accept, even from le bon Dieu himself, a helping hand” (adapted from The Sacred Journey by Frederick Buechner, 1982, p. 46).

Wed, Aug 21: “Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves!” (Ez 34:1-11). This could get ugly real fast but I’m not going there. For every shepherd or shepherdess that has violated their sacred role, there are hundreds who’ve worked tirelessly to tend their flocks. But Lady Wisdom invites us to ponder a nuance in this passage: What kind of sheep are we? What kind do we want to be? Always dependent on our human shepherds to figure things out for us, to tell us what we are to think? Unfortunately, shepherds who take advantage of their flocks often do so because no one in the flock is willing to challenge them. Provision: Listen to the True Shepherd. Are there things you hear in church or see your ministers doing that don’t sit right with you? Approach them in a non-confrontational way. Good shepherds are willing to engage their sheep. If they are defensive, combative, or question your faith, pray to the Spirit to guide you. Trust her and yourself.

Thu, Aug 22: “When the king came in, he saw a man there not dressed in a wedding garment. ‘My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?' But he was reduced to silence” (Mt 22:1-14). This poor guy! Scholars tell us this means we must always be ready in case we are called. I understand that, but what might Wisdom suggest? The King calls this man, “My friend.” Perhaps if the man had spoken up to ask the King for help, he would have been clothed in the finest of wedding garments. Provision: Accept God’s offer to help. Look again at Tuesday’s reflection. God is always ready to help us, to forgive us, to have mercy on us. Don’t clench your fist and try to go it alone. Accept God’s helping hand.

Fri, Aug 23: “O my people! I will put my spirit in you that you may live…thus you shall know I am the LORD” (Ez 37:1-14). The dry bones, desolate and despairing. The rattling of the bones, terrifying. The Spirit of new life, awe-inspiring. As we move from dark into light, the transition can be scary. It requires great faith to believe we can come through the ordeal whole and rise to new life. Provision: Access the Spirit of God within. God is already within you but may be hidden under layers of dryness or fear. Step back from the fray and ask Lady Wisdom to help you understand and see where God is working.

Elaine Ireland has a passion for working with parents and anyone who struggles to maintain a sense of God’s love and peace amid the day-to-day challenges of life. She has a master’s degree in Spiritual and Pastoral Care from the Pastoral Counseling department at Loyola, Maryland, with a focus on developmental psychology and spiritual guidance.  Rooted in Ignatian spirituality, she is a writer, retreat and workshop leader, and presenter on topics such as pastoral parenting, “letting go,” and finding the spiritual in the midst of everyday life. She lives in Ellicott City, Maryland with her husband, Mark and children, David and Maggie.

We hope you enjoy "Come and See!" and we welcome your input. Please contact Elaine Ireland at ehireland@gmail.com with questions, comments, and responses, or to receive Provisions free via email.