Mt 11: 25-27
At that time Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
Recognizing Wisdom
Jesus thanks the Father for the revelation of the wisdom of God to the childlike because it is the child within us all who can receive it in humility. As adults we are praised for having all the answers and consequently, we chase after knowledge, information, and facts. But do we look for wisdom? Are we able to set aside our egoic need to be right, look good in the eyes of man, and be acknowledged for our intellect in order to receive the wisdom of God in our lives? And how does this gift of wisdom show up in our day to day existence? I think it shows up as love, love for God and love for one another. It shows up not just as acts of kindness, but also as thinking well of our brothers and sisters and speaking well of God’s people.
This wisdom of God shows up every time we smile at a stranger for no reason at all except that it feels good, or ask our coworker how they really are feeling or suffer rudeness from a grocery clerk who has been on their feet for eight hours. Wisdom is common sense of the soul. It’s what African American elders called “mother-wit,” a kind of knowing that defies logic.
Will you recognize wisdom when it comes your way? Will you humble yourself like a child and receive this gift from God that brings you one step closer to the kingdom of heaven, and then share it with your brothers and sisters?
—Terresa Ford is a recent graduate of the Candler School of Theology at Emory University and holds an M.Div. She is a resident Spiritual Health Worker at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta, and a Spiritual Direction resident at the Ignatius House Jesuit Retreat Center.
Prayer
Loving Father we come to you in humility as your children to ask for the wisdom you want to impart to each and every one of us. We ask for this gift with the knowledge and confidence that it is your will that we receive it in order to satisfy your commandment of love, love for you and love for your people. We thank you in advance for this revelation and look to you to give us a vision of your kingdom on earth. It is in the sacred and precious name of your son Jesus Christ that we pray. Amen.
—Terresa Ford