Sunday Reflection with Fr Robin Gibbons - 11 October 2015

Holy Wisdom Russn icon 17c

Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time October 11th 2015

I love the image of Wisdom alive and active in our world, that's possibly because I have always loved the Eastern Church's devotion to Holy Wisdom, finally present in Christ. The dedication of Justinian's great church in Constantinople to Hagia Sophia, a central focus for the Byzantine tradition of the Eastern Church, is a continual reminder that in our scriptures we have many images of God, which we should use more often in our prayers and devotions.

The hope of the writer of the book of Wisdom is that we discover the spirit of Wisdom in our own lives, gaining some understanding of the things of God. The question is how? The answer is there in the passage from the letter to the Hebrews (Heb 4; 12-13), it is the Word of God that gives us that insight. This is no pious or idle comment, if we cannot discover the voice of God speaking to us in many and various ways through the scriptures; we really need to examine just what we are doing!

There are so many guiding lights to help us open up the treasures of the Bible, the Spirit who speaks in our hearts, the example of living saints who take us to the waters of life contained in the oracles and voice of God found there. The Gospel of the rich man is one that changed the life of Anthony of Egypt, who hearing the words of Jesus in the Gospel: 'Go sell everything you own...then come, follow me", did exactly that and inspired the growth of monasticism in the Church. To those who left all to follow his example he taught that the Word of God is central to their lives as it should be to us.

The true Wisdom of God is found in Jesus who turns the world upside down. To become wise we must become simple, to become rich we must give up our treasures, to follow Christ is to leave house, brother, sister, mothers, children, and to face persecutions in doing so, but then find repayment a hundred times over, not losing but gaining! Paul's words;"For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom" (I Cor I: 25) is true, for until we let ourselves be discovered, opened ourselves up to the eyes of God, we hide from that encounter of love which will give us true wisdom of heart!