Relying on God's Wisdom

St. Patrick Catholic Church, Columbus OH. This parish is served by the Dominicans. I visited here for the veneration of the relic of the skull of St. Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas Aquinas, a saint famous for his incredible wisdom in understanding the faith, knew that all of his wisdom was nothing in comparison with the wisdom of God. One of St. Thomas Aquinas's humble prayers for the wisdom of God is as follows: "Grant me, oh Lord, my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and hope of finally embracing you. Amen."

 “One day, as He was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders said to Him, ‘Tell us by what authority you do these things, or by who it is that gave you this authority.’ He answered them, ‘I also will ask you a question; now tell me, Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men?’ And they discussed it with one another, saying, ‘If we say, ‘From men,’ He will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’’” -Luke 20:1-5

    The rhetorical strategy that Jesus employs here is impressive; not only is He getting those that are against His teachings to admit their hypocrisy by their failure to answer, but He also does so through a theological question that says His authority is from God.

    However, this Bible passage is important for reasons beyond impressive rhetoric and theological debate. Another lens we can see this passage from is Jesus trying to teach us to rely on Him for wisdom.

    The, chief priests, scribes, and elders confront Jesus in a question backed with pride. These men are filled with knowledge of the law—they have spent years studying the scriptures and memorizing their details. Because they are in positions of power, they trust that they have the intelligence and experience to make judgments and decisions. Because of this, they:

“Like to go about in long robes, and to have salutations in the market places and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts… and for a pretense make long prayers.” -Mark 12:38-40

    They attack Jesus’s authority because they believe that their authority is higher than His—a mindset they continue to hold even when Jesus bests them in debate. And whether or not Jesus does speak with the authority of God does not matter to them. As Jesus makes them admit, they did not believe John’s words even when he very well could have been a prophet of the Lord.

“Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your fathers killed.” -Luke 11:47

    So, these leaders and scholars who trust only in their own wisdom and ability, though shown to be beneath the mind of God, are too stubborn to admit their fault and eventually come to kill the one who came to save them.

    This is a very good time to remember that we all very often find ourselves doing the same things these men were doing when Jesus physically walked the Earth. Pride is the root of all sins—all of our sins can be distilled as an act of us saying that our will is superior to God’s will, that our wisdom is greater than God’s wisdom. Don’t we know that God tells us:

“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” -Isaiah 55:8-9

    If only the learned men had the humility to admit that their finite wisdom was beneath God’s omniscient wisdom! Then would they have been filled with joy, for they would see that all of their knowledge and study was meant only to draw them nearer to God. They would have been jubilant as they saw Christ fulfilling the prophecies and bringing them salvation.

    So to for us. Only when we have the humility to bow to the wisdom of God can we rise up in joy that His plan is truly what brings us peace. When we admit that our frail attempts at being intelligent enough to take control of our lives to be successful, productive, and efficient only make us exhausted, we must not turn to despondency. Rather, we must pray for humility and help, that we may rely on obeying the wisdom of God in every moment of our days. This is what brings real success— that we faithfully carried out the mission that God have to us, for His wisdom makes the best of all plans!

    God knows that this isn't easy to actually put into practice. It's a struggle we will fight our entire lives. But the Holy Spirit is called our “counselor” for a reason—because He is always faithful and present to guide us to the truth, even when, by our sin, we are far from the right way.

    Our Lady of Good Counsel, pray for us! We need humility to follow and rely on God’s wisdom! Please also pray for us for joy in following His will. 

    Joy and humility combined makes thanksgiving. May we give our entire lives as a humble and joyful thanksgiving sacrifice for God, who leads us in wisdom.