Daily Mass Reflection (Nov 26, 2024)
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There is a movement from the first reading to the Gospel whereupon Sirach lays out for us the characteristics of wisdom. Fittingly, he begins with, “He who fears the Lord,” because this has long been understood as the beginning of wisdom in the Christian tradition (Sirach 15:1). He compares “understanding” and “learning” to bread and water respectively, both because of their simplicity and their nourishment (Sirach 15:3). Though I cannot prove this was the intention, I think there is a fittingness to these staples in that even the poorest of the poor could receive them. God shares the gift of wisdom with all who will receive it. Because wisdom is most closely a participation in the nature of God himself, it is also fitting that one who receives wisdom will “inherit” an “everlasting name.” This remembrance is equivalent to the eternal life that the Jewish people around the composition of the book of Sirach were just beginning to realize as we get closer to the revelation of Jesus and his Resurrection.
The Gospel reading seems to show the natural result of one who has received and reflected upon the wisdom of God. Jesus describes two scenes, both of which require the gift of discernment. The first, using the analogy of the dragnet and the separation the good and the bad fish, has eternal consequences. This is why Jesus leaves it to the angels, who participate in the presence and wisdom of God in a completely unique way to we humans. While it will never our responsibility to determine the hearts of others in this life, we begin this process with ourselves and our own discernment, which must be the product of our participation in wisdom.
The angels are used as the example here because in the human imagination it is the angel who is above everything in the natural world. It takes the aerial view of the situation. In this life, we are still only seeing things at ground level when it comes to others. However, when it comes to our own soul, wisdom allows us to take this same view (again, only in regards to our own spiritual situation). Just like the angels will separate the good from the wicked, we must do the same thing when it comes to the good and evil inclinations and desires in our heart. It is the angels proximity to God that allows them to do this, and it is why Jesus uses them as the example. It is our proximity to God that allows us to do with within ourselves, so that we too can be counted among “the righteous” at the end.
Mike Schramm lives in southeastern Minnesota with his wife and seven children. There, he teaches theology and philosophy at Aquinas High School and Viterbo University. He earned his MA in theology from St. Joseph's College in Maine and an MA in philosophy from Holy Apostles College. He is also the managing editor of the Voyage Compass, an imprint of Voyage Comics and Publishing, and co-hosts the Voyage Podcast with Jacob Klatte.
