Epiphany

A movie that I did not think I would like, but ended up doing so was “Knocked Up”.  

I won’t go into the details of the movie, but there was one scene that I especially connected with.  Ben, the male lead, was a man-boy...meaning he was older, in his thirties, but still acted like a teen, emotionally and physically.  He was a slacker! Yet, due to a choice he had made, he had to grow up fast. In the scene, totally confused and emotionally upset, he was sitting talking with his Dad, confronted by his future and his choices.  He asked his Dad, “Tell me what to do! Just tell me what to do!”

“What to do?”  I asked that question a lot.  All I wanted many times was for  people was just tell me what to do and I would do it.  Give me clear instructions, and I am good. Don’t make me think, just tell me.  I will do whatever it takes to please you!

That did not work out so well.

“What to do?”  There are so many choices in our society these days.  So much so-called “Freedoms”: what do we choose, how do we choose?

I honestly do not think we are doing a great job in teaching our young persons how to make decisions, how to choose.

We can tell them what we want.  We can over-structure their lives so that they do not have to choose.

We can even lie to them and tell them that they can have and do anything they want!  So no real need to choose.

I wonder if we adults know “What to do” most of the time.  It seems that our capacity to be wise, to discern, has not been developed; our moral compasses are not set well.  We want to do whatever we “Feel” or “Desire”

I also think this is a societal issue.  Look at the chaos around us. I hear from you the chaos; broken relationships, loneliness, feeling lost, anger, fear.

A couple of Questions--in Genesis, the story of Adam and Eve, what or who do we think the snake is?

And in the Gospel of  Matthew--how many magi, wise men, were in the story?

Last question first...we don’t know.  We only know that there were more than one, since Magi is plural.  Three gifts were offered, but there could have been two or three or 20 or more. And to be honest the number does not matter.

Back to the first question, the snake in ancient cultures at the time this story in Genesis was written and edited represented wisdom, the wisdom of the world.

So Adam and Eve were seduced, tricked, swayed by the advice of worldly wisdom.  Not necessarily purely evil, but a wisdom that was distinct from and contrary to the Divine Wisdom.  

Adam and Eve followed the wrong advice, the advice about doing it on their own, following their own wishes, their own desires.  

This brought the chaos and the divisions into the world.  A world created for harmony by God.

Magi are wise men.  Their job is advice.  They too symbolize worldly wisdom in Luke’s Gospel.  And what do they do? They seek scripture, they find the Christ Child and they do him homage.

This is Matthew's way  of saying that the healing of the Original Sin begins with the Christ child.

Matthew says that all worldly wisdom is subordinate to the Divine wisdom, and needs to conform to the Divine Wisdom.  

Our own healing begins with the Christ child.  This is the true Light that Isaiah speaks of.

What do we do?  What do we do with this wisdom, this divine wisdom given to us in and through Jesus Christ?

Christ will teach us.  

We will be shown the divine Wisdom through Jesus’ very person; by his life and what he did, and most especially through his death and resurrection.  This will be through our Scripture and our Tradition as Catholics.

One aspect of the divine wisdom of Jesus Christ that we will become very clear is the need for Humility.

Jesus himself is humility.  The Son of God, born as a fragile infant, into a poor family, is all about humility.  Humility remains essential to this divine wisdom, and it remained part of Jesus’ very being.

Humility recognizes that we are loved by God, no matter what.  

Humility is the wisdom to understand that all of us are children of God, but we are NOT God.  

We are children, still creatures, created by the Father to work for the Father; to show forth the values, the wisdom of the Father.  We are not God. We serve the father and all goodness comes of the Father, not from us.

Therefore humility, the wisdom to live more freely, is about not trying to control or manipulate the world around us; whether through force or playing the “poor me” card.  

We have our parts, but we are to make the world in God’s own image, not ourselves.  Humility sees what we can do to help make this a better world, the kingdom of heaven.

“What do we do?“ when we have a choice then..sometimes we need to sit with it, and think it through.  

Jesus, we are told in scripture, went to pray especially before decisions. Jesus with Humility did not think he had all the answers.  He had to go and discern.

We too can simply sit, think it through.

DON’T PANIC!  DON’T THINK WE HAVE TO RUSH!

A lot of our choices, at least the significant ones do not have to be made at the moment. We can stop, discern and figure out what will this accomplish or not; who does this serve or not; does this reflect our values?  God’s values?

I love in this story how the Magi, in dreams, discern to NOT return to Herod.

Herod in turn will REACT in his anger, choose a path of destruction.

Connected to this, Humility is the wisdom to see beyond the ego, the self, beyond the “me, myself, my needs, my wants, my desires, my so-called rights” and to see me connected to others, the we.

It is that divine wisdom that says “I will and want to give of myself for the good of others, especially for the good and Glory of God.”

Consider the High point of the Mass...the doxology.  The consecrated hosts and wine, the very person of Jesus Christ are raised high above the altar, and the priest intones:  “Through Him with Him, in Him; in the Unity of the Holy Spirit; All Glory is YOURS, ALMIGHTY FATHER, Forever and ever”

To which the entire Church responds with the Great AMEN.

This is the wisdom that frees us.

This is the divine wisdom that guides us in our works, in our actions, in our choices.

The Divine Wisdom of Humility that helps us to choose to bring life to others, to reach out and help others; to forgive others, to accept forgiveness.

  

It is the divine Wisdom of Humility that empowers us to say Yes to Life; to say NO to our egos, to having it our way.

It is the divine Wisdom of Humility that helps all of us discern our ways, and be free to make choices for ourselves, and not have to have someone else just tell us what to do?

What will we do?