6th Sunday Divine Wisdom = Life

Our Director of Youth Ministry for the diocese recently returned from a national conference. A topic of discussion was the extent of “isolation” our young persons are reporting. It has increased into levels that are quite disturbing.

Anecdotally youth ministers also speak of their retreats and the number of teens who are trying to deal with emotional issues; depression, anger management, cutting.

At a recent school board meeting, the matter of emotional health was also raised, and we talked about this growing need.

People are hurting. Young people, very young people and also from my vantage spot, a lot of not so young people: People are hurting.

Some will blame parents, grandparents, the technological matters. Some blame our society and its quick pace and the pressure to succeed, the need to have to work to be able to afford to have a semi-comfortable life.

I live with depression. It is part of who I am. The other day a couple of us adults were also sharing our experiences; one had been in psychiatric care and another had talked about cutting as a young person. So I don’t think this is uncommon.

I remember maybe about 2 years (out of 8) into my therapy being frustrated. I was struggling, I could not understand what I needed to do. I had asked my therapist how I would know I “Graduated” from therapy. He smiled, and in a socratic way, threw the question back to me, “how would I know? “ I said I would be like a stone buddha; content, nothing ever bothering me. He laughed. He said that I will always experience life, and I will always be angry, sad and scared. It will be a matter of whether I let these control me, or i have control over them.

That was the breakthrough. It hurt, but it was the breakthrough.

God spoke to me in this opening. It’s about being alive in this world, and being free to be the good person I was created to be.

It is about being alive in this world and being free to be the good persons God created us to be.

Divine Wisdom   “Immense is the wisdom of the Lord he is mighty in power, and all seeing.” writes Sirach.  "...God's wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory" writes Paul.

Divine wisdom, to be able to see differently, to see a bigger picture, to see the forest from the trees.

Divine wisdom, to see the folly of living for the short term, the material, for the self only. Eating fruit from a tree.

Divine wisdom, to see God on the cross, dead through human wisdom; to believe in Christ raised from the dead because God’s wisdom overcomes all.

Christ reveals the beauty of life, and that life is meant to be lived to the Full.

Christ reveals the power of living life with and for others; that compassion, mercy, kindness, hospitality are more important than our desire for wealth.

Christ reveals that we have the capacity to connect to this wisdom, to make better decisions, long term decisions, that will create life for us and for others.

Depression, emotional health; I can’t speak for everyone, but only from my experience, it was a black hole. I could only see my pain, my loneliness, my darkness. I could only see how I would fail to be the good person.  

A powerful tool of divine wisdom is what we do here: Thanksgiving. It is Gratitude.  Studies show that when we practice an attitude of gratitude, our brain works differently. We even had a doctor speak on this at the Annual conference in January.  

Gratitude pulls us out of ourselves, to see the beauty, the good around us.  This Eucharist and all eucharists, we give thanks to God. First of all for simply being.  We give thanks for being forgiven.  We give thanks for the wisdom shared with us in Scripture and of course in the Person of Jesus Christ, and in his life, death and resurrection, what we call the Paschal Mystery.  We give thanks that we have been freed to engage in living, to engage in loving.

It does get better. This is Divine Wisdom too. 

Jesus rose from the dead. We will too. In this world, in this day, from the death that selfishness, that greed, that ignorance can cause, or that can lead us into becoming zombies.

Yet, we have to do our part. We need to be open to this wisdom.  Immerse ourselves in Scripture, immerse ourselves in the teaching of Jesus Christ, and most importantly practice them.

Practice gratitude. Practice compassion. Practice patience.

Experience life. Be free.