Immense is the wisdom of the Lord Sirach 15:18
For me, wisdom is one of the most interesting subjects to study in the Bible. First of all, depending on which testament you study, wisdom is described in either the feminine or the masculine. Then, there is the sheer quantity of adjectives that are used in Proverbs, Sirach and the Book of Wisdom to describe her. Read Chapter 7:22-30 in the Book of Wisdom if you want to get a taste. What is most compelling for me is a single statement that is in Proverbs 8:12 “I, Wisdom, dwell with experience (prudence). . .” Prudence is defined as the capacity for judging in advance the probable results of one’s actions. In the Book of Wisdom, also, we are taught that the way to wisdom is through human experience (Wisdom 8: 4-9, 18). Finally, in the New Testament, wisdom is not only found with experience; wisdom, as we see in Jesus, is willing to suffer and die, taking on the whole of human experience.
So, the question is this—How can we ever expect to find wisdom if we ourselves are not willing to share common human experiences with the poor, the imprisoned, the infirm? We will never be truly wise without face to face encounters with the least among us. Our secular world tries to tell us this is no big deal but, in fact, for those of us who are able, without the teachings of wisdom that we learn through human encounter with other, our very souls are in jeopardy (Wisdom 6: 20, Matt 5: 20).
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