Wisdom of Jesus
by Fr. Gus Carter
1/30/05

Most of us like to think that we are smart about how to live. We may not have a lot of book learning, but we want to make wise choices about our lives. We find a whole tradition about wise living in the Old Testament. We call the books carrying this tradition "Wisdom Literature." The Gospel of Matthew records Jesus' message about living wisely. Jesus builds on Wisdom Literature and sharpens our understanding of how our Creator wants us to live. St. Paul said that the foolishness of God IS wiser than men.

Matthew's Gospel in a special way teaches divine wisdom in the "Sermon on the Mount." Matthew emphasizes the importance of these sayings by having Jesus go up a mountain. Mountains in Scripture are often the place of divine revelation. The ten commandments were given to Moses on a mountain. Sitting down was the position for giving particularly important teachings. In today's Gospel Jesus sits as he gives instructions. Finally, the Sermon on the Mount has priority of place in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew has five teaching sections. The Sermon on the Mount is the first given in this Gospel.

To one familiar only with human wisdom Jesus' teachings seem foolish. 'Blessed are the poor" seems incomprehensible to a consumer society. "Blessed are the meek" contradicts many modem business practices. "Blessed are they who mourn" appeared bad advice when I was a child, and there are still many people who do not want to deal with death in any manner.

Human wisdom that seems obvious on the surface is totally wrong on the level of deeper human experience. For example, "Blessed are the merciful" is much neglected by many in our society. Reports are that in the very competitive world of President Kennedy's politics the saying was, "Don't get mad, get even." If someone hurts you, hurt them back so hard that they will never do it again. Getting even seems very wise on a merely human level. To some degree our psyche demands revenge. Yet in the last thirty years we have read about the devastation caused by centuries of "getting even." One problem is that individuals are seldom satisfied with "getting even;" they want to add a little extra. I have read about remembrances in Yugoslavia of Muslim slaughters seven hundred years ago. The violence continues to go on. The violence in Northern started over three hundred years ago. Brutality continues in that area to this day.

On a personal level someone called bitterness, vengeance, "taking poison oneself to hurt another person." If someone hurt me twenty years ago, and I am still plotting revenge, I have allowed that person to continue to plague my thoughts. There is another saying, "Bitterness is an acid that drips in one's own soul." Forgiveness and letting go allow bitter feelings to be released from our minds and hearts. We realize that they do not always have to be a burden. We should forgive others for our own sake. Mercy relieves our souls on a deeper level.

"Blessed are the meek" seems foolish at a time when "look out for number one!" seems to be the only thing to do. This attitude puts us in competition with almost everyone we meet. Yet there are always those who are smarter, prettier, stronger than we are. Trying to top everyone else becomes a source of great tension and let down in life. To me, the meek person is always trying to enhance the lives of others. As Jesus did, his followers are always trying to add some aspect to the lives of others. They are always happy about the good fortune of others. They share in their joy. With this attitude we are always welcome by those who know us. Other persons never become a threat to our ego. We can freely cooperate for the good without worrying about who gets the credit. We want to see goodness grow in the world.

"Blessed are those who mourn" was not well understood when I was a young person. People were expected to stifle their grief after a few weeks when a loved one died. Studying the process of dying became the life work of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. When she began her studies, most people thought her interest in death was odd or even bizarre. Out of many studies done since her beginnings, there is agreement that mourning, going through the stages of remembering some one close who died, is ~ healthy and necessary process. In remembering someone who died, we begin to realize that the person is still with us in many ways. Modern studies have concluded that when the mourning process has been completed in a healthy way, it results in the person having a richer understanding of how to live.

When we listen to Jesus, we must remember that our loving Creator has come among us "that we might have life and have it to the full." We are meant to enjoy life as a sign that our God is present among us. Giving life to others enlivens us. That is the paradoxical secret of the "Good News." We give life to ourselves by giving life to others. Our prayer must be to live the Gospel more fully.