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“Allegory of Wisdom”
Orazio Samacchini, 1560’s |
Readings for Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
Readings and Commentary:[4]
Reading 1: Proverbs 9:1-6
Wisdom has built her house,
she has set up her seven columns;
she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine,
yes, she has spread her table.
She has sent out her maidens; she calls
from the heights out over the city:
“Let whoever is simple turn in here;
To the one who lacks understanding, she says,
Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Forsake foolishness that you may live;
advance in the way of understanding.”
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Commentary on Prv 9:1-6
This part of Proverbs begins a section loosely entitled: “Invitations of Wisdom and Folly." [5] In this reading we see wisdom personified as a woman (also in Proverbs 1:20ff, less regal than Proverbs 8). The seven columns are probably Hebrew numerology symbolizing perfection rather than a reference to a specific building type or physical structure used. The food she offers is rich and sustaining (juxtaposed against the later offerings of folly. “Unstable and senseless folly furnishes the stolen bread and water of deceit and vice which bring death to her guests.”) [6]
There is a reference in the second half of the reading to the Israelites, the eschatological banquet promised by Yahweh (in Isaiah 25:6; 55:1-5). For Christians there is a clear eucharistic reference.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
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Commentary on Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7
Psalm 34 sings a song of salvation at the hands of the Lord. It tells of God’s love for those who serve him. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Psalm 34:5, 7), can teach the "poor," those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone. This psalm, in the words of one being unjustly persecuted, echoes hope for deliverance and freedom.
The psalmist sings of God’s mercy and salvation, in reference to the promise made to the people of a land flowing with milk and honey. From a more prophetic perspective we also have an image of Christ in the Eucharist, the taste of God’s mercy.
CCC: Ps 34:3 716
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Reading II: Ephesians 5:15-20
Brothers and sisters:
Watch carefully how you live,
not as foolish persons but as wise,
making the most of the opportunity,
because the days are evil.
Therefore, do not continue in ignorance,
but try to understand what is the will of the Lord.
And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery,
but be filled with the Spirit,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks always and for everything
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.
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Commentary on Eph 5:15-20
St. Paul addresses the conversion of the Ephesians, becoming the “new” people of God. In this passage the apostle teaches the people with the “wisdom” of the children of Christ. They are to avoid the abuses of wine (see also Proverbs 23:30), but rather be filled with the Holy Spirit. He commends them to encourage one another with “hymns and spiritual songs” (see also Acts 16:25, 1 Corinthians 14:26, and Colossians 3:16). Since suffering and cheerfulness are considered part of human existence, this singing may be viewed as a type of prayer (See James 5:13-15).
CCC: Eph 5:16 72; Eph 5:17 2826; Eph 5:19 1156, 2641; Eph 5:20 2633, 2742
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Gospel: John 6:51-58
Jesus said to the crowds:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”
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Commentary on Jn 6:51-58
The “Bread of Life” discourse continues, and the Lord escalates his language. The people who had come to him because they had been fed with the five barley loaves just cannot make the leap from bread made from wheat or barley to the Bread of Life offered as true food and drink for the spirit. Even when he uses manna as an example of real food they still do not see that the Son of God offers them his resurrected body as their meal and they are repulsed – especially because of the language he uses (Jesus uses the word gnaw, not just eat, in the original texts.).
CCC: Jn 6 1338; Jn 6:51 728, 1355, 1406, 2837; Jn 6:53-56 2837; Jn 6:53 1384; Jn 6:54 994, 1001, 1406, 1509, 1524; Jn 6:56 787, 1391, 1406; Jn 6:57 1391; Jn 6:58 1509
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Reflection:
This week the “Bread of Life” discourse continues, this time supported by a very interesting reading from Proverbs and, as is customary, a pragmatic set of instructions from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians.
The Gospel contains Christ’s remarkable revelation that what he did at the last supper in the upper room was not simply symbolic (refuting the claim by some of our Christian brethren including those who claim sola scriptura, which is ironic). What is interesting is the different flavor it has when we first hear the reading from Proverbs.
If you remember, last week the first reading was from the First Book of Kings and how Elijah was given food for the journey. This week we hear from the Book of Wisdom: “Come, eat of my food, and drink of the wine I have mixed! Forsake foolishness that you may live; advance in the way of understanding.” This passage changes the focus from the strengthening properties (food for the journey) to the way the Eucharist changes us in our understanding of God’s will for us (Forsake foolishness that you may live).
What would happen if we took that same short reading from Proverbs, which sounds like an early attempt to understand the Holy Spirit, and overlay our understanding of the Trinity? It might sound something like this:
Wisdom has built her house,
Jesus has gone before us to prepare a place for us.
she has set up her seven columns;
In his Father’s house there are many mansions supported by gifts of the Holy Spirit.
she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine,
At the Last Supper, in the upper room, our Savior gave to us his Body and Blood.
yes, she has spread her table.
Yes, it is a new and everlasting covenant the Lord has prepared for us.
She has sent out her maidens; she calls
from the heights out over the city:
He left his disciples with the charge to go out and teach all nations.
“Let whoever is simple turn in here;
He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us.
To the one who lacks understanding, she says,
Come, eat of my food,
All you who hunger, here is my body, real food.
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
All you who thirst, here is my blood, real drink.
Forsake foolishness that you may live;
advance in the way of understanding.”
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.
Here we can get a sense of the great gift our Lord gave us in his Body and Blood. When he tells us that he is in us and we in him, we begin to see how he works to conform us to his glorious image. It is through the gift of the Eucharist that the gates of Heaven are opened, and it is only through the Eucharist that we can see them.
Today we pray for the Church, may we renew our faith in the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist.
Pax
[1] Catechism links are taken from the
Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used is “Allegory of Wisdom” Orazio Samacchini, 1560’s.
[3] S.S Commemoratio[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.
[5] Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, p.500, 24.[6] NAB footnote on Proverbs 9:1-6.
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