Shrinking Wisdom

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, February 15th, 2026:
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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First Corinthians
​2.6-10

Brothers and sisters: Among the mature we do speak wisdom, though it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to perish. But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

As it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him.” These things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

I often find myself revering those who are learned and accomplished. Professors, various elite professionals, experts in their field, academics of all kinds, even leaders of various religious sects. I love to be swept up into their knowledge, which has accumulated over years of hard work, and is absorbed and disseminated by their natural gift of intellect. Their acumen gives off an air of maturity and wisdom, genuinely attractive qualities.

In the past, I was intimidated by scholars, measuring myself and my limited understanding against their deep wells of education and experience. I am introverted and unrefined, and though I have many interests, my comprehension of most things is superficial. So those with confidence in their intellectual expression, with that captivating savoir faire, would both command my attention and cause me to shrink.

Reflecting on Paul’s letter to the Corinthians today moved me to consider where my reverence belongs, and how true maturity and wisdom are made manifest. Paul speaks of a wisdom that is “secret and hidden”. How unusual. One of the beautiful mysteries of our faith is just this: wisdom is not accumulated knowledge, but one that grows from an intimate relationship with Wisdom Himself. This relationship is cultivated intangibly, in our innermost being—deep within our souls—which God designed as the seat of our true intellect. It is a knowing which is known without our ability to fully understand why we know it.

In Matthew 11:25, Jesus said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants.” How is it that an infant could know more than the wise and intelligent? Well, let me tell you, I have worked with preschoolers most of my career, and I have learned many valuable lessons from them. Unstained by the world, their hearts are close to God. And when my heart is close to God, I view them as authority figures on the knowledge that is worth knowing—the knowledge that is most essential to my growth in maturity and spirituality. The children cause me to shrink.

My shrinking before intellectual giants is in stark contrast with my shrinking before infants. Where the former is laden with shame, the latter is teeming with humility. Intimidation is replaced by curiosity. Elaborate articulations are replaced by joyful babbling. Independence is replaced by reliance. Choosing to shrink into the quiet spaces of my soul releases me into the brilliance of God’s wisdom—a Wisdom brimming with maturity, hope, assurance, peace, wonder, joy, and the otherwise unknowable sense of knowing that the Holy Spirit provides.

I revere You, Lord of glory, for it is only You who knows all things. And in You, my knowing is increased. 



Lori MacDonald

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