"Wisdom in 3D": A Reflection on the Second Reading for September 23rd, 2018: Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

---

James 3:16-4:3

16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or insincerity. 18 And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. 4:1 What causes wars, and what causes fightings among you? Is it not your passions that are at war in your members? 2 You desire and do not have; so you kill. And you covet and cannot obtain; so you fight and wage war. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.

---

I always find it helpful to pray before I read any passage of Holy Scripture. This is because it is my natural inclination to process meaning by my own strength or ego. When I do this, the verses become flat and one dimensional. When I surrender to God and ask Him to enlighten me, I often find that words or sentences leap out from the page, very much like images in a 3D movie. At these times, I know God is directing me to an area in my life which needs attention.

In James 3:16-4:3, God’s wisdom, or in other words—the Holy Spirit—is depicted as gentle, peaceful and full of mercy. Through grace and submission, my mind is opened by this gentle wisdom to learn and receive. The good news is that we are all partakers of His wisdom according to our need and desire to ‘listen’.

“If any of you lack Wisdom you should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5-6)

The words that became ‘3D’ for me in James 3:16-4:3 were “insincerity” and “peace”. The insincerity word was painful. God’s wisdom can be painful but it is always necessary.

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pain. It is His megaphone in a deaf world.” (C.S. Lewis)

When I run my day by my own strength and in my own ego, I become insincere because I am not my true self or the person God made me to be. My mind and heart are not open, my vulnerability shuts down, and I show less kindness and compassion to others. I am more focused on my ‘to do list’ which I work at with relentless attention. In short, I wear a mask. Whilst I believe I am happy, I am never at peace, and I chase joy away.

Our Western culture values self-reliance. Peace and sincerity can sometimes be hard to find. Christianity is counter cultural in that we rely instead on God’s strength in our lives. We become more real to self, more open to God, more peaceful and more joyful when we are in a state of surrender and humility. This is a strange paradox, but it requires our full attention and prayer—day by day, and moment by moment. Jesus said, “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5) Nothing is nothing. We are powerless and susceptible to sin without God’s wisdom and grace. This is for me an experiential fact. ​

​Liz Galsworthy

"We become more real to self, more open to God, more peaceful and more joyful when we are in a state of surrender and humility."
- Liz Galsworthy (Ora Reflections)

Tweet