The Noontimes

Proverbs 1:20-33: Wisdom in Person

Friday, July 5, 2024

How is it that we constantly seek wisdom and feel that we have not found her? The writer of Proverbs tells us that hatred of knowledge and the choice to reject God are the characteristics of the one who lives outside of wisdom.

In city streets and squares, we find wisdom not in obvious leaders or well-heeled citizens, but in the lives of the marginalized.

At the busiest corners and at the city gates, we bump into wisdom not in the beautiful or powerful people but in the homeless.

Wisdom calls, wisdom holds out her hand to us, and in these verses wisdom will mock those who have ignored her and later find themselves facing calamity. But, Jesus brings us another version of wisdom. Through the Beatitudes, Jesus points out that we find peace and serenity when we go to the edges of society to interact with the poor and disadvantaged. The practice of compassion mends wounded hearts. Constant prayer and attention to God’s voice open our minds to the wisdom we seek, to the wisdom that is already standing before us.

When we compare different versions of these verses, we discover that Wisdom appears to us in person each day in many ways. These words remind us that Wisdom calls us to petition her assistance. 

Image from: https://www.zazzle.com/my+mended+heart+gifts