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Our culture tends to be ambivalent about those with higher education. On the one hand we are wary of the highly educated, perceiving them as snobs with elitist stances toward the rest of humanity. On the other hand, we appreciate those who have achieved multiple university degrees, with a string of distinguishing letters after their names, as experts whose knowledge may and should be of help to humanity.

A common character in many of our culture’s jokes is the “brainiac” who possesses an extraordinary amount of book knowledge, but who cannot carry on the tasks of daily living with any grace and fluency. Much of the humor of two television sitcoms, “The Big Bang Theory” and “Young Sheldon,” comes from observing the title character who thinks at the forefront of theoretical physics, but who is ignorant of many of the customs that allow human beings to function in society. As my mother once told me: “You might hold a doctorate, but you don’t have the common sense God gave a turnip.”

This Lord’s Day’s readings brought all of this to my mind because they focus so powerfully on the notion of “wisdom.” Unlike our notions of knowledge as theoretical mastery of field of inquiry, the Hebrew notion of wisdom is closer to “cleverness” or “skill,” expertise in the practice of one’s art, craft or occupation. Just as there are people who gain “street knowledge” or “worldly wisdom” by their experiences, so there are those who gain a sage’s wisdom by learning the skills needed to live according to God’s way of life: the fear of God, discernment, prudence, understanding, discretion, equity, etc. This notion of wisdom is personified in the Old Testament as “Lady Wisdom” (“Hokmah”), especially in Proverbs 1, 3 and 9 and today’s reading: She originates from God, she participates in God’s creation, and she is discovered by God-inspired reflection on human life.

Today’s first reading is taken from the book of the Wisdom of Solomon, a document preserved in Greek and probably written ca. 100-50 BCE. In line with the author’s counsel to follow the example of Solomon in acquiring skill for living according to God’s intention, it depicts Lady Wisdom as radiantly beautiful, eminently desirable and in search of the seeker of “sagacity,” one who wants to develop quickness of perception, soundness in judgment and farsightedness. The good news here is that biblical wisdom is achievable by anyone whom God calls to acquire it/her.

Our responsorial psalm vividly depicts the person searching for wisdom: seeking, pining and thirsting for God; remembering God even when prepared for sleep; and meditating throughout the night on God’s intention for godly living.

The Gospel parable describes 10 female teenagers (probably the groom’s sisters and cousins) awaiting his return to his father’s family compound where he will take his place along with his wife in a new kinship setting. As John J. Pilch describes them in
“The Cultural World of Jesus, Sunday by Sunday, Cycle A” (The Liturgical Press, 1995), five are “clever” and five are “dull-witted.” Unlike the “wise” who are prepared for their roles in the ceremony, the “foolish” fail to make adequate plans in case of the spouses’ delay and are shut out from the wedding feast. Clearly the “dull-witted” have not learned the skills needed for their roles.

Finally, St. Paul warns the Thessalonian community (and us) not to fall into “foolishness” about death. “Wise” Christians do not grieve without hope for their beloved dead, and knowing that the death and resurrection of Jesus has opened new possibilities for human existence beyond physical death, they experience consolation from that knowledge.

As we grapple with the meaning of these Scriptures for our lives, we might want to consider the questions T.S. Eliot poses for us in the first part of his “Choruses from the Rock” (1934):

“Where is the Life we have lost in living?
Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge?
Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?”

Father Joncas, a composer, is an artist in residence at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul.

Sunday, Nov. 8?
Thirty-second Sunday?in Ordinary Time?