Wisdom and Love

Choosing wisdom and love over knowledge and information

09/04/2018

Luke 4:31-37 Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee. He taught them on the sabbath, and they were astonished at his teaching because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out in a loud voice, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!" Jesus rebuked him and said, "Be quiet! Come out of him!" Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm. They were all amazed and said to one another, "What is there about his word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." And news of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

In our culture we put a pretty high premium on acquiring knowledge and information, but we struggle to see the value of obtaining wisdom and love. Children in school are graded on how much book-learning they can master. Scholarships are awarded based on GPA averages and standardized test scores, not on the caliber of conversation in the lunchroom or the behavior on the playground where we find the practicioners of wisdom and love.

I recently heard of a telling exchange between the CEO of a fortune five hundred company and a vice president who reported to him. Apparently, a certain company growth strategy had not succeeded as both men hoped, but the vice president had missed some critical information. The vice president shrugged: “I really thought that plan would work.” The CEO coldly replied: “I do not pay you to think; you are paid to know.” Knowledge and information are prized as paramount in the present day, while deep thinking, wisdom and love are negotiable or negligible, not as critical.

The Bible, too, weighs in on the business of knowledge and information on the one hand versus wisdom and love on the other hand. You can probably guess whose side the Scriptures stand on. To really underscore the point that knowledge is not everything, a demon declares: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God!” That demon was smarter than all the spectators that day, and could easily have gotten scholarships to any Ivy League college he chose. He knew a lot of information, but his tank was empty of wisdom and love. You might say, demons are not paid to think; they are paid to know. But information and knowledge are not everything in life, and they are not even the most important things, even if we mistakenly think they are at times.

I believe this insight can have some radical implications today, and offers us some practical applications, especially for the Ladies Auxiliary. Perhaps prizing deep wisdom and love over mere knowledge and information should guide promotions of the Church’s prelates. The clergy abuse scandal certainly suggests that in the past priests were promoted who lacked real wisdom and love, even if they might have been extremely knowledgeable. We need church leaders who are willing to think as well as to know, to love as well as to have volumes of information. We are not always sure what to do with the elderly who begin to forget things due to age and Alzheimer’s. But they never lose their ability to reflect deeply – even if they cannot always express those thoughts – and to love tenderly. Sometimes we judge people unfairly because we emphasize to an extreme the value of knowledge and information, and overlook wisdom and love.

This insight likewise highlights the great blessing of the Ladies Auxiliary. You are not just a group of girls that sits around gossiping all day. Well, maybe you might gossip a little. But you are far more concerned in loving each other unconditionally as when you check up on each other and pray for each other. You work tirelessly to build up the Church, like in helping underwrite the costs of liturgical supplies and rectory needs (like more movie channels). And you are keenly aware of accompanying grieving families during the loss of a loved one by singing at funeral Masses and preparing funeral meals. All these things require wisdom and love more than knowledge and information, just like a delicious lemon meringue pie needs three scoops of love more than following an internet recipe to the letter.

Maybe I am just saying all this because as I get older I also notice I forget things from frequently. And I hope people will be nice to me even if I do not know a lot of stuff! But I am not alone in hoping this. St. John of the Cross, the great Carmelite monk and mystic, observed: “At the end of our life, we will be judged on how much we loved.” Wisdom and love will be on the entrance exam to get into heaven, even if they are not required to enter Harvard.

Praised be Jesus Christ!