“Out of the Mouths of Babes”
Today’s readings speak of wisdom. In thinking about wisdom, I can’t help but think of little children. Countless times working as a catechist and teacher, I have been amazed by the wisdom of young children. “Out of the mouths of babes, comes wisdom.” How true it is. We adults often want to know all the answers, to make all the right decisions, and to get it right without any mistake. We want to be so “wise.” Yet today’s readings invite us to be simple and turn like little children to receive the gifts of wisdom and goodness from God’s banquet table. The First Reading refers to wisdom as a woman who has prepared her table of rich food and drink, and the Gospel reveals Jesus, true Wisdom Incarnate, who gives Himself to us as our true food and drink at the Eucharistic table.
It’s often so hard to know what to do, how to discern and what decisions to make. How can we know the right answer? How do we know what is best? In these times, we need wisdom. We need to ask the Holy Spirit to fill and inspire us with His wisdom. The readings teach us that God’s wisdom is not given to those who are knowledgeable by earthly standards. Wisdom is given to the simple, to those who do not understand, and to those who don’t have all the answers. Wisdom is given to the childlike, especially to those who turn in confidence to their Heavenly Father.
Today’s Psalm reminds us that in turning to God in the distress of our struggles, we taste and see God’s goodness. God frees us from shame, and our mouths are filled with praise and our faces radiant with joy! What a beautiful description of wisdom lived out as a true Christian! This is the joy and glory of the children of God who are ever “singing and playing to the Lord in their hearts,” in praise and gratitude! By coming to us as a little child, Jesus shows us the way. Furthermore, He gives us His grace and invites us to come and receive His whole self to us in the Eucharist. Today, let’s turn to the Lord and become like little children, simple and pure, delighting in the nourishment of our Eucharistic Jesus, the source of all wisdom and life.
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