Reflection
So we think we’re so smart
The reading from the Book of Wisdom is a brutal call for spiritual realism. No matter how much we think we know, we haven’t even begun to obtain precise knowledge about God. We are like fish who happen to share an earthly universe with other creatures but know nothing of what exists outside of a watery world.
The reading does end with the possibility that we can find the world’s Lord, and even quickly. However, the author of the Book of Wisdom warned that we can’t call God any of those objects we see before us.
We cannot begin to see the actual power of God from even the most glorious or devastating natural forces around us.
We shouldn’t even waste time thinking that our cognitive skills, like analogy, will help us measure the power of God.
The Creator of the entire universe is beyond human understanding. We are indeed limited in our view, like the fish.
On the other hand, God has made it clear what to do. The ancient prophets and Jesus’ disciples dutifully wrote down divine law. God’s son delivered a roadmap as much by his behavior as his words. It turns out that how well we adhere to that roadmap is indeed findable, measurable, and followable.
So yes, we know we will have found the Lord and felt satisfaction within us, even quickly, by the quality of our adherence to the word of the Lord.
