Wisdom is a Lot Like Compost

There a number of parallels between wisdom and compost:

-       Both are a distillation of what has gone before.

-       Both result from a God conceived, controlled, ordained process.

-       The quality of both improves with the diversity of its inputs—to a point. Just as some things are not compostable, or at least degrade the quality of compost, some things will not lend themselves to wisdom.

-       The processes for creating/accumulating both takes time.

-       We can create circumstances that expedite those processes. We can also do things which slow or stop those processes.

-       Those processes inherently involve some unpleasant stuff, but their results far exceed that unpleasantness if the processes are pursued to completion.

-       Applying both results in very real good, on multiple levels.

-       Both produce their results via application to the ordinary, background, circumstances where they are applied.

-       They usually do not produce dramatic results instantaneously, but instead produce their benefits gradually, over time.

-       Their benefits persist over time, beyond the accomplishment of their initial purposes.

-       They can not only result in positive growth, but also prevent maladies/difficulties.

-       Their fruits can be recycled to renew the supply.

Lectionary 148: Loving God and/by Loving Our Neighbors

Key:

What these passages tell us about God

What these passages tell us to do

What these passages tell us not to do

Commentary/observations

Reading 1 EX 22:20-26                                                                        

Thus says the LORD:
"You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.

"If you lend money to one of your poor neighbors among my people,
you shall not act like an extortioner toward him
by demanding interest from him.
If you take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge,
you shall return it to him before sunset;
for this cloak of his is the only covering he has for his body.
What else has he to sleep in?
If he cries out to me, I will hear him; for I am compassionate."

Responsorial Psalm PS 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51                                     

R. (2) I love you, Lord, my strength.
I love you, O LORD, my strength,
O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
My God, my rock of refuge,
my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold!
Praised be the LORD, I exclaim,
and I am safe from my enemies.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.
The LORD lives and blessed be my rock!
Extolled be God my savior.
You who gave great victories to your king
and showed kindness to your anointed.
R. I love you, Lord, my strength.

Reading 2 1 THES 1:5C-10                                                                  

Brothers and sisters:
You know what sort of people we were among you for your sake.
And you became imitators of us and of the Lord,
receiving the word in great affliction, with joy from the Holy Spirit,
so that you became a model for all the believers
in Macedonia and in Achaia.
For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth
not only in Macedonia and in Achaia,
but in every place your faith in God has gone forth,
so that we have no need to say anything.
For they themselves openly declare about us
what sort of reception we had among you,
and how you turned to God from idols
to serve the living and true God
and to await his Son from heaven,
whom he raised from the dead,
Jesus, who delivers us from the coming wrath.

Alleluia JN 14:23

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord,
and my Father will love him and we will come to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel MT 22:34-40                                                                             

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together, and one of them,
a scholar of the law tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God,
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your mind.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."

1.    Today’s reading describes the love relationship God wants with and among humanity.

2.   The gospel reading describes the love God desires from us. He wants whole hearted, focused, and all-pervading love and commitment from each of us. More scriptures on how much God loves us are collected here. 

3.   The second reading describes some of the ways we can give God that love: by becoming “imitators of … the lord,” by turning away from other things to God, and by “serv[ing] the living and true God.” The alleluia verse describes another way, keeping His word.

4.   The gospel and the first reading describe other, related, ways we love God: by loving our neighbors. As just discussed, we show our love for God when we imitate Him, and we certainly imitate Him when we treat others well. See Matthew 5:44-45. That also manifests love for God because it is turning away from our inherently self-centered natures to take on some aspect of God’s nature. As also discussed, we show love to God by serving Him, and we are certainly serving Him when we meet others’ needs; we become the means by which God’s love is delivered and His will is done. Finally on this point, loving on others shows our love for God because it is a way of keeping God’s word; one of scripture’s most pervasive themes is treating the vulnerable well. See the scriptures collected here.