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Unusual Wisdom
During Advent, members of the A Nun’s Life community will be posting reflections on the Jesse Tree and the O Antiphons.
Day 13 :: Solomon written by Sisters Julie and Maxine
Sometimes wisdom doesn’t come in a nice neat package. It can be messy, cranky, weird, and downright bizarre. Who would have thought that the great king of wisdom — Solomon, the son of David and builder of the first temple of Jerusalem — would have suggested a very gruesome solution in order to settle a dispute between two mothers? Yet, in the end, the case was solved and Solomon has been praised for centuries for his most unusual exercise of wisdom.
We could use a little bit of unusual wisdom today. We had a full day planned for today and not one, not two, but a whole bundle of contrarieties popped up today throwing a gorilla wrench in our plans. Now we both appreciate a good plan and when it is blown asunder, it’s difficult to switch gears. Any chance you can relate?!
You might think that just because we are nuns that we would blissfully and serenely adjust to life’s unexpected twists and turns. But, you know, we’re human too and bliss is not what we were initially feeling. Then we took a moment and decided that out of this unexpected chaos, we could still make good on our day. We could make a choice to ape-preciate the gorilla wrenches and open ourselves to the new possibilities while simultaneously bidding farewell to the perfectly-good-but-no-longer-helpful plans we once had.
And therein lies the wisdom of Solomon — sometimes wisdom comes in very unusual packages. In what we initially took as a preposterous problem (how dare life change our plans!) we discovered a new way to be with one another and with our plans for the day. Surely the two women who fought over the child, each claiming that the child was theirs, thought it preposterous when Solomon suggested dividing the child in two. But one woman tapped into the deepest truth of her own being and her love for the child, and was willing to shift gears for the sake of the child. She didn’t hold onto her previous position (give me the child) though she had every right to. Rather she shifted and opened herself to the new. The other person? Not so much. She was willing to dig in her heels and take her “half” of the child. Obviously that would not end well.
So here’s our invitation this day — what contrariety has come your way? What unusual wisdom may be lurking within the situation?
Solomon, be with us as we negotiate the contrarieties of our daily life. Help us to use the wisdom and creativity that God has gifted us with and to remember always our truest self in Christ.
* * Want to revisit the other symbols of Advent? Click here on Jesse Tree. * *
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{ 4 comments }
oh, nuns, you nailed it today. and a tag-team blog!
i could give you a list, maybe? thinking i’m better and falling down the health well again, realizing i accidentally paid $30 for one-day shipping when i meant to get free shipping. jasper eating a stick of butter and vomiting all night? the car refusing to start (ugh, that one just kills me).
i can re-do any of these, and i don’t see a lot of room for wisdom, but in the spirit of wisdom, i’ve been trying to trust god to get me through even if i feel like garbage. it isn’t profound, i know, but it’s a start.
Garbage is one of those things that can be unusually wise too! Think of compost after all. Or Oscar the Grouch! Seriously, I know it’s tough and expensive and disgusting and all around vacuum-cleaner-esque (read: sucky). But we hang in there and as you say, trust God to get us through.
So who thinks it’s fair that I gave my firewood to someone in need, and the rats living in the woodpile have moved in with me! And… my dog thinks this is great…playmates! Where is a vicious cat when I need one? Also, St Francis and Bro Martin de Pores are sleeping and not helping out at all!
Can I borrow that big red guy??
OTOH, my neighbour is out pounding screening into entry points into my house; the roads were ok for me to travel to the eye doctor, and my eye surgery has produced good results. So maybe there is balance in the world sometimes.
oy vey.
at least you thought of a bright side!