Daily Reading for December 16 • The Third Sunday of Advent
O Wisdom, you came forth from the mouth of the Most High and reach from one end of the earth to the other, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence. (Listen)
In his book, The Far-Spent Night, Edward West pointed out that the first thing needed in preparing to meet the Lord is prudence or “good sense.” “It is good sense,” he said, “which makes the disobedient listen to the wisdom of the just. It is good sense which makes [us] cope with the whole of life as a unit. It is good sense applied to every area of living which is the outward and visible sign of an inner integrity. In short, it means to have understanding, but it is an understanding of wisdom.”
In the context of the Old Testament, wisdom is always a gift from God, rather than some skill or knowledge that we can gain for ourselves. In the context of the New Testament, wisdom is a person. Wisdom is who Christ is and what Christ does. Wisdom is often thought of as feminine—as the Greek “Sophia”—through which we access a deeper knowledge and understanding of God not only as creator, but also as nurturer and sustainer.
It is when wisdom truly comes to us that we will have the prudence—the good sense—to listen and to follow where Christ leads. In asking Christ to come as Wisdom, we are praying for a unity in our life that will draw us into purpose and vision, and away from fragmentation and unproductivity. The Wisdom that is Christ may well lead us in the ways of the just: into compassion, concern, peace, justice, and love.
O Wisdom,
gift on the breath of creation,
measurer of the earth and seas,
singer of paths for stars and planets in the heavens,
holder of all things together
since before time and forever.
My sister, my friend,
as the Spirit of the Lord fills the whole world,
and as you know every word that is said,
come as mentor and guide:
so I’ll delight in knowledge,
claim intuition and understanding for my own,
discern, learn
what his advent holds for me.
O Wisdom, my sister,
let us lean close, laugh and weep together,
be one with each other as we shout our whispered greeting
to the Lord of life.
From Hasten the Kingdom: Praying the O Antiphons of Advent by Mary Winifred, C.A. (Liturgical Press, 1996).