Most of
the time the Lord spoke to the Jewish people, well versed in Hebrew scripture.
The Gospel of Matthew was pointed towards Jewish Christians. Jesus is not
replacing what we call the Old Testament with the New Testament. He is combining the best of the Hebrew
Scriptures with the New Way, the Kingdom of God. The wise one, the scribe of
the Kingdom, therefore, knows how to use what is old and what is new[1].
It takes wisdom to understand how
to deal with the past and the present.
There are many people who idealize the past and want to return to life
as it was, for example, in the fifties. There are many others who want to
reject the past and concentrate only on the advancements of modern life. So, in
the area of family life, the first group wants to re-create the Cleaver Family,
and the second group sees a value in the Modern Family. In the area of faith,
the first group wants to return to the pre-Vatican Church and the second group
wants a Church without a visible structure.
How do we best deal with the past
and the present? Well, I believe that it
was the Russian poet/philosopher,
Yevtushenko, who had this insight. He said that the trick to handling the past
is to know what should be brought with us and what should be left behind[2]. That is
wisdom. For example, within the Church,
we should bring with us from the past devotion to the sacraments, to the Mother
of God, the importance of the Catholic Family, firm standards of morality, a
determination to practice the faith. What should be left behind would include
the subordination of the laity, the repression of the roles of women in the
faith, the glorification of the clergy, and the diminishing of the study of
Sacred Scripture.
We should also apply this to our
lives. All of us can look back on our
lives and note numerous positive and multiple negative aspects of our
lives. We have got to stop persecuting
ourselves by dwelling on the negatives of our past. When we do this, we are
bringing the past into the present. Leave it in the e past. At the same time,
it is not pride to recognize the gifts we have shown and to be sure that we
utilize our potential, or make our talents real in the present.
So, for example, a person went
through a period of life when he or she behaved immorally. Then, perhaps due to
a religious experience most likely occasioned by love, that person changed his
or her lifestyle and became the person he or she is now. He or she said, “I am
getting married now. I am having a child
now. I need to be a person of
integrity.” And that person grew up spiritually determined to live a new,
dedicated Christian lifestyle.
It would be so wrong for that
person or any of us to dwell on the mistakes of the past. If sin was involved,
well, remember the sacrament of reconciliation is given to us to leave the past
in the past and to concentrate on the present. On the positive side, a person
can look at his or her past and remember how volunteer work for the poor or
sick was so important during high school or college. Perhaps, he or she might remember how others
could not deal with a dying person, but how he or she was able to sit down and
chat with the sick person and see that person, not the person’s sickness. Reflecting on this, the person says, “Hey, I
can do this. And it is important for me
to use this gift God gave me. I’m going
to volunteer as an AIDS buddy or as a hospice companion.” This is looking at the past and bringing the
best with us to the present.
Solomon prayed for wisdom. Not a
bad idea. It takes wisdom to combat the challenges of life. It takes wisdom to be a good parent, a good
husband, a good wife, a good priest, a good person. It takes wisdom to discern what needs to be
brought into the present and what needs to be left in the past. Where do we get this wisdom? The same place that Solomon received his ■
[1] 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time A, July 27, 2014. Readings: 1 Kings 3:5,
7-12; Responsorial Psalm 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-128, 129-130; Romans 8:28-30;
Matthew 13:44-52
[2] Soviet and Russian poet. He is also a novelist, essayist, dramatist,
screenwriter, actor, and editor, and a director of several films.
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