Friday, November 14, 2025
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
No visible bottom
From Wisdom 13:
From the greatness and the beauty of created things
their original author, by analogy, is seen.
And from Romans 1:
Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities
—his eternal power and divine nature—
have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made.
From Wisdom 13:
All men were by nature foolish who were in ignorance of God,
and who from the good things seen did not succeed in knowing him who is,
and from studying the works did not discern the artisan.
But either fire, or wind, or the swift air,
or the circuit of the stars, or the mighty water,
or the luminaries of heaven, the governors of the world, they considered gods.
Now if out of joy in their beauty they thought them gods,
let them know how far more excellent is the Lord than these;
for the original source of beauty fashioned them.
Or if they were struck by their might and energy,
let them from these things realize how much more powerful is he who made them …
They indeed have gone astray perhaps,
though they seek God and wish to find him.
For they search busily among his works,
but are distracted by what they see, because the things seen are lovely.
But again, not even these are pardonable.
For if they so far succeeded in knowledge
that they could speculate about the world,
how did they not more quickly find its Lord?
And again from Romans 1:
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven
against all the godlessness and wickedness of people,
who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
 since what may be known about God is plain to them,
because God has made it plain to them …
For although they knew God,
they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him,
but their thinking became futile
and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Although they claimed to be wise,
they became fools
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God
for images made to look like a mortal human being
and birds and animals and reptiles.
The book of Wisdom was (scholars think) written between 200 BC and 100 AD. Paul’s letter to the Romans was written between 55 and 57 AD. Wisdom’s author, although uncertain, was probably a Jewish scholar living in Alexandria. Perhaps one of them read the other’s writing before beginning his own work. Who knows? But the similarity is striking and powerful when read together.
The Jewish scholar sounds more gentle than Paul. Paul’s anger/disgust/judgment pours out through his words, which are  directed at the entire fallen human race, of which, he says in 1 Timothy, he is the worst of all sinners.
But gentle or rough, both refer to Jesus’ frustration with all of human history, a history of entitlement leading us from spiritual insight and fear of the Lord to spiritual pride and forgetfulness.
As it was in the days of Noah … as it was in the days of Lot …
So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
Eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage …
Buying, selling, planting, building …
The flood comes for forty days and ends all life except what’s in the Ark. Fire and brimstone destroy Sodom and Gomorrah. And this “ending” will come again. Jesus tells us this.
But Jesus does not want us to abandon our daily lives, does he? I don’t think so. But we can help each other be alert for the final day of history. Some are more watchful, but to those who live one day at a time they sound paranoid and panicky. Jesus would like us to accept our differences and rely on each other, which requires that we remain a community.
Over time God’s revelation to me and my commitment to Christ fades into memory.  I begin to blame the culture for my own careless attitude toward Jesus’ return. But Jesus will have none of that.
On that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left.
Do not come down from the housetop
To retrieve your belongings in the house.
Do not return from the field to grab what was left behind.
Humankind has been reading these words of Jesus (in Luke 17 and Matthew 24) for thousands of years. How do I stay alert for even one lifetime, can I keep on keeping on? Two things come to mind.
I can accept rather than judge and reject the different timing and emotions of my fellows, all us humans living our personal lives in the midst of community. We are all one river, and we can listen to each other – listen to those of us who love to live human life with gusto every moment, and listen to those of us who prepare and watch. We need each other.
And second, read these words and all the words of Jesus, over and over and over. Anne Rice, committed Catholic-turned atheist author of vampire novels-turned reborn Christian, realized how this practice transformed her:
Coaxing the Gospels to come alive took tremendous dedication, and it was also incredibly rewarding … Because I’d heard every word of Scripture from the pulpit, it was hard not to skip over the familiar passages as I read. I was skimming the entire Gospel. I had to make myself stop this, to read and reread the entire book until the flow of the work became as familiar as the individual words. Suddenly, the Gospels stopped being a passel of quotations and became a living account.
I now find them inexhaustible, and picking up the Gospel on any given morning is picking up a brand-new book. There’s no visible bottom to this well of meaning. The words push one to the brink of mystical realizations. The words never stop inspiring responses that are beyond the words. (Called Out of Darkness, pp. 209-222)
There is no fear in love. Do not be afraid. Watch, be alert, know Jesus and his words. Learn to trust each other as we trust God. Nothing simple here, but it’s the right way to live and … wait.
(Wisdom 13, Psalm 19, Luke 21, Luke 17)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
#
