Wisdom

“Wisdom is a reflection of the eternal light, 
a spotless mirror of the working of God” 
(Wisdom 7:26)

     Fact: As seen from the Earth, Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. Of all the luminous bodies in the Heavens, her splendor is unchallenged. No ancient mythology ignored her brilliance or denied her pride of place. The Egyptian pharaohs predicted the annual Nile floods, so vital to civilization itself in that time, by her helical rising. Stories abound in every culture on every continent concerning the star’s origin, her significance, but most of all her surpassing beauty. Yes, Sirius is truly preeminent.

     And yet… she is nowhere near to being the brightest thing in the night sky. The least of the visible planets outshines her when favorably placed. And even the slimmest Moon puts her to shame. But wait – not one of these objects emits the smallest particle of its own light. Absent the Sun, they would be dark, dark, dark. Their glory – all of it – is purely reflective. Yet it more than suffices. Indeed, there is no star which can compare with the aetherial splendor of Venus in an evening sky, or the baleful red glare of warlike Mars at opposition, or the regal majesty of Jupiter, King of Worlds, striding across the zodiac. And the full Moon puts to flight all but the brightest stars when she reigns as Queen of Heaven. And all by reflected light.

     Far too often we pay all too much attention to those forever touting their own virtues – the athlete boasting “I am the greatest”, or the politician telling us how much integrity he has. (Am I the only one bothered by people who seek my vote going on about their supposedly virtuous selves?) Funny how all that frantic effort to promote one’s self is ultimately doomed. For in the end of ends, we find our true light by reflecting that of our neighbors. We bask in each other’s glory. We feel civic pride when the home team takes the pennant, or when the local school district scores high in math or science. A city or state pulling together after a natural disaster steps a bit livelier, despite the tragedy. People spontaneously show small acts of kindness or courtesy.

     What a horrid world it would be in which everyone cared only for his or her own self image, where reputation was a zero-sum game. I sometimes think this was at the root of the fall of Satan. He could not bear to merely reflect God’s glory in his own being – he had to be himself the source of it.

     The next time you’re out barbecuing (with charcoal, not with a gas grill) and the coals are red hot, reach in with the tongs and grab the brightest one. Set it aside from the others and watch how quickly it dims. Before long, it’s cool enough to pick up with your bare fingers. Meanwhile, the others are still glowing merrily away, feeding off each other’s heat.

     The same is our own fate, when we attempt to go it alone, when we’re satisfied with “I got mine!”, or when we try to one-up Ptolemy and regard ourselves as being the Center of the Universe.