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Readings in Wisdom Literature
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First Reading for Daily Mass in Weeks 25 - 26 in Ordinary Time, Year II
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We explore three books of wisdom literature in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Each has a different take on the fundamental question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?”
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Proverbs
The Book of Proverbs is comprised of 9 sets of sayings and instructions, including many collections of loosely related couplets. The organizing principles of the book are based on acrostics – with many passages running 22 verses in length, one for each letter of the Hebrew alphabet – and other principles of Hebrew numerology. Proverbs claims that if one studies God’s Law and lives righteously, God will reward that person with prosperity, health, and family. God will cause those who are wicked to suffer.
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Job
The Book of Job is considered one of the great works of ancient literature. It tells the story of the title character, a prosperous, righteous man who loses his wealth, his family, and his health in rapid succession. Job asks why such tragedies have befallen him. His so-called “friends” spend most of the book telling Job that he must have done something wrong, and even if he hasn’t, he should still apologize to God. Job refuses to accept such simplistic answers, and he demands a response from God. God eventually explains to Job that human beings cannot comprehend the workings of God. It may not seem like much of an answer, but Job is satisfied.
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Ecclesiastes
The Book of Ecclesiastes (sometimes called Qoheleth) laments about the incomprehensibility of God. No matter how much we study the ways of the LORD, the LORD’s ways our beyond our understanding. The most famous refrain of the book is “vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” (“Vanity” means “a blowing of wind.) The author concludes that no matter how unpredictable life may be, the best solution is still to trust in God’s providence.
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NOTE: Readings for feasts and solemnities take precedence over the regular daily lectionary readings. On memorial days (such as most days commemorating a particular saint), a parish may choose to use other readings.
How can all three of these books be considered to be inspired by the Holy Spirit? They seem to contradict each other. We must remember that the Bible is not a book; it is a library of books, presenting many voices within the “cloud of witnesses” (Hebrews 12:1). These three books present us with a great example of dialectic: by holding the ideas of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes in dynamic tension with one another, we come to a deeper truth about the nature of God than we would reach by any one of these three books alone. Perhaps our response to such truth should be thehumility to recognize that God is greater than the limits of human comprehension.
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