Scripture: James 1:5

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.

Thought for the Day: James might be my favorite of the biblical authors. He just gives no-nonsense, straightforward advice. This is part of the reason I agree with the scholars who think the letter actually was written by James, the brother of Jesus. James is Wisdom literature, and this again makes sense if he was the brother of Jesus, who was the embodiment of Wisdom. For centuries Jewish theologians anthropomorphized Wisdom as a female entity. New Testament authors (also all Jewish) take this embodiment and apply it to Jesus instead. Jesus is both a wisdom teacher and the embodiment of Wisdom, the creative breath of God.

While Judaism probably wasn’t the first monotheistic religion, one of its great innovations was the idea that the greatest blessing a person could ask for is wisdom. Through Wisdom God created the world (which is what John means when he talks about the Word and implies Jesus as the great Wisdom of God). Wisdom is the key to God’s active presence in the world. If we take some time to understand Jesus as both an ancient wisdom teacher and the very embodiment of perfect Wisdom, we see that throughout Scripture he is teaching real monism—unity with God. The quest for wisdom brings us to complete fulfillment in the being of God, which then is our ultimate happiness. This does not mean a life free of strife or suffering (we need only to look at the life of Jesus for evidence of this fact). However, living in oneness with God and constantly asking for Divine Wisdom does make the suffering more bearable, and quite often leads us to places of peace and compassion we never dreamed possible.

We don’t need to ask God for anything other than to know and experience God more deeply in our normal, everyday lives. God, as the substance that is already and always flowing through our DNA, knows what we need and is constantly working to heal the wounds of this world. God is making us complete. We can help the process along by asking for the wisdom to lead lives of compassion, selflessness, love, and mercy—the very qualities we expect and hope God also possesses.

Prayer: Give me wisdom, God, so that I will make loving choices, and lead others to the true and lasting happiness that’s found only in your eternal embrace. Amen.