Scripture Reflection and Prayer : Journeying together

Monday, 31 August 2026

KNOWING CHRIST AS THE WISDOM OF GOD

20260901 KNOWING CHRIST AS THE WISDOM OF GOD

01 September 2026, Tuesday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

First reading

1 Corinthians 2:10-16

The Spirit reaches even the depths of God

The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God. After all, the depths of a man can only be known by his own spirit, not by any other man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God. Now instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God, to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us. Therefore we teach, not in the way in which philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually. An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit. A spiritual man, on the other hand, is able to judge the value of everything, and his own value is not to be judged by other men. As scripture says: Who can know the mind of the Lord, so who can teach him? But we are those who have the mind of Christ.

How to listen

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 144(145):8-14

The Lord is just in all his ways.

The Lord is kind and full of compassion,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

How good is the Lord to all,

compassionate to all his creatures.

The Lord is just in all his ways.

All your creatures shall thank you, O Lord,

and your friends shall repeat their blessing.

They shall speak of the glory of your reign

and declare your might, O God,

to make known to men your mighty deeds

and the glorious splendour of your reign.

The Lord is just in all his ways.

Yours is an everlasting kingdom;

your rule lasts from age to age.

The Lord is faithful in all his words

and loving in all his deeds.

The Lord supports all who fall

and raises all who are bowed down.

The Lord is just in all his ways.

Gospel Acclamation

Heb4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of God is something alive and active:

it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 4:31-37

'I know who you are: the Holy One of God'

Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.

In the synagogue there was a man who was possessed by the spirit of an unclean devil, and it shouted at the top of its voice, ‘Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus said sharply, ‘Be quiet! Come out of him!’ And the devil, throwing the man down in front of everyone, went out of him without hurting him at all. Astonishment seized them and they were all saying to one another, ‘What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.’ And reports of him went all through the surrounding countryside.

KNOWING CHRIST AS THE WISDOM OF GOD

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 CORINTHIANS 2:10-16; LUKE 4:31-37]

In the Gospel, it is ironic that when Jesus cast out a devil from a possessed man in the synagogue, it was the devil who recognised His holiness and identity. The devil shouted at the top of its voice: “Ha! What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God!” Significantly, the bystanders had no reaction whatsoever to what the devil said. Surely they would have heard the confession, since he shouted at the top of his voice. Why was there no reaction–neither affirmation nor denial? If we had been present to hear and witness the incident, we would have shuddered in fear or bewilderment. Yet those around Jesus seemed oblivious to what the devil shouted.

How is it that the devil recognised Jesus’ true identity and reacted defensively with trepidation, while the people had no reaction at all?And how could the devil recognise Jesus’ identity yet fail to worship Him? As St. James wrote: “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe–and shudder” (Jas 2:19). Indeed, one can believe in God and yet not have faith in Him. This is an intellectual belief based on external knowledge. Many of us can read about Jesus–even study His life and teachings–and still lack faith in Him. We can speak of what others think of Him or what He claimed to be, but we cannot say anything about Him based on our own personal conviction. Such knowledge of God or Christ cannot save us.

Earlier, St. Paul spoke of “Christ as the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24). “He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30). However, this knowledge and conviction of Christ as the power and wisdom of God cannot be rationalised by human wisdom. God’s wisdom is different from human wisdom, as seen in the Crucified Christ. Only those who are humble enough to enter into the mind of God can understand divine wisdom. St. Paul wrote: “As it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the human heart conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him’–these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Cor 2:9-10). How can we know the mind of God unless the Spirit reveals it to us? After all, the depths of a man, and in the same way the depths of God can only be known by the Spirit of God. Now, instead of the spirit of the world, we have received the Spirit that comes from God to teach us to understand the gifts that he has given us.”

In other words, while knowledge and philosophy can provide a foundation for belief, the best they can do is provide us with historical data. “Therefore we teach, not in the way in which philosophy is taught, but in the way that the Spirit teaches us: we teach spiritual things spiritually. An unspiritual person is one who does not accept anything of the Spirit of God: he sees it all as nonsense; it is beyond his understanding because it can only be understood by means of the Spirit.” Philosophy is the foundation for theology insofar as it provides a systematic tool for us to understand and explain our faith logically and rationally, making it coherent and credible.

However, philosophy is only a tool for theological reasoning–not the end itself. Scripture is the basis for theological reflection because it is the Word of God. Theology seeks to understand the Word of God according to the mind of Christ and through the Spirit given to the Church. In the Gospel of John, Jesus explained the role of the Holy Spirit regarding our faith: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (Jn 16:12-15).

Hence, in the final analysis, we need the courage to open not just our minds, but also our hearts to the Spirit of God. We must be ready to surrender in trust after hearing the Word of God. We cannot keep God at a distance if we want to know Him; He is not merely a set of data to analyse. If He were, He would no longer be a person, but an impersonal force or abstract idea. Rather, God is a person we must reckon with. Understanding God is vastly different from evaluating objective data. Knowing data or reading a biography provides information, but true understanding only comes through personal relationship. No one can really understand God until they know Him from within. Thus, knowingGod is radically different from knowing about God.

The Christian path to God is through inner, personal knowledge. We need to view the world as He sees it and on His terms. Unlike the Greeks who worshipped the notion of Wisdom as an abstract idea, Paul personified the wisdom of God in the Crucified Christ. Against the world’s love of power, strength, and glory, St. Paul showed us the wisdom of God through the language of the cross. God is not an abstract set of ideas or values; He reveals Himself to us through His Spirit.

This is why Jesus spoke differently from the scribes and Pharisees. We are told that “his teaching made a deep impression on them because he spoke with authority.” Whereas the scribes and Pharisees spoke with an authority derived from academic study of the Scriptures, that knowledge remained purely intellectual. This explains why, despite all their knowledge, their lives remained unchanged. The Lord condemned them, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them… But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them” (Mt 23:2-4, 13).

Jesus’ authority came from His personal, intimate relationship with the Father. His secret was spending time with His Father in prayer.At the end of the chapter, we are told: “At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose'” (Lk 4:42-43). Jesus was clear about His work and mission because He derived His authority directly from the Father: “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing on his own, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, the Son does likewise. The Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing; and he will show him greater works than these, so that you will be astonished” (Jn 5:19-20).

It was this divine authority–a personal consciousness of His relationship with the Holy One of God–that astonished the people into saying: “What teaching! He gives orders to unclean spirits with authority and power and they come out.” Jesus spoke with conviction and authority because of His oneness with the Father in mind and will. He revealed His holiness to the devil and manifested divine authority through His teaching and exorcisms. Therefore, as His teachers, apostles, and evangelists, it is essential that we know the Lord Jesus Christ personally through our receptivity to His Word. As St. Paul wrote: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For one believes with the heart and so is justified, and one confesses with the mouth and so is saved” (Rom 10:9-10).

Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections

Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.

Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.

CHRISTIAN FAITH IS A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST

20260831 CHRISTIAN FAITH IS A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST

31 August 2026, Monday, 22nd Week in Ordinary Time

First reading

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

The only knowledge I claimed was of the crucified Christ

When I came to you, brothers, it was not with any show of oratory or philosophy, but simply to tell you what God had guaranteed. During my stay with you, the only knowledge I claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about him as the crucified Christ. Far from relying on any power of my own, I came among you in great ‘fear and trembling’ and in my speeches and the sermons that I gave, there were none of the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of the Spirit. And I did this so that your faith should not depend on human philosophy but on the power of God.

How to listen

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 118(119):97-102

Lord, how I love your law!

Lord, how I love your law!

It is ever in my mind.

Your command makes me wiser than my foes;

for it is mine for ever.

Lord, how I love your law!

I have more insight than all who teach me

for I ponder your will.

I have more understanding than the old

for I keep your precepts.

Lord, how I love your law!

I turn my feet from evil paths

to obey your word.

I have not turned from your decrees;

you yourself have taught me.

Lord, how I love your law!

Gospel Acclamation

Jn8:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;

anyone who follows me will have the light of life.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 4:16-30

'This text is being fulfilled today, even as you listen'

Jesus came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,

for he has anointed me.

He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,

to proclaim liberty to captives

and to the blind new sight,

to set the downtrodden free,

to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’ And he won the approval of all, and they were astonished by the gracious words that came from his lips. They said, ‘This is Joseph’s son, surely?’

But he replied, ‘No doubt you will quote me the saying, “Physician, heal yourself” and tell me, “We have heard all that happened in Capernaum, do the same here in your own countryside.”’

And he went on, ‘I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.

‘There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town. And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.’

When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.

CHRISTIAN FAITH IS A PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST

SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 COR 2:1-5; LK 4:16-30]

How does one come to faith in Christ? There are two main approaches: by way of understanding and by way of faith. Both are acceptable, though neither is complete on its own. We can understand to believe, as St. Thomas Aquinas suggested, or believe to understand, as St. Augustine taught. It is not wrong to try to understand before we believe; otherwise, we might be judged irresponsible or overly credulous. Yet, there is another way to reach truth: through faith itself–surrendering first, and then seeking to grasp the teachings deeper.

Most people think that the way to know God is through an intellectual understanding of Him. They think that once they fully comprehend God, they will be able to surrender in faith. Consequently, they immerse themselves in research, using apologetics and proofs to convince others. Yet, mere cerebral knowledge cannot bring about real conversion. In times of trial, those whose faith relies strictly on theology often fall away because they find a silent God incomprehensible, since He does not seem to be very much concerned with the plight of humanity.

Indeed, a real dichotomy often exists between faith and intellectual knowledge, particularly among Catholics. Statistics show that many young people who have been instructed in the doctrines of the faith from kindergarten through adolescence still lack a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Their faith remains purely notional, leading to a lack of fervour and disengagement from Church life. Sadly, many gradually stop attending Sunday Mass after receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation. In traditional Catholic regions, reports reveal that fewer than 20% of students taking theology courses attend Sunday services. In some places, catechists with degrees in religious education teach in schools without practicing the faith themselves.

This explains why St. Paul, a brilliant scholar and intellectual himself, refused to rely on human philosophy to win converts for Christ. He wrote: “Far from relying on any power of my speeches and the sermons that I gave, there were none of the arguments that belong to philosophy; only a demonstration of the power of the Spirit. And I did this so that your faith should not depend on human philosophy but on the power of God.”

The truth is that when we try to argue over our faith, the rationalistic mind naturally becomes defensive and focuses on winning the argument rather than sincerely seeking the truth. As St. Paul notes, the wisdom of God far surpasses human understanding. Ultimately, God remains a mystery even after revealing Himself, as no one can fully understand His mind unless He chooses to reveal those truths to us.

This does not mean an intellectual grasp of our faith is unimportant. Rather, it serves as a preliminary step and a natural corollary to faith. Once we truly believe in God, we naturally desire to explore and master the evidence of what we believe about Christ as handed down by the Church.

Truly, what brings a person to faith is a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God’s love in person. Pope Benedict XVI, in his encyclical God is Love, wrote: “We have come to believe in God’s love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. Saint John’s Gospel describes that event in these words: ‘God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should … have eternal life'” (3:16). This aligns with what St. Paul said: “Brothers, when I came to you, it was not with any show of oratory or philosophy, but simply to tell you what God had guaranteed. During my stay with you, the only knowledge I claimed to have was about Jesus, and only about him as the crucified Christ.”

It was through St. Paul’s personal encounter with the Risen Lord on the road to Damascus–where he was travelling to persecute Christians–that he became convinced of God and His love for us, a love that is unconditional and unmerited. As he contemplated God’s love revealed in the Crucified Christ, he was brought to the humble realisation of how deeply God loved him. He wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal 2:20). And again, he wrote, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Cor 5:14-15).

Jesus in the Gospels also demands faith in Him before performing any miracles. Unfortunately, the people of His hometown knew Him too well as a human being and could not accept that He was different from them. Their pride and prejudice prevented them from listening to His message, as they viewed Him merely as the son of Joseph, the carpenter. As Jesus remarked from His own experience of rejection, “I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.” Like many of His contemporaries who could not comprehend how a crucified Jesus could be the Messiah, His townspeople ultimately rejected Him, even though His preaching initially won their admiration. Similarly, the ancient Greeks with their rational minds could not accept that God, who represents perfection, could undergo suffering, believing that a God who suffers would be susceptible to human influence.

Once again, the same message is underscored: the wisdom of God is folly to man. We cannot fully comprehend God’s wisdom or His ways. If we wish to come to God, it must be on His terms, not ours. God is sovereign in His ways and love. His transcendence does not permit us to manipulate and control Him. To illustrate this truth, Jesus pointed to the examples of Elijah performing a miracle for the widow of Zarephath–a Sidonian town–when she and her son were facing starvation, and Elisha healing Naaman, the Syrian commander, of his leprosy. Both were healed because they surrendered to God in faith. Faith, therefore, is the essential condition for encountering the living God.

How then can we acquire this faith in Him? St. Paul invites us to contemplate the mercy and love of God revealed in Christ Jesus. The Gospel shows that Jesus is the living embodiment of God’s compassion and love, as the prophet Isaiah aptly describes in predicting the Messiah’s mission: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” When we truly recognise His love for us, our hearts and minds open to His word. This was precisely the case with Naaman–once he experienced God’s mercy through healing, he was deeply moved to believe.

To find faith, we must first experience His love. We must take that initial step by surrendering ourselves as much as our human capacity allows. When we demonstrate a sincere desire to believe in Him–even when our faith feels weak–God responds by giving us the Holy Spirit to draw us close to Him. Only through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, who pours the love of God directly into our hearts, can we truly know with certainty that God is real and that He is love.

This faith in Christ, however, is not merely an emotional experience of God; it must lead to obedience. True faith expresses itself through obedience, as the psalmist declares in response to God’s love: “Lord, I love your commands. How I love your law, O Lord! It is my meditation all the day. Your command has made me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers when your decrees are my meditation. I have more discernment than the elders, because I observe your precepts.” St. Paul wrote: “Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith” (Rom 1:5). He concludes his letter by reiterating the call to obedience demanded by faith: “Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might come to the obedience of faith” (Rom 16:25-26).

In the final analysis, we know that our faith in Christ is genuine only when we obey His commandments and bear the fruit of charity in our lives. As St. John remarks, “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did” (1 John 2:3-6). Like St. Paul and our Lord, we too are called to proclaim the Good News through works of mercy, compassion, and liberation.

Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections

Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.

Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.