Brief synopsis of the readings: Our first reading comes from the book of Proverbs and it personifies Wisdom as a woman. Here Wisdom has prepared her home for a feast, taking care to ensure everything is in place. She has also invited “whoever is simple to turn in here.” This is to allow them to forsake foolishness so as to advance in the way of understanding. John’s Gospel continues directly after last week. Still speaking to the crowd Jesus reminds them that he is the true bread: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” Again the learned in the crowd quarreled among themselves about how anyone can give their flesh to eat. Finally, Jesus reminds them that no matter what their ancestors ate, even manna, they still died. Only the flesh of Jesus will grant eternal life.

When we talk about what it means to be a Christian I sometimes think we put too much emphasis on obedience and not enough emphasis on wisdom. As you may have heard me say, when I was a priest hearing confessions I used to talk about praying for the gift of wisdom and I explained that wisdom allows us to act in the moment in the way we would have acted if we had time to think about it. We can all recall times when we’ve made a snap decision that turned out to be foolish and we wish we had it to do over again. Ask anyone who has purchased a time share.

But there’s a problem. So often we think everything intellectual is wisdom. In John’s Gospel we hear about the grumbling of “the Jews” and at times passages like this have been used to justify antisemitism. But here “the Jews” aren’t a random group: they were the ones who refused to even listen to Jesus and instead rested on their authority and respect. They weren’t particularly wise; instead they were good at memorization. They were able to memorize large passages of the Old Testament and argue among themselves over the meaning. There’s nothing wrong with memorization and many people have made money using that skill on game shows.

But it’s not wisdom. Wisdom comes from paying attention to life experiences and integrating that with our love for each other. It comes not just from memorizing what we read in Deuteronomy about divorce but listening to a neighbor who needed to escape an abusive marriage. It comes from making the connection in Leviticus on treatment of refugees with those who seek asylum today. It comes from listen not just with our ears but also our heart. It comes from really listening, not rehearsing our answer when the other person is talking. Wisdom isn’t a skill, it’s a value.

It’s also the first of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Catholics of a certain age (like mine) remember having to memorize these gifts: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. Particularly when we were preparing for Confirmation as young teenagers we were told that these gifts would guide our moral principles as we lived as disciples.

And while it’s a tall order today, we should recognize that it’s always been a tall order. Those who attacked Jesus in the Gospel were clearly protecting their own power and influence and it’s important to note that many of them would eventually come over to be followers of Jesus. But it’s almost comical how hard they worked to misunderstand the Eucharist. For us it’s obvious that the Eucharist came out of the the escape from Egypt. They followed Moses and we follow one greater than Moses. They ate manna from heaven to save their lives and we eat Eucharist to give us eternal life.

In their foolishness they conflated Eucharist not with eternal life, but with cannibalism. Jesus wasn’t a sacrificial lamb to placate God and his flesh wasn’t finite. In the ancient world a person may sacrifice untold numbers of animals because once they were sacrificed they were “used up.” The Body of Christ, the Eucharist, isn’t finite. The more we share, the more there is. It’s also worth noting that pagans in succeeding generations mistook Christians for cannibals because they “ate the flesh of Jesus.” It’s hard to know if this was an honest mistake or a silly attempt to ridicule Christians.

But if the Body of Christ isn’t literally the muscle and bone of Jesus it’s also not a “super vitamin.” It’s not as if the baked, unleavened flour and water that makes up the Eucharist contains some additional human element; to human senses it’s still baked, unleavened flour and water. It becomes Eucharist only when we recognize how it changes how we live in the world; it doesn’t divide the world into “those who have it” and “those who don’t.” It’s not exclusive.

The wisdom that Eucharist gifts us is all about the first reading from Proverbs. Wisdom doesn’t prepare a meal so everyone can look at it in awe. Crucially her maidens did not go out to invite the rich and the powerful; it’s not meant to be the social event of the season to be covered by only the best influencers. Instead she invited the simple and those who lack understanding. I think, in a practical sense, those are the people most aware of their need for wisdom. Eucharist is offered to them because they are the ones who will eagerly accept it.

Finally, let us offer some patience for those who grumble, those who don’t eagerly accept. Oftentimes they have been told that they have earned the status and the power they exercise. There’s an old joke in baseball about the guy who comes to third base as a pinch runner and wants everyone to think he hit a triple. The message of Jesus isn’t an easy one and not everyone gets it on the first hearing. But those who embrace the message of the Eucharist that we are all equally beloved will come to be a light for the nations. Those who exclude themselves will eventually learn that their exclusivity leaves them out. And we can be the ones who invite them.