Wisdom's Voice
It is said that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all. For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. Like fish taken in a cruel net, and like birds caught in a snare, so mortals are snared at a time of calamity, when it suddenly falls upon them. I have also seen this example of wisdom under the sun, and it seemed important to me. There was a little city with few people in it. A great king came against it and besieged it, building great siege-works against it. Now there was found in it a poor, wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that poor man. So I said, ‘Wisdom is better than might; yet the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heeded.’ The quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouting of a ruler among fools. Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one bungler destroys much good. - Ecclesiastes 9:11-18
The first point made in today's reading is that we never know what is going to happen. It is all up to chance. There may be no rhyme or reason to how things turn out. Stuff happens.
The second point is that we tend to listen to the ones who speak the loudest or who has the most money.
We see this a lot, especially among celebrities. We tend to value their opinions because we like the roles they play.
To be wise and unknown or poor is to be unheard.
Every so often, though, something tragic happens that elevates the voice of one who was unheard so that all hear and become aware. That is what happened recently. A man who was relatively unknown became a spokesman, a martyr for all who are ignored and unheard.
George Floyd was laid to rest yesterday with honors befitting a king, and the whole nation watched.
Will we remember him and change our ways? Or will he go back to being unheard?
It's up to us. And if we listen to the wisdom of Sirach, we will realize our lives are left to chance, so why not make the most of them?
More to come...