James 3:17-18 and Wisdom in the Dominican Tradition

Wisdom

“Wisdom from above is first of all innocent. It is also peaceable, lenient, docile, rich in sympathy and the kindly deeds that are its fruits, impartial and sincere. The harvest of justice is sown in peace for those who cultivate peace.”

-James 3:17-18

This reading describes wisdom from above (meaning wisdom coming from God, wisdom from the Holy Spirit–wisdom that is in line with the Lord’s commandments and embraces His perfect and divine will for our lives) as innocent.

Not innocent as in “naive” but innocent as in “pure/undefiled/pure of heart.” We know the importance of being pure of heart from Matthew 5:8 which says “Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God”.

Next, wisdom is described as peaceable which means “avoiding argument or conflict.” Matthew 5:9 says “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.” Wise peacemakers listen and seek to understand other points of view and avoid petty, trivial conflicts and fights. Yet these peacemakers never shy away from the Truth or hesitate to defend the faith.

Next wisdom is described as lenient, which in our modern times can mean tolerant or relaxed; it implies someone “got off easy” or escaped justice. When talking about lenient wisdom, it means wisdom tempered with mercy.

Wisdom is lastly characterized by being “docile and rich in sympathy,” or, in other words, gentle and filled with compassion. It does not include harsh judgments or actions.

Wisdom from above produces kindly deeds as its fruits which are impartial and sincere or fair, just, and genuine.

This beautiful perfect wisdom from above can be contrasted with wisdom from below or earthly or worldly wisdom. Worldly wisdom is selfish and self-centered. It seeks to glorify itself versus illuminating the Truth. It elevates the individual while ignoring the One from whom all wisdom flows. It is argumentative and arrogant and wants to be right at all costs.

Our founder St. Dominic relied on wisdom from above when he spent all night talking with an innkeeper who had fallen away from the Catholic church, and this wisdom from above led to the innkeeper’s conversion.

Our patroness St. Catherine of Siena relied on wisdom from above when writing an impassioned plea to Pope Gregory XI to encourage the Holy Father to return to Rome.

Let us follow the examples of Sts. Dominic and Catherine and continue to grow in wisdom from above and sow the seeds of peace and reject the so-called wisdom of below. We can do this by following our lay Dominican pillars: we study so that we continue to learn and form ourselves in faith and grow in knowledge and wisdom, we pray to conform our hearts and mind to God’s will and nourish our souls, we actively participate in our community to build each other up, to assist and challenge one another, to learn to love each other as Christ first loved us and hold each other accountable, and we live out apostolate by sharing our wisdom with others.