Wisdom has built her house, she has set up her seven pillars. She has slaughtered her beasts, she has mixed her wine, she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids to call from the highest places in the town, ‘Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!’ To him who is without sense she says, ‘Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave simpleness, and live, and walk in the way of insight’ (Prov 9:1-6, RSVCE).
In the ancient world, thanks to the influence of Greek culture, banquets were often forums for philosophical discussion. Here, the Book of Proverbs personifies Wisdom as a hostess of such a banquet, and she is a generous hostess. Not only does she invite aristocrats, as one may expect from the host of a Greek symposium, but she also invites the simple and unlearned so that they too may become wise. For them, Wisdom’s banquet promises both a good meal and wise instruction.
Many Fathers of the Church, who noticed that St. Paul calls Jesus “the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24), read this passage from Proverbs Christologically. By becoming flesh, the Word built a house. On the night before he was to suffer, Jesus mixed his wine and set his table. The guests at his banquet were his apostles. By following their teacher, those formerly simple men left simpleness and walked in the way of insight. Jesus prepared them to eat of his bread and drink of the wine he mixed: “Take this, all of you, and eat of it, for this is my body. . . . Take this, all of you, and drink from it, for this is the chalice of my blood.”
When we go to Mass, we are guests at Wisdom’s banquet. Through the Liturgy of the Word and through preaching, we learn about God’s deeds and his teaching. We need this Word, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4). Only by heeding the voice of the Lord can we be truly happy, leaving simpleness behind and walking in the way of insight, the way of Christ.
The highlight of Wisdom’s banquet, however, is not in the words we hear, good though they are. The highlight of the banquet of the Mass is the meal we share. We receive the body and blood of Christ, the greatest spiritual nourishment of all. Wisdom tells the guests of the banquet to “leave simpleness, and live, and walk in the way of insight,” and the Eucharist enables us to do this. Jesus fills our souls with grace, the basic meat of the spiritual life. By this grace, we can overcome sin. By this grace, we can learn to see the world as God sees it, becoming truly wise. By this grace, we can attain union with God in this life and in the banquet of heaven.
The offerings of Wisdom’s banquet are completely gratuitous, and they can be ours. We need only heed the call: “Turn in here.”
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Photo from Unsplash, by Josh Applegate
