Ecclesiasticus

Wisdom literature of the Bible sets up contrasts between Wisdom and Folly, often having to do with the wantonness of youth, because much of it was written for their teaching, instruction, guidance. Ecclesiasticus or The Wisdom of Jesus, Son of Sirach is precisely that, lectures from a school for educating young men. From "wise," Wisdom is discernment, common sense, perceptiveness. Folly is the antonym, absurdity, anciently even evil, criminal stupidity. Both Wisdom and Folly fall in all three categories: thoughts, words and deeds. 

Although exploration for understanding, seeking to explain, seems generally wise, expecting to find answers may be the height of folly. At the Naval War College years ago, we officer students were taken by buses from Newport, Rhode Island down to New York City and put up in a downtown hotel for a week-long series of visits to United Nations Headquarters. We had lectures, meetings, seminars, briefings with all kinds of folks, mainly the ambassadors from various nations. It was spring 1969 and memory is not clear, but I am fairly sure the Soviet ambassador met and spoke with us. The sessions that were most helpful to me were with the Israeli ambassador and with the ambassadors and representatives from Palestine and other Arab countries. What came across most forcefully for me, an American who knew that every problem has a solution, is that every problem does not necessarily have an answer. The Jewish - Palestinian struggle is such a case: for good reasons, there is no answer or solution; it will be a political nightmare into the ages of ages. To work for peace there is noble, but to expect permanence is naivete, sheer Folly. 

Perceiving what has answers and what does not is part of Wisdom. Faith comes to mind. Chosen naivete is Folly. Smug innocence, intellectual naivete masquerading as faith in the face of evidence to the contrary is beyond Folly. Faith (Hebrews 11:1) is the evidence of things not seen. There were eyewitnesses to the ministry, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, who, by faith, is God's chosen presence on earth. The eyewitnesses were not going on faith, they saw and told. The rest of us are going on faith in the truth of their stories, things we didn't see but the evidence being their testimony. For us to go beyond that is not faith, but conjecture. If we take it far, into certitude, it becomes Folly, lacking evidence. Where is this headed? To the Folly of expecting to find answers to everything in life, dying and death. For a child to be killed in an auto accident, or sons lost in war, horrific massacres, there are answers: human decision and action caused this, it was the exercise of Free Will. But others -- Bill, Ashlea, Audrey, Evelyn, Ben Augustus, Patty, LauraLu and a million other outrages, batteries on innocence -- hide behind the impenetrable veil of theodicy: if there is a God, just, good, loving, merciful, powerful, why do these things happen? Other than false premise, there are no answers. It's just the way it is. It's the way it is. When all is said and done, that is the answer. It is most unsatisfying, challenges the basic premise; but it's the way it is.

Answers: Harold Kushner.

Recourse: Pierre Wolff.

Healing: Time. The Unwanted Gift of Grief.

TW+