The Tent of Wisdom
Julián Carrón - We all desire to attain that wisdom so we can walk through life without losing our way. However, this wisdom is a mystery, and we can only grope our way forward, as we do not have the key to identify the way ahead clearly. Therefore, God has shown us this mercy. He had already foretold that this wisdom would enter history so that it could be recognized: “Then the creator of the universe gave me a command and said, ‘Fix your tent in Jacob and take your inheritance in Israel; sink your roots among my chosen ones.’” When wisdom sets its tent in Jacob, it becomes accessible to humanity.
While man walks by “trial and error,” as Plato’s Phaedo puts it, and can only reach this wisdom in that way, now what Plato wished for has been accomplished: it is easier to cross the Pelagius with a safer vessel—namely, the revelation of God. This is what we celebrate today. It all began with this announcement: the setting of a tent in history, in the house of Jacob. It took root amid a glorious people: “In the portion of the Lord is my inheritance, in the assembly of the saints I have taken up my abode.” Yet this was only a preparation for what we celebrate today. The One who was in the beginning—the Word, the wisdom that was in the bosom of the Father and was with God—was revealed: “The Word became flesh and dwells among us.”
From that moment, it is accessible in a historical event—this is what we celebrate at Christmas and has this purpose: to move from constantly wading through life to walking alongside a historical presence, as Joseph, Mary, and the shepherds did. What is the sign? Those who meet Him live by this life, the life in the Father’s bosom made accessible in the flesh of a Child.
This is why St. Paul rejoices, as we saw in the second reading: before this mysterious plan of God is finally revealed, he cannot but begin with great gratitude and blessing to God: “Blessed is God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Even though He had already created us in Him—it was Him He was thinking of when God created us all—this predestination, this promise of life, was so that we might, by seeing the Son, become children in the Son: “adopted children through Jesus Christ, […] to the praise of the splendor of His grace,” so that we too might participate in that life and light that Christmas makes present to us.
Therefore, what is the purpose of life? The purpose of life is none other than what St. Paul says at the end of the reading: “May God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, to a profound knowledge of Him [for now all wisdom is in Him]. Enlighten the eyes of your heart that you may understand to what hope He has called you and what treasure of glory His inheritance among the saints contains.” Nothing we can celebrate with more joy than this event to which we have been called. We have been chosen solely to participate in this fullness of life that He makes possible, the light that illuminates the darkness of life.
Thus, we must increasingly deepen the richness into which we have been introduced. There is no other purpose in life but this. As the medieval monk Laurentian Eremite said: “I was told, ‘Everything must be received without words and sanctified in silence.’ Then I understood that my whole life would be spent realizing what had happened to me, and Your Word fills me with silence,” which echoes the words of St. Paul that we heard.
II Sunday after Christmas – Year C. Notes from the homily by Julián Carrón, Jan. 5, 2025
(First Reading: Sir 24:1-4.12-16; Psalm 147; Second Reading: Eph 1:3-6.15-18; Gospel: Jn 1:1-18)
The author has not revised the note and its translation.
