EDITORIAL

The first issue of the 12th volume of the Journal of

Sacred Scriptures (Jnanatirtha) reaches the readers with
articles with five eminent scholars and the editorial board
wishes all readers the joy and happiness of the Holy season of
Easter that commemorates the victory over ignorance,
darkness and death by Jesus Christ, the Son of God and
saviour, as a response to the prayer of the ancient Indian
seekers of the Truth, the Light and the Life. St Paul in his
letter to Titus says:
For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray,
slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in
malice and envy, hated by men and hating one another; but
when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour
appeared, he saved us, not because of deeds done by us in
righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy, by the washing of
regeneration and renewal in the Holy spirit, which he poured
out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour, so that we
might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of
eternal life (Tit. 3:3-7).
The message of the Risen Lord is ever more relevant
today in the present socio-political and religious scenario
where the society and the Church seem to be revisited by the
same old slavery to various passions and pleasures, power and
dominion, ignorance and lack of wisdom, malice and
fractions, envy and hatred, arrogance and foolishness,
disobedience and hypocrisy. All in the name of religion!
In this context, one is reminded of the message of
Pope Francis given on the 24th Wednesday, February, 2016 to
the General gathering in Rome about “arrogance of power,
abuse of authority, politics, service and God’s Mercy”. He
speaks of the numerous passages in the Bible that speak of the
powerful, of kings, of men “in high places”, and also of their
arrogance and their abuse of power. The Pope says:
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Wealth and power are situations that can be good and beneficial
to the common good, if placed at the service of the poor and of
all, with justice and charity. But when, as too often occurs, they
are experienced as a privilege, with selfishness and high-
handedness, they are transformed into instruments of corruption
and death”.
Referring to the abuse of power by King Ahab, the Pope
says that Naboth’s refusal to give his vineyard to King Ahab
(1Kgs 21.3) was fully in agreement with Leviticus which says
that “the land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is
mine; for you are strangers and sojourners with me” (Lev
25:23). The land is sacred, for it is understood as a gift of the
Lord to be safeguarded and preserved, as a sign of the divine
blessing that passes from generation to generation and as it
guarantees dignity for all.
Naboth rightly said to the king: “The Lord forbid that
I should give you the inheritance of my fathers” (1 Kings 21:3).
But the price he had to pay for his legitimate refusal was his
life. The high handed actions of those wielding political and
ecclesiastical power give birth to new Pharaohs and Ahabs
controlled by new “Jezebels”, making the lives of the
innocent unbearable in the society. Pope Francis further states
that if the dimension of service is lost, power is transformed
into arrogance and becomes domination and oppression.
The power, whether spiritual or material, if not guided
by wisdom, is transformed into arrogance, conceit,
haughtiness, egotism, superiority, self importance, pride etc.
The Book of Wisdom in the Holy Bible says:
12.
Wisdom is radiant and unfading, and she is easily discerned
by those who love her, and is found by those who seek her. 13 She
hastens to make herself known to those who desire her. 14 He
who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty, for he will
find her sitting at his gates. 15 To fix one's thought on her is
perfect understanding, and he who is vigilant on her account
will soon be free from care, 16 because she goes about seeking
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those worthy of her, and she graciously appears to them in their

paths, and meets them in every thought. 17.The beginning of
wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction, and concern
for instruction is love of her and love of her is the keeping of her
laws and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality
and immortality brings one near to God; so the desire for
wisdom leads to a Kingdom.(Wis.6:12-20).
True wisdom (Jnanam) comes from God and both the
Old and New Testaments, ask us to seek wisdom (Prov. 1:1-7;
2:1-9; 3:13-26; 5:1-2; Eccles. 2:13; Mt. 7:24; Col. 1:9; 3:16).
The Bible assures that that if we ask for wisdom; God will
provide it. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who
gives to all men generously and without reproaching, and it
will be given him.” (Jas 1:5). King Solomon asked God only
one thing: Wisdom.
“Therefore, I prayed, and understanding was given to me. I
called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came to me. I
preferred her to sceptres and thrones, and I accounted wealth as
nothing in comparison with her”. (Wis.7:7-8)
St James distinguishes false or earthly wisdom from the
true or heavenly wisdom saying: “Who is wise and
understanding among you? By his good life let him show his
works in the meekness of wisdom. (Jas 3:13-17). St James
speaks of the barriers to true wisdom as bitter jealousy, selfish
ambition, boastfulness, attachment to falsehood, etc. and these
are earthly, unspiritual and devilish and they lead to disorder
and every vile practice (Jas 3:14-16). “But the wisdom from
above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason,
full of mercy and good fruits, without uncertainty or
insincerity” (Jas 3:17)
One of the greatest barriers to wisdom is lack of
realistic knowledge of self. Meekness is a virtue that
manifests true wisdom (Jas 3:17) thanks to the realisation that
one knows nothing before God, thus leading to a healthy fear
of God which is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). The
wise conceals his knowledge while the fools proclaim their
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folly (Prov. 12:23; 17:27-28; 29:11). Jesus is a perfect model

to those in high offices, for when Jesus was confronted by his
adversaries or led into a dispute, he either avoided it or kept
silence (Mt. 21:23–27).
True wisdom is pure (Jas 3:17). The wise is always
prudent not to get entangled or dragged into controversies and
scams unbecoming of his status or office in the community or
the society, for true wisdom is pure and free from all evil
motives. It is not impossible that persons in high places
manipulate public opinion to gain support for their unjust
policies, decisions or entice and misguide by false propaganda
the entire community or a section of it away from the truth (2
Pet.2:18-22) and to believe the untruth.
True wisdom is peaceable (Jas 3:17) for, when the
wise realizes his encounters with others yield only resistance,
he backs off recognising the power of the Holy Spirit which
will be more effective. Human wisdom provokes strife (vv.
14-16) in different forms as highlighted by Paul in his list of
the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19–21). Jesus who was always
uncompromising declined to argue, but he silenced his critics
with his moral power, authoritative and cogent teaching
which made them dumbfounded (Mt. 22:17-22, etc.).
True wisdom is gentle (Jas 3:17) and as Paul says
gentleness is mark of Christian leadership (2 Cor. 10:1; 1
Thess. 2:7). Paul tells Titus to be gentle as a sign of true
leadership (Titus 3:2). Both the secular and spiritual leaders
must rebuke their followers who go astray, but they must do it
gently, for that is true wisdom (2 Tim. 2:24-26; Gal. 6:1).
True wisdom is open to reason (Jas v.3:17) and a wise
man is receptive to reasons as good listener. Thus the wise
man is entreatable, approachable and flexible without,
however, compromising principles. Jesus was always
approachable to the poor, humble, sinners, and the persisting,
while he was harsh in denouncing the Pharisees, the arrogant
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and the self righteous calling them hypocrites and whitened

sepulchres without mincing words (Mt 23; Mark 10:46-52;
Matt. 15:21-28). The wise man is prepared to accept criticism
and change unless it is a matter of conscience. Jesus,
however, had no reason to change his decisions for he always
knew the best and did the best as his choices were not tainted
by sin.
True wisdom is full of mercy and good fruits (Jas 3:17).
Pope Francis speaks of God’s mercy on 24th February 2016.
God, however, is greater than the wickedness and of the
underhanded dealings of human beings. In his mercy he sends
the Prophet Elijah to help Ahab to convert. Now let us turn the
page over, and how does the story continue? God sees this
crime and also knocks at the heart of Ahab, and the king, his
sins placed before him, understands, humbles himself and asks
for forgiveness. How beautiful it would be if today’s powerful
exploiters did the same!
Wisdom and intelligence, not tempered and coated with
mercy, are fruitless and ineffective. Everyone, in particular,
rulers and those who exercise authority over the people,
would be blessed if they exhibit the wisdom to forgive those
who revile them, persecute them, and utter all kinds of evil
against them (Mt 5:11), instead of indulging in silently
encouraging factions and support groups. Blessed are the
merciful for they shall obtain mercy (Mt 5:7) and Jesus is
clear when he said that if we were not merciful to others, God
would not be merciful to us.
True wisdom is without uncertainty or insincerity (Jas
3:17) for it never conceals wicked designs under the mask of
piety. What is concealed will be proclaimed from the
housetops when least expected. Jesus had no hidden agendas
or masks; but was the same both inside and outside having
one mission, that is doing the will of his Father (Jn 6:38).
What is required, of the rulers of the world and those
placed in “high places” in the ecclesiastical offices, is the
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“dimension of service” which Pope Francis speaks of and the

wisdom (Jnanam)and all the qualities flowing from it. Let us
pray and hope that all those who are placed to lead and
govern the people in the spiritual and temporal realms be
blessed by true wisdom. Let the citizens of countries and
followers of religion be able to breathe the air of freedom and
joy that the Risen Lord grants to everyone of Good will.
The editorial board remembers with gratitude the
services of the outgoing Editor-in- Chief, Fr Joy Panjikaren
for his selfless service to the Periodical as the editor-in-Chief
for the past two years. We also thank sincerely all the
contributors to this issue of the Journal of Sacred Scriptures:
Dr Thomas Karimundackal, SJ, Dr Sebastian Kizhakkeyil, Dr
Devis Kavungal, Dr Joseph Venattumattam and Dr Manjit M.
Bhatti, for their scholarly articles.

Dr Lonappan Arangassery
Editor-in-Chief