In the passage from the first reading, we see the author laying out the personified qualities of Wisdom. Like individual colours that make up a painting, the twenty-one qualities described give a single picture of Wisdom as holy, all-present, and all-knowing. In all, Wisdom appears as the order that the wise God put into creation and which continues its orderly existence.

As Jesus, "the Wisdom of God", proceeds toward Jerusalem with his disciples, the question arises from the Pharisees; when will the reign of God come? Jesus announces first that the reign of God is already present and then speaks of the definitive establishment of the kingdom at the end of the world. The establishment of God's reign was expected with the coming of the Messiah. This would be the day of the Lord, a time of judgement and reward. Jesus tells the Pharisees that knowledge of the time or the day is not essential. What is crucial is to recognise the presence of God's reign already in their midst.

Today, it is still a major concern for many Christians, and that concern is misplaced. Jesus' teaching on the question cannot be any more explicit. Be wise! Do not waste your time looking for signs and listening to clever calculations. Become aware that the reign of God is already in your midst. Give God's reign your full attention now, and you will be ready for the return of the Son of Man when he comes. But no one can know when that will happen.