In the novel, "Brideshead Revisited" Charles describes his bewilderment when his lover, Julia, is suddenly overwhelmed with tears as her brother almost casually remarks to her that she is living in sin with Charles. He is dumbfounded at Julia's "mysterious tumult of sorrow". He could do nothing for her. He was "adrift in a strange sea".

In today's Gospel the people were astonished at the wisdom and power with which Jesus spoke and acted. The first reading helps us towards an understanding of the astonishment experienced by Charles and the people of Capernaum. A recurring contrast in Paul's letters is the contrast between the flesh and the spirit, the spiritual person and the unspiritual person. Paul tantalizes us with his frequent references to a wisdom that is not of this world.

Unspiritual wisdom for Paul is the wisdom that remains on the human level, confined within the boundaries of this visible world. Human intelligence is the supreme gift of God but, entirely on its own, it is vulnerable to the corruption of our sinful selves. Our thinking, our planning, our ambitioning can be narrow and partial. Shaken by some event in our lives, or by a sudden vision of our darkness and weakness, God's grace may draw us to beg for the enlightenment and strength to act on the broader and higher plane which accords with His vision of life.