Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
You may or may not know this but I am also a communication major. And I can both appreciate and be critical of mass media. Radio at least spurs creative thinking. Internet is at least interactive. But, television with its one way communication can very often be the most unproductive use of time. Have there been evenings in your life where you watched hours of television and yet watched nothing – hours and hours of channel surfing? Between sports, sitcoms, soaps, reality and game shows we are left sitting numb in front of a screen. If you spend hours in front of the television, there is one thing I guarantee you will not do – confront the deeper questions of life. And I think this is happening to entire generations of peoples. Sometimes when I want to have a deep conversation with people, I get the impression that someone just stole their brains away. Whether television and video gaming is responsible I do not know but shallowness is not uncommon among us.
It was Socrates who said, “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates was a Greek Philosopher. Today’s first reading from the book of Wisdom was written in the latter half of the first century when Greek culture was beginning to permeate much of the world because of the conquests of Alexander the Great. Greek Philosophers were primarily concerned with the quest for knowledge and wisdom. Jews were not left untouched by Greek culture. They had a dilemma at hand. How to live as observant Jews in an increasingly Hellenized world? One area where they certainly struggled, perhaps, was the area of human intellect, knowledge, and wisdom. For Greeks, wisdom comes with the pursuit of knowledge. It is a human endeavor. That was not the case for the Jews who knew about Wisdom being God’s gift. Perhaps they remembered Solomon, who was renowned for his wisdom given to him by God
Today’s readings, then, give us insights into wisdom from the Jewish perspective and from the New Testament perspective. The first reading from the book of wisdom suggests that wisdom is not a thing. Wisdom is personified – she is referred to as a person. Not only that, but she is eager to make herself easily available to those who seek her. The Greeks put themselves through rigorous training to gain wisdom. For us, wisdom is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. That is why, sometimes, the Holy Spirit is called wisdom and is referred to as the feminine dimension of the Trinity. Here is where today’s gospel reading comes in. The parable of the five wise virgins and five foolish virgins tells us that without wisdom it would be impossible to prepare well for eternity.
Here are my three practical implications for today.
a) The temptation to be foolish. Walk into any store these days, and you will see the Christmas decorations are out and you will hear “Silver bells,” playing. We know that this is clever advertising. If the businesses succeed in lightening the mood of the economically challenged people, then they will be more inclined to whip out their credit card, fully aware that they are getting further into debt. The businesses know that that are plenty of foolish virgins and non-virgins roaming aimlessly through the stores. That is why most businesses like Target, and Macy’s have decided to open the stores on black Friday at midnight. You bet there will be people camped out there days before the sales open. And we? How can we be sure that as Thanksgiving, Advent and Christmas approach that we do not lose perspective of God’s saving work among us? How can we make sure that we live life with our eyes firmly set on eternity? How can we make sure that our time on earth is spent brining God’s kingdom here on earth? The answer is simple – seek wisdom! Be eager to be wise!
b) Wisdom is a gift and a choice. Today’s readings suggest that Wisdom is matter of choice. Hear this from the first reading: “… she [wisdom] is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her.” In today’s gospel reading the oil for the lamp represents wisdom. What oil is to a lamp, wisdom is to the human person. The wise virgins are called wise because they chose to have extra oil or they chose to be wise. The foolish were foolish because they chose to be foolish. They asked the wise virgins to give them oil and they did not get it because human beings cannot give wisdom to each other. We must seek wisdom but also seek her in the right place. God is wisdom and to seek wisdom is to seek God. Channel surfing, being a sports buff, being a compulsive shopper, wasting money on the superficial things of life, being preoccupied with status and power may give us instant satisfaction, but it will only take us thus far. Beyond that, we will run out of oil. We have the choice to seek God and live life from God’s perspective. That is wisdom. And this is freely available to all who choose it. We will leave this church today with that choice, won’t we?
c) The Holy Spirit is wisdom. Eternity and God’s perspective is precisely where Paul lead the Thessalonians in today’s second reading. Some Thessalonians were concerned about the fate of those who had died before the second coming of Christ. Paul says to them: “We do not want you to be unaware [foolish], brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.” We might as well substitute the words hope with wisdom. If we are wise, Paul says, we will keep our eyes on Jesus who died and rose again. It would be foolish to think otherwise. In other words, in life and in death, wisdom becomes the hope of those who seek her. But how can we become wise? The best way to seek wisdom is to pray to the Holy Spirit. The gospels tell us that the Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask. Remember the words from today’s first reading, “She hastens to make herself known in anticipation of their desire; Whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed, for he shall find her sitting by his gate.” This week, while at prayer, yearn, long, and thirst for the Holy Spirit.
- Fr. Satish Joseph