The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today confront us with the paradox that what human wisdom finds foolish and a stumbling block actually prepares us for fullness of life.
The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians declares the paradox of the Cross and Christ as the Power and Wisdom of God.
* [1:21–25] True wisdom and power are to be found paradoxically where one would least expect them, in the place of their apparent negation. To human eyes the crucified Christ symbolizes impotence and absurdity. (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 1, n.d.)
Psalm 33 praises the greatness and Goodness of God.
* [Psalm 33] A hymn in which the just are invited (Ps 33:1–3) to praise God, who by a mere word (Ps 33:4–5) created the three-tiered universe of the heavens, the cosmic waters, and the earth (Ps 33:6–9). Human words, in contrast, effect nothing (Ps 33:10–11). The greatness of human beings consists in God’s choosing them as a special people and their faithful response (Ps 33:12–22). (Psalms, PSALM 33, n.d.)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches the Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids.
* [25:2–4] Foolish…wise: cf. the contrasted “wise man” and “fool” of Mt 7:24, 26 where the two are distinguished by good deeds and lack of them, and such deeds may be signified by the oil of this parable.
* [25:11–12] Lord, Lord: cf. Mt 7:21. I do not know you: cf. Mt 7:23 where the Greek verb is different but synonymous.
* [25:13] Stay awake: some scholars see this command as an addition to the original parable of Matthew’s traditional material, since in Mt 25:5 all the virgins, wise and foolish, fall asleep. But the wise virgins are adequately equipped for their task, and stay awake may mean no more than to be prepared; cf. Mt 24:42, 44. (Matthew, CHAPTER 25, n.d.)
Tom Purcell comments that clearly spiritual preparation for death is essential, regardless of one’s faith tradition (or lack thereof). We all know our death will happen someday, but our attitudes seem to naturally evolve over time – the 20-year old us is somewhat oblivious to the eventual happening, but the 70-year old us knows it is coming sooner rather than later.
But I think we also need to be in the moment. If I accept that my next moment might be my last, how can I leave a person that I care about with a sense of disappointment or anger at my actions? How can I hurt someone’s feelings and then leave without trying to ease the hurt? Did I do what was feasible when I encountered another human who was hurting in the moment? How have I acted in the most mundane everyday situations – driving in traffic, interacting with a salesperson, ordering and receiving a meal in a restaurant, waiting in a long line for my turn to be served – have I been nurturing or selfish? (Creighton U. Daily Reflection, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The Kingdom of God compared with ten maidens,” by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD).
"The whole story is about the great day of the Lord, when those things concealed from the human mind will be revealed through our understanding of divine judgment. Then the faith true to the Lord's coming will win the just reward for unwavering hope. For in the five wise and five foolish virgins (Matthew 25:2), a complete separation between the faithful and unfaithful is established... The wise virgins are those who, embracing the time available to them, were prepared at the first onset of the coming of the Lord. But the foolish were those who were lax and unmindful. They troubled themselves only over present matters and, forgetting what God said, did not direct their efforts toward hope for resurrection." (excerpt from the commentary ON MATTHEW 27.3,5) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 comments that we are naturally inclined toward that “wisdom of the world” that urges us toward control and independence. And so sometimes even our attempts to surrender to God are tinged by that drive. We might make a decision impulsively and then ask God to bless what we already did. Or we might take something to prayer but then go ahead with our own plan instead of listening for what God might be saying to us about the situation.
We struggle sometimes because the truth is, it can be scary to surrender to a God whom we can’t see. It can feel risky to let go of control of our lives. That’s why St. Paul says the message of the cross is “foolishness” to the Greeks who prized wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:22-23). But remember, for us who are being saved, it is the power of God (1:18). When we hand control over to our heavenly Father, we can trust that, in his goodness and his love, he will take care of us and bring the best out of any situation.
Today, let’s take one more step closer to a full surrender to God. Let’s make just a little more progress toward living according to the surpassing wisdom of God.
“Lord, help me to learn the ‘foolish’ wisdom of the cross and surrender to your will.” (Meditation on 1 Corinthians 1:17-25, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler connects the message of Paul to the Corinthians to Paul’s earlier rejection by the Stoics in Athens who saw resurrection of the body as foolish in comparison with Greek philosophy that elevated spirit over material reality. The stumbling block for Jews was how to accommodate a Messiah, expected to liberate them from Roman occupation, being crucified. Friar Jude reminds us that “selfishness” misses the point of the parable that calls us to always be prepared for the second coming.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces Sophfronia Scott who draws on the wisdom and example of Trappist monk Thomas Merton (1915–1968) to discern her own response to the world’s pain.
“The contemplative life is not, and cannot be, a mere withdrawal, a pure negation, a turning of one’s back on the world with its sufferings, its crises, its confusions and its errors,” he writes. “The attempt itself would be illusory. No person can withdraw completely from the society of other people.” [1] When he entered the monastery after months of spiritual struggle, Merton described a lightness, as of . . . a leaving of the world. . . . His writings from his earlier years focused mainly on the cultivation of interior spirituality. . . . But as he matured, both emotionally and spiritually, he too sensed there was more—way more—he could be doing. The world, the very state of it, required that he bring his voice to the table. . . .
In 1961, he wrote his first article on peace, “The Root of War Is Fear,” and laid out the place for Christians in the struggle for peace. He writes, “The duty of Christians in this crisis is to strive with all their power and intelligence, with their faith, hope in Christ, and love for God and humankind, to do the one task which God has imposed upon us in the world today. That task is to work for the total abolition of war.” [2] . . . (Scott, 2022)
We pray for openness to the Spirit who offers insight into how to navigate the both/and dimensions of our journey in which we prepare with our human gifts to surrender to the will of God.
References
Creighton U. Daily Reflection. (n.d.). Online Ministries. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/082622.html
Matthew, CHAPTER 25. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/matthew/25?1
Meditation on 1 Corinthians 1:17-25. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://wau.org/meditations/2022/08/26/475365/
1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 1. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/1?17
Psalms, PSALM 33. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/33?1
Schwager, D. (n.d.). The Foolish Will Miss Heaven's Wedding Feast. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2022&date=aug26
Scott, S. (2022, August 26). Engaged Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 26, 2022, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/engaged-contemplation-2022-08-26/
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