12 November 2023 - homily for 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Wisdom 6:12-16, Matthew 25:1-13

       In two weekends, we will celebrate the end our Church’s liturgical year, entering Advent in our preparation for Christmas, the coming of the baby Jesus into the world. Where has the time gone? How can we be quickly approaching the holiday season and the end of 2023? As we near the end of the liturgical year, we always have readings on the importance of being prepared. In the Early Church, Christians thought that Jesus' second coming would be fast approaching, that they would see his second coming in glory in their lifetime, so being prepared was of utmost importance. When this did not happen, even by the time the Gospels were written, they began to wonder. However, this does not mean that we should put aside these warning of being prepared. We may not see Jesus’ second coming in our own lifetime, but we are called to be prepared for the end of our own days here on earth. We do not know when that will happen, when we take our last breath on earth.  Our readings today help us ask ourselves this question: Are we ready?  And how can we be ready? 

       Our Gospel states that the five foolish maidens did not see the need to bring sufficient oil for their lamps, but five wise maidens came prepared. Our reading from the book of Wisdom gives us some good insight into what motivates us to be ready and prepared. So, what exactly is wisdom? We can begin by saying that wisdom and book knowledge are not the same thing. I think of how I spent a lot learning Spanish, including studying Spanish out of books and doing things like conjugating verbs, but that did not replace learning Spanish in real life situations as a missionary. In fact, when I taught Spanish up in Greenville for four years, my challenge with my students was not speaking Spanish, but rather finding a way to adequately explain the grammar and the nuts and bolts of the language to them. Book learning is important, but then we have to find a way to apply what we learn in the real situations that face us in life. 

       Tradition has it that the Book of Wisdom was written by King Solomon, who was very admired in ancient Israel for his wisdom. However, most biblical scholars today believe that the Book of Wisdom was not written by Solomon, but probably written originally in Greek in the great ancient center of learning in Alexandria, Egypt a couple of centuries before Christ’s birth. Today’s reading tells us that wisdom is received by all who love her, that she is found by all who seek her. The author of the book of Wisdom tells us that if we watch for wisdom at dawn, she will be waiting for us at the gate. Indeed, we human beings yearn for wisdom in the same way we yearn for a connection with the divine in our lives. We are yearning, striving, and aching for such a connection with God and with wisdom. Likewise, wisdom and God are searching for us.  

       A wise person would not wait for some undefined time in the future to forge a relationship with Jesus. Some who claim to be Christians put other things first in their lives in front of their faith. They take a risk, just like the foolish virgins take a risk in the Gospel. Taking such a risk can have dire consequences, for sure. The truly wise person builds his life on Jesus and his Gospel, on Jesus as the truth and the life, not just for the future, but in the here and now.  

        So, if we are saying that wisdom goes beyond book knowledge and what we perceive intellectually, we can see wisdom as a resonance, as an understanding of God’s teachings, laws, and values. Wisdom is all about being able to integrate God and his teachings into daily life. While book learning and knowledge are important in our development as human beings and in our spiritual quest, they are not everything.   God can reach out to us, wisdom can connect with us, in diverse and eclectic ways: through music, art, poetry, literature, and nature; through prayer, contemplation, and even silence. Meeting Wisdom at the gates means that we are to find ways to gain this understanding, this experience, this integration of God into our spirituality and into our lives. In all of our ministerial situations, we are called to approach our faith in our everyday reality, not just in the abstract. We have tried to start programs like Drinks and Doctrine and our Young at Heart luncheons in order to approach our faith in a practical way and in a situation of fellowship and faith sharing. It is just not about the doctrine and dogma of our faith, but rather the wisdom we have learned along the way on our journey. 

      Connecting with the divine wisdom, connecting with God, is not always easy and comfortable. In our search of wisdom, we will have great joys and great struggles.  All of this is an essential part of our journey.  All of this will help us be like the wise maidens, to be prepared and to be ready to meet the Lord when he comes.  

November 12, 2017 - homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Wisdom 6:12-16, Matthew 25:1-13

      We have just a few weeks left in our liturgical year.  Today, the book of Wisdom from the Old Testament calls out to us.  Most biblical scholars believe that this book was originally written in Greek in Alexandria, Egypt, a great center of learning in the ancient world, a couple of centuries before Christ’s birth.  Our reading today tells us that wisdom is received by all who love her, that she is found by all who seek her.  If we watch for wisdom at dawn, she’ll be waiting for us at the gate.  As disciples of Christ, we are to seek wisdom just as we seek God.  We are to yearn and strive for such a connection.  Just as we search and strive for wisdom, wisdom and God reach back to us. 

       But wisdom goes beyond book knowledge and intellect; wisdom is there to help us understand God in our lives, to help us integrate God and his teachings into our daily lives.  Book learning and knowledge are important in our development as human beings and in our spiritual quest, but wisdom shows us that there is more. As God reaches out to us, wisdom connects us with God in diverse and eclectic ways: through music, art, poetry, literature, and nature; through prayer, contemplation, and even silence.  Meeting wisdom at the gate means that we are called to search for ways to gain experience and understanding, to integrate God into our spirituality quest and into our lives. In our search for wisdom, we are called to read good books, to listen to beautiful music, to see God in nature, to mediate over an intriguing piece of art. We are to find God’s wisdom in the talents and gifts that he gives us.  When we sing or play a musical instrument, when we create work of art, when we knit or crochet, when we prepare a welcoming meal for our family or our friends, when we write in a journal, we can use it as a means to experience God and to connect to the divine, to gain spiritual wisdom and understanding through this creative process. 

      Wisdom is about integrating our knowledge and intellect with our heart, our senses, our bodies, and our real life experiences. Yet, wisdom doesn’t mean that everything is clear-cut.  Indeed, in our search of wisdom, we'll experience great joys and great struggles: all this is fundamental to our journey

      We can see a connection between wisdom and the Gospel today in the parable about the maidens, in its teaching that we should be prepared at all times since we do not know when Jesus will come again.  Perhaps we can also identify with the foolish, unprepared maidens at one time or another in our lives when we’ve not been as prepared as we should have been. We can remember those times when we procrastinate in life, putting something off to the last minute. I remember being in seminary, when I had worked for weeks on a large research paper in our class on the synoptic Gospels, working meticulously on every detail of that paper. I had it all printed out, ready to go several days before it was due, very content with my efforts.  I worked at the library in the seminary where I saw one of my classmates come into the library late that afternoon the day before that assignment was due.  I asked him if he was happy that all of our hard work for that big assignment was behind us.  He stated that he was just now choosing the topic for his paper and was getting ready to find some books on that topic less than 24 hours before it was due. Wow, I thought to myself, thinking of the many weeks and late nights of work I had put into that assignment.  The next morning, I saw him frantically waiting for our professor to ask her if he could have an extension on his paper, since it was not even close to completion. I thought of that seminarian in the context of today’s Gospel, of how we are called to learn from those times we are not ready when we should be. Those of us who put ourselves under the rule of God's kingdom as Christ's followers should always be ready and prepared to play our role in the on-going story of God's relationship to us.  

      The main fault of these foolish maidens was not that they fell asleep or that they failed to have oil in their lamps, but rather that they were not ready to welcome the bridegroom with joy. As we grow in wisdom and understanding, let us joyfully welcome the coming of God's kingdom into our lives and in the lives of others, to welcome Christ's arrival with joy when he comes again.