Wis 6:12-16; Ps 63; 1 Thes 4:13-18; Mt 25:1-13
“Wisdom in Hope”
One day as I was driving to one outstation here in the parish, I saw a young man walking ahead of me in a very remote area. By the way, he was walking, I could tell that the bag he was carrying was heavy. The sun was very hot that day. As I drove closer, he waved at me asking for a ride. On the way, I asked him why he did not wait at the junction for a vehicle to pass by. He told me that he did not want to just sit and wait. It was better to keep walking because if no vehicle passed by, he would not have wasted time sitting there. I found the idea very wise considering that very few vehicles pass that way.
Today’s first reading talks about wisdom and how to find her. The Book of Wisdom presents wisdom as a beautiful woman. Wisdom in this context is the “art of good living”. Those who are wise reap the good things that life has to offer. Fools end up miserable and their life is full of challenges.
In Hosea 4:6, God says that “My people are perishing because of lack of knowledge”. Ignorance or lack of proper instructions and formation can cost us a lot of resources, and even life. For example, many people here use traditional concoctions, (a mixture of different substances), as medicine to treat their sicknesses without caring about the content, the dosage, or its expiry date. They end up poisoning themselves and only call for the ambulance when the patient is in a very bad condition. These concoctions may cause death, severe organ damage, or drug resistance.
To emphasize the importance of finding and possessing wisdom, Jesus today presents us with a parable of the ten virgins five of which were wise and five foolish. The wise virgins are considered so because they thought ahead of time and anticipated a possible delay of the bridegroom which was not uncommon. They may have considered many factors that would cause the bridegroom to delay. Thus, they cautioned themselves by carrying extra oil for their lamps. The foolish virgins did not care, they were just full of excitement for being chosen to be with the bridegroom. Maybe they did not want to bother themselves with extra things.
As baptized Christians, we hope for the resurrection because of the promise that God gave us in Christ. We believe that even if we die, we will resurrect and live with God eternally in heaven. However, this hope cannot be passive. Our Christian life is a journey full of hills and valleys. We need to wait actively for that day because the evil one is also active trying to divert our way.
Sometimes we behave like the five foolish virgins. After baptism, we go into the recess of our faith and wait for the Day of Judgment to catch us by surprise. We turn to God only during predicaments. The worldly wisdom makes us think that living Christian values is a waste of time. We have made God our gumboots that we only need during the muddy season and put away during the dry season. The Book of Wisdom presents wisdom generally as the “knowledge of how the world operates and how to make the most of it”. Only those who are close to God will possess this wisdom. We are only able to discover the potential in us and make good use of it if we are connected to God. However, there are others who destroy themselves by thinking that they are wiser than God and that his commandments are a nuisance to their life. It is evident that success that is not attributable to God has a very short lifespan. If you doubt take your time and investigate.
Hope is something very precious and he who has no hope finds himself with very limited options in life. However, false hope is worse than no hope at all. False hope is like a snare that catches its prey easily. The merchants of false hopes are many and everywhere in our villages, towns, and cities. Their businesses are well crafted, and they easily catch the attention of the foolish. They are very good at what they do. It is unfortunate that many baptized do not benefit from their faith because they no longer seek to deepen the catechesis they received as children.
In baptism, we become children of God and therefore we can seek him with our hearts. Jesus is the “way” to the kingdom of God. Our religious ministers are facilitators and not the passcodes to God’s blessings as some have made themselves. We are not illegitimate children who need the intervention of prophets to talk to our Father. Jesus has died for us and so purchased us the kinship to God the Father. Let no one take that right from us by pretending to broker God’s blessings for us for a fee.
My dear friends, true hope is always active and vigilant. Jesus himself urged us to keep vigil and be prepared like the five wise virgins. Let us not just sit and wait for someone to help us when we are in need, but rather start doing something about the situation. Believing in God is a good thing but living according to the demands of faith in God is wisdom.
Have a blessed Sunday.
Fr. Lawrence Muthee
SVD JAMBO KENTAN 