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Friday – Twenty-first Week – OT2
Readings: I Cor 1:17-25; Mt 25:1-13.
Reading 1 (I Cor 1:17-25):
Brothers and sisters:
Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the Gospel,
and not with the wisdom of human eloquence,
so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its meaning.
The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing,
but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
For it is written:
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the learning of the learned I will set aside.
Where is the wise one?
Where is the scribe?
Where is the debater of this age?
Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish?
For since in the wisdom of God
the world did not come to know God through wisdom,
it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation
to save those who have faith.
For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom,
but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike,
Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom,
and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
Gospel (Mt 25:1-13):
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.’
But the wise ones replied,
‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’
While they went off to buy it,
the bridegroom came
and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’
But he said in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Fr. Anthony Dinh Minh Tien, O.P.
I. THEME: The wisdom of the Cross
People have a tendency to avoid sufferings and to find all possible ways to run away from them; but there is no glory without sufferings. For example, the Olympic athletes must sacrifice their time, money, health and hobby before they might a receive gold medal around their neck. Even so, St. Paul explained: they sacrifice all to have a gold medal which shall be ruined; but we sacrifice to have a reward which shall not be destroyed, that is the eternal life. Therefore, we must be ready to sacrifice all what we have in order to possess this indestructible reward.
Today readings emphasize the divine over human wisdom. In the first reading, St. Paul highlighted the wisdom of the cross although the Jews consider it as shameful, and the Gentiles regard it as foolish. It is by the cross that Christ redeems all people’s sins and brings salvation to all who believe in him. In the Gospel, Jesus compared the kingdom of God as the five wise virgins who were waiting for the bridegroom. They brought their lamps and flasks of oil. When the groom came, they followed him to enter his wedding banquet, not to be left out as the five foolish virgins.
II. ANALYSIS:
1/ Reading I: A comparison of divine and human wisdom
St. Paul had many reasons when he wrote down these words: “For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”
To the Greek philosophers who love wisdom, they couldn’t understand the wisdom of the cross. They couldn’t accept an omnipotent God who wants to incarnate in a human body. According to them, human body is a prison that confines human soul which they are trying to find a way to escape by their wisdom (Plato). Moreover, the cross expresses a foolish decision under human viewpoint; why doesn’t God use His wisdom to find out an easier way to reach immortality for human beings? To them, a wise God shall not choose the way of the cross to save people.
To most of Jewish scribes and Pharisees who love signs and wonders, they can’t understand the power and strength of the cross. To them, God who chooses the way of the cross isn’t a powerful God. The Jews hope for a powerful Messiah who shall come in power and glory to conquer all of their enemies and to govern them forever. The devil himself also tempted Jesus in desert before his public ministry: If you are the Son of God, convert these stones to food, perform wonderful signs which never be done and let people have their prosperity and glory. These are what people are looking for and they shall believe in you. But Jesus refused to fall in their trap, he determined to follow his Father’s will which is the way of the cross.
St. Paul strongly believed, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the learning of the learned I will set aside.” Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish? For since in the wisdom of God the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith.”
People want to choose a wide and easy road, but these roads only lead to destruction. People want to see miracles which never be done before, but these signs don’t lead them to strongly believe in God. This is why He uses the cross to express His immense love for people, and people can recognize this love every time they look up to the cross. God uses the cross to destroy the last and the strongest enemy of people which is death; Christ died on the cross in the place of human beings. So, the cross is used to show both God’s love and His justice.
2/ Gospel: Wisdom and foolishness
To show his disciples the need to be always prepared and ready, Jesus compared “the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.” According to Jewish custom, a wedding used to happen at night. The groom wants to add an expected element by not announcing his time of coming. Lamp is the only source of light for people at that time.
The five wise virgins are those who were far-sighted and prepared, they brought not only lamps but also flasks of oil with them. When the five foolish virgins asked them to give them some oil, they wisely answered: “No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.” They weren’t selfish, they didn’t know how long the wedding shall be. And while the five foolish ones went to buy oil, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
The five foolish virgins are those who were near-sighted and not prepared, they brought their lamp but without flasks of oil. They didn’t bring extra oil because they didn’t expect the bridegroom shall be that late or they thought that they can borrow some from other virgins. When was announced that the bridegroom came, “the foolish ones said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’”
And Jesus warned his disciples: “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Some commentators applied this parable to the Jews because they were called to prepare for the Messiah’s coming; but when the Messiah came, they weren’t ready to welcome him, so they were left outside. I think that the better comment is for everybody who must be prepared for their last day.
III. APPLICATION IN LIFE:
– We must be very careful when we compare human with divine wisdom. All of human wisdom and strength are foolish and weak before God. Moreover, what people consider as foolish and weak, God uses them to teach people a lesson; for examples: the most important people, humility and serving others.
– We need to be far-sighted and circumspect; don’t wait until the last minute to act.
– There are some things which we must have, not to borrow, such as: love for God and others, justice and knowledge.