ordinary time The Sánchez Archives

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Year A

By
Patricia Datchuck Sánchez

Wait and Hope; Seek and Find

WISDOM 6:13-18
1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18
MATTHEW 25:1-13

What is wisdom? What does it mean to be truly wise? These are the questions put before believers in today’s scripture selections. In an attempt to find a fresh approach and to put a new face on this timeless but ever timely topic, I decided to consult “the mouths of babes”.

When I asked our fourteen-year-old son, “What does it mean to be wise?” He replied, “Knowing something.” When asked, “What is wisdom?”, his answer was, “knowing a lot of something.” To the same questions, our thirteen-year-old son replied similarly. Then, I asked if he thought there were a difference between being smart and being wise. After thinking for a few moments, he said, “A smart person knows a lot of facts but a wise person has knowledge that comes from experience.” When I put the questions to our eleven-year-old daughter, she offered the following: “Wisdom means knowing right from wrong. . . a wise person knows what is right and does it.” Finally, it was our nine-year-old son’s turn. He said simply, “A wise person is somebody who knows how to make the right choices.” When I asked him how a person gets wisdom, he replied, “I guess you have to ask God. . . did you need to know anything else, Mom?”

With that last comment, I looked at the eight books I had opened on my desk and sighed gratefully at the surprises God puts in the path of those who “let the children come” and teach them of the wisdom of God. Wisdom, is indeed a gift which is only God’s to give.

As the first reading illustrates, the gift belongs to those who will seek and ask. James Gaffney (Biblical Notes for the Sunday Lectionary, Paulist Press, New York: 1978) has noted, the “pursuit of wisdom is normally understood not as a secular academic undertaking but as a religious quest. Consequently, in representing wisdom as making herself readily accessible to earnest seekers, divine graciousness is implied.”

Among the Israelites, the concept of wisdom had a long and complex development. Wisdom (hokmah in Hebrew and sophia in Greek) was rather a fluid term which described: (1) the skill of an artisan (Exodus 36:8); (2) the capacity of the king to judge rightly (1 Kings 3:28); (3) the ability of animals to adapt and survive, e.g. ants which store their food, rock badgers which make their home in the craggy cliffs, locusts that migrate as a horde, lizards that can find their way into royal palaces (Proverbs 30:24-28); (4) propriety in manners and conduct (Proverbs 2:1-22); (5) an attitude of awe and humility (fear) before God (Job 1:1, Proverbs 9:10); (6) a knack for coping well with all the exigencies of life. Only later in its development was the concept of wisdom personified as a feminine attribute of God who served as partner and helpmate at creation (Proverbs 3:19, 8:30; Wisdom 9:9), as the spirit of God (Wisdom 9:17-18), and as the hostess of the banquet of life and teacher of all who would know God (Proverbs 9:1-6).

An expert of Israel’s sapiential literature, Roland E. Murphy explained that the goal of seeking wisdom “is the good life, here and now, which is marked by length of days, prosperity and prestige. A necessary ingredient is a proper relationship with God” (“Introduction to Wisdom Literature,” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs: 1990).

One aspect of this proper relationship with God is explored in today’s gospel. Like wise virgins who were prepared to meet the bridegroom, authentic seekers of wisdom live in a constant state of wide-eyed wonder, eager to recognize and affirm the subtle nuances, as well as the bold and unmistakable signs of God’s presence. To be truly wise and in proper relationship with God means to realize that we have nothing that has not been given to us. . . that we acknowledge and accept human need and inadequacy and affirm God’s capacity to fill and to bless. True wisdom means seeking and reaching above, outside and beyond myself to become fully who I am.

Alexander Dumas, the nineteenth century French novelist and playwright once remarked that “all human wisdom may be reduced to two words -- wait and hope.” It is this exercise of wisdom which Paul recommended to the Thessalonians in today’s second reading. Rather than be preoccupied with death, Paul urged his readers to wait and hope for the full revelation of God’s wisdom in the person of Jesus. Elsewhere, in his Corinthian correspondence, Paul would declare “Christ is the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30). As participants in the wisdom of God in Christ Jesus, crucified and risen, believers have been given the gift that survives the grave: LIFE.

For now, we would do well to wait and hope and, as a nine-year-old boy advised, “ask God” for the wisdom “to make the right choices.”

WISDOM 6:13-18

Although its correct title is the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, in honor of Israel’s famed monarch, this deutero-canonical composition was not included in the Hebrew bible and has survived only in Greek. If the consensus of scholars are correct, Wisdom was written ca. 60 B.C.E. by an anonymous Greek speaking Jew who was well versed in Hellenistic philosophy, culture and rhetoric. Most posit Alexandria as the place of composition.

Founded by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C.E., Alexandria was made capital of Egypt by Ptolemy I, who also established a museum and library with an unrivalled four hundred thousand volumes. Ptolemy commissioned a group of one hundred research scholars in the humanities and sciences, who contributed toward making the city one of the most flourishing and influential centers of Greek learning.

While Alexandria’s famed 445-foot light house (Pharos) beckoned to sailors to make their way to its famous port, the museum and library lured lovers of wisdom to search for it among the Greek philosophers. For Jews, living in the diaspora, Alexandria and its intellectual riches were particularly tempting. Aware of this fact, and in an effort to prevent their Jewish tradition from being diluted or altered by foreign systems of thought, the author of Wisdom encouraged his contemporaries to remain faithful to their heritage and to seek out the answer to life’s questions in their own sacred literature. As John E. Rybolt (“Wisdom”, The Collegeville Bible Commentary, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville: 1989) explained, for those Jews who had abandoned their faith in Egypt, the book of Wisdom called them back to God. For Gentile readers, Wisdom pointed to the folly of idol worship.

Literarily, Wisdom ascribed to the genre of the didactic exhortation, a melding of philosophy and rhetoric which appealed to believers to allow their knowledge of God, who is the source of wisdom, to have a moral impact on their thoughts, behaviors and relationships. Today’s first reading is an excerpt from the first section of the book (1:1-6:21) the centerpiece of which is the author’s treatment of retribution (3:1-4:19); the other topics covered in this section are concerned with living justly (1:1-15), the ways of the wicked (1:16-2:24), judgment (4:20-5-2:23) and the exhortation to seek wisdom so as to live (6:1-21).

Wisdom is personified as waiting at the city gates, to be discovered by those who rise early to watch for her (vs. 14). As W. Watson (“Wisdom,” A New Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Publishers, New York: 1975) explained, the most favorable time for prayer was at sun-up (see Ps 5:4, Sirach 39:5). The Mishnah prescribed recitation of the morning prayer as soon as the first rays of the sun strike the mountains. The city gates were the locale of commerce and law; elders of the city gathered at the gates where they were consulted on a variety of topics; their opinions were respected and regarded as binding. Therefore praying for wisdom at dawn would result in her presence and governance concerning those decisions which gave shape and guidance to daily living.

In contrast to Greek philosophical systems which promoted the search for wisdom as an intellectual and calculated pursuit, achieved by dint of sheer human effort and perseverance, the Hebrew author of Wisdom offered an image of wisdom as a divine gift, who makes herself readily accessible. She makes the rounds, in search of authentic seekers. She anticipates desires, graciously appearing and meeting all with solicitude. For those who love her she is readily perceived; those who seek her have already found her.

Whereas the Greek seekers of wisdom often required the guidance of a mentor in their academic attempts to become wise, and thereby to become one of the enlightened elite of society, Wisdom’s mentoring has an ecumenical embrace which leads any and all, who love and desire her, to God.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:13-18

Hans Küng, in his book entitled, Does God Exist? (Doubleday and Co., New York: 1980) affirmed his faith in life after death in this way: “Resurrection means a life that bursts through the dimensions of space and time in God’s invisible, imperishable, incomprehensible domain. This is what is meant by ‘heaven’ -- not the heaven of the astronauts, but God’s heaven. It means going into reality, not going out.” When Paul wrote to the Thessalonian Christians in order to assuage their concerns regarding those who died before Jesus’ second advent, he offered a similar affirmation of faith in eternal life.

Eager anticipation of Jesus’ return in glory was rife among the early believers. Paul had preached convincingly of Jesus, died and risen for the redemption of humankind. Those who appropriated the good news of salvation by faith were anxious to experience the fullness of union with Christ. But the second coming and all the joys and blessings which were associated with it was not “bursting through the dimensions of space and time” as quickly as expected.

Disappointment at the delay of the parousia was compounded by the fact that some members of the community had died. Those who loved them and mourned their passing worried that their hopes may have been misfounded. No doubt, the prevailing pagan attitude toward death did little to ameliorate the situation. Influential thinkers like Aeschylus (545-456 B.C.E.: “Once a man dies, there is no resurrection”); Theocritus (310-250 B.C.E.: “There is hope for those who are alive, but those who have died are without hope”); and Catullus (84-54 B.C.E.: “When once our brief light sets, there is one perpetual night through which we must sleep!”) painted a bleak picture of what they believed to be the grim finality of death.

As William Barclay has observed, one of the most pathetic testimonies of the ancient Greek world concerning death has come down to us in the form of a letter of sympathy: “Irene to Taonnophris and Philo, good comfort. I was sorry and wept over the departed one. . . But nevertheless, against such things, one can do nothing. Therefore comfort ye one another.” (“1 Thessalonians,” The Daily Study Bible, The Saint Andrew Press, Edimburgh: 1975).

Paul enjoined his Greek converts to reject the false wisdom of the pagan world and to “console one another with this message” (vs. 18). His were words which communicated triumph and hope, not resignation. Paul based his hope in the central doctrine of the Christian faith, viz., the resurrection of Jesus. Without belief in the resurrection, every other belief is a vain and futile exercise (1 Corinthians 15). But, because Jesus is risen, everyone, who believes in him, even those who die before his second coming, will live forever in him.

Some fundamentalist Christian denominations attach great import to the imagery with which Paul described the joys of resurrected life (vss. 16-17). Their literal interpretation of the phrase “will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (vs. 17) has led to the notion of “the rapture” (from the Latin verb rapiemur: to be snatched up and carried off). With the approaching of the third millennium, this term will, no doubt, be bandied about by proponents of dispensational premilleniarism. Paul’s descriptions are better be understood as typical of the apocalyptic symbolism and language of his day and not as a timetable or literal account of future events.

Reginald Fuller (Preaching the New Lectionary, The Liturgical Press, Collegeville: 1976) is correct in describing the ultimate hope of believers as both Christological and corporate. Our hope is Christological in that it means being with Christ in resurrected glory; it is corporate in that Christian hope is for the restoration of all humankind, both living and dead, in Christ Jesus. With these wise words, we continue to console one another until he comes.

MATTHEW 25:1-13

When Thomas Merton, the Trappist monk and author died in 1968, he left behind a literary legacy which has continued to feed the spiritual hungers and prod the social and political consciences of believer to this day.

Merton’s death, by accidental electrocution, while attending a conference of Buddhist and Catholic monks in Bangkok, Thailand, was unexpected and untimely. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that Merton was prepared, like the wise virgins in today’s gospel, to meet the Lord. In one of his best known books, No Man Is An Island, the holy monk wrote: “We must learn during our lifetime to trim our lamps and fill them with charity in silence. . . if the spirit that kept the flame of physical life burning in our bodies took care to nourish itself with the oil that is found only in the silence of God’s charity, then when the body dies, the spirit itself goes on burning with the same oil, its own flame. But if the spirit has burned all along with the base oils of passion or egoism, or pride, then when death comes, the flame of the spirit goes out with the light of the body because there is no more oil in the lamp.”

A parable unique to the Matthean gospel, the story of the wise and foolish bridesmaids should be appreciated at all three levels of its development. Originally, at its basic level, the parable taught Jesus’ contemporaries a lesson concerning the reign of God. Those who heard and accepted the good news, as proclaimed by Jesus’ words and through his works, would find a welcome in the kingdom; those who refused to do so would find themselves on the outside, looking in at the wedding feast of salvation. An eschatological metaphor, frequently associated with the climactic reign of God, the banquet or wedding party symbolized the joy and fulfillment to be enjoyed in God’s abiding presence.

At its second level of development, the Matthean community (probably Syrian Antioch), accommodated the parable to reflect their own understanding of God’s continuing plan of salvation. The Jews had, in general, failed to receive Jesus (bridegroom) or the church; these were regarded as the foolish and unprepared bridesmaids. But others (e.g. Gentiles) did accept the good news of Jesus as preached by the early Christians; consequently, these were regarded as wise.

At its third level of development, the parable was used by the Matthean evangelist (and redactor) to teach a lesson to all believers in Jesus. Wisdom would have been predicated of those who kept their lamps trimmed in preparedness for meeting Christ by the daily hearing and keeping of his word. Elsewhere in his gospel, Matthew compared this wisdom of preparedness with that of a person who builds his house on a solid foundation (see Matthew 7:24-27). Foolishness would have been predicated of those Christians who heard Jesus words but failed to act on them; just like the person who built a house on sand, such believers have nothing to hold onto in times of difficulty.

The parable concludes with an ominous warning for all its readers. Because no one knows the day or hour of the bridegroom’s arrival (i.e. of Jesus’ second coming), it would be wise to sustain an attitude of continuing preparedness. It would likewise be foolish to think that the mere capacity to call oneself a Christian or to cry out for entrance to the feast (“Master, Master, open the door for us!”, vs. 11) can be offered as a substitute for the preparedness and lamp trimming which are daily requisites for believers. Recall the gospel’s earlier admonition, “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’ Then I will declare to them solemnly, ‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evil doers’.” (Matthew 7:22-23)

To know and to be known by Jesus requires a wisdom that works and waits in readiness to welcome him, not just on that day, or on Sunday, but today and every day.

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