Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110611.cfm

The Pacific Coast off Washington State

We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters....

Beginning with the feast of All Saints and the Commemoration of All Souls, the Church celebrates the End Times; this is the season of “Death and Judgment, Heaven and Hell,” concluding with the Feast of Christ the King. Our readings today remind us to be ready and alert for the coming of Christ, for no one knows the day or the hour.

But there is a secondary theme in today’s reading and we should pay attention to it; that is, Wisdom. The first reading from the Book of Wisdom honors Wisdom as the daughter of God:

Resplendent and unfading is wisdom,
and she is readily perceived by those who love her,
and found by those who seek her.

Much of Catholic theology about the Holy Spirit and about Jesus the Word of God is grounded in this Old Testament image of wisdom. The Jews considered holiness God’s most important attribute, and he shares his holiness with us; but they also loved wisdom. It appears the New Testament authors, especially Saint John, understood Jesus as Wisdom made flesh. 

The concept of Wisdom is all inclusive in the Old Testament; it is not limited to spiritual or material, divine or human. Wisdom is clever as a skilled carpenter or master builder; it is savvy like a merchant and canny like a warrior; it is thoughtful like a devoted wife; it is insightful as an elderly counselor. Every useful knowledge of heavenly or earthly things falls under the purview of wisdom. It was not simply the province of the devout; the wicked can be wise in their ways.

Although the Book of Wisdom celebrates Solomon as the wisest of men, King David actually set the standards. He was a courageous warrior, a clever tactician, an inspiring general, an astute politician and an able planner. He knew the world and he knew how to deal with people. Most importantly -- and most wisely -- he understood his dependence upon God; and when his adviser and prophet Nathan exposed his crimes of murder and adultery, David was wise enough to do penance for his sins. He offered neither explanation nor excuse for what he had done; he repented immediately and with true contrition. His only failing, like that of many politicians: he neglected his family; and that cost him dearly.

Modern spiritualities have sometimes neglected wisdom. Some people think the Holy Spirit counsels impulsiveness and foolishness. The apparent conflict between faith and science suggests that the holy person acts irrationally. Saint Francis is sometimes cited as a foolish saint, though his contemporaries contradict that notion. They were astonished by his deep insight and practical wisdom. 

I have seen some crazy things done in the name of the Holy Ghost or the Holy Spirit, but that is not our Catholic tradition. 

We build schools – everything from pre-school to post-graduate – and our schools teach everything you might expect of a university. We train priests and teachers, lawyers and doctors, dentists, surgeons and plumbers. But we especially teach citizens; our children should not grow up to be only bureaucrats and technocrats. They should be wise in the ways of the world, like King David, Queen Esther and Saint Joseph.

Today’s readings celebrate wisdom: 

• the wise girls kept extra oil for their lamps; 
• Saint Paul insisted, “We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters….” and 
• the Book of Wisdom reminds us:

For taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence,
and whoever for her sake keeps vigil
shall quickly be free from care;

Following his disappointment in Athens, Saint Paul understood more clearly than anyone that the life and death of Jesus Christ has turned all notions of wisdom completely upside-down:

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God. (I Corinthians 2:2-5)

The Christian contemplates the cross and her wisdom flourishes on that tree. She peers into that darkness and finds hope, joy, courage and enlightenment. Where this world's wisdom speaks innumerable words, the wisdom of the cross consoles in silences. For

we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,   nor the human heart conceived,what God has prepared for those who love him’— (I Corinthians 2: 7-9)