20231112 WITNESSING BY A LIFE OF WISDOM
12 November 2023, Sunday, 32nd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading | Wisdom 6:12-16 © |
Wisdom is found by those who look for her
Wisdom is bright, and does not grow dim.
By those who love her she is readily seen,
and found by those who look for her.
Quick to anticipate those who desire her, she makes herself known to them.
Watch for her early and you will have no trouble;
you will find her sitting at your gates.
Even to think about her is understanding fully grown;
be on the alert for her and anxiety will quickly leave you.
She herself walks about looking for those who are worthy of her
and graciously shows herself to them as they go,
in every thought of theirs coming to meet them.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 62(63):2-8 © |
For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.
O God, you are my God, for you I long;
for you my soul is thirsting.
My body pines for you
like a dry, weary land without water.
For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.
So I gaze on you in the sanctuary
to see your strength and your glory.
For your love is better than life,
my lips will speak your praise.
For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.
So I will bless you all my life,
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul shall be filled as with a banquet,
my mouth shall praise you with joy.
For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.
On my bed I remember you.
On you I muse through the night
for you have been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice.
For you my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.
Second reading |
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 © |
Do not grieve about those who have died in Jesus
We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. We can tell you this from the Lord’s own teaching, that any of us who are left alive until the Lord’s coming will not have any advantage over those who have died. At the trumpet of God, the voice of the archangel will call out the command and the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then those of us who are still alive will be taken up in the clouds, together with them; to meet the Lord in the air. So we shall stay with the Lord for ever. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt24:42 44 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 25:1-13 © |
The wise and foolish virgins
Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, “Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out.” But they replied, “There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves.” They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.” So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.’
WITNESSING BY A LIFE OF WISDOM
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Wis 6:12-16; Ps 63:2-8; 1 Th 4:13-18 (or 4:13-14); Mt 25:1-13]
When we were baptized, we received the Holy Spirit to be sons and daughters of God. We encountered the Father’s love and we recognize Jesus as our elder brother. We are to live out the life of the gospel, being sons and daughters of God. We are called to be disciples of the Lord. Like the ten bridesmaids in today’s parable, on receiving the sacrament of baptism, the Christian embarks on his journey towards heaven. We are called to live according to the gospel so that when the call comes, we will be ready to enter the Kingdom of heaven.
At confirmation, however, we are given a new anointing by the Holy Spirit so that we can be His witnesses and share in the mission of Christ. We are given a new name, anointed with the Holy Spirit anew and sent out to be proclaimers of the Good News. This sacrament presupposes that those who receive it are mature in their faith and their spiritual life, and are eager to share the life of Christ with those who do not yet know Him. The sacrament of confirmation therefore marks a new stage of our discipleship. Now we are no longer merely disciples but missionary disciples. No longer can we be contented to drift through our spiritual life; we must be intentional disciples and missionaries for Christ.
How, then, can we be witnesses of Christ in our life? There are many ways to witness to Christ, explicitly or implicitly, verbally or non-verbally. Today, the scripture readings speak of witnessing to the divine wisdom in us by living a life that is purposeful and focused. Divine wisdom is not the same as knowledge, whether intellectual or scientific, acquired through studies. It is not even personal or experiential knowledge acquired through experience in life, unless that realization is a realization of the ultimate, that is, the divine plan and mystery of God for us. In other words, a person is wise because he comes to realize the ultimate things of life, the plan of God for the world, for humanity and the way to arrive at our goal in life. And the height of true wisdom is to know Christ as the divine wisdom of God in person by His life, teaching, death and resurrection. Through Christ, God created the world. Through Christ, man attains his goal and destiny, fulfilling himself. This is true wisdom.
Consequently, as Christians we must show ourselves to be different in the way we look at the world, at life and the ultimate goal of our destiny. A worldly way of life is more than living just a selfish, self-centered, dishonest, unscrupulous and immoral life of self-indulgence and pleasure. It is to live just only for this world with no understanding that this life on earth is short compared to eternity after death. Unfortunately, today, man who relies only on scientific and technological knowledge cannot perceive of a world beyond this one. Human knowledge is limited to what is earthly and unspiritual. But we who have the mind of Christ, the divine wisdom of God, know what is truly eternal and brings us real happiness beyond what this world can offer. This is what St Paul wrote, “Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Those who are spiritual discern all things, and they are themselves subject to no one else’s scrutiny. ‘For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (cf 1 Cor 2:11-16)
A person with true wisdom therefore has an eye for eternity whilst living on earth, giving himself to cooperating with the plan of God. We must not live like worldly people who think that there is only one life to live and as a result fear that we will miss out on the joys and pleasures of this life on earth. This explains why people do not give themselves to the service of humanity, or take care of their loved ones because they want to live for themselves and not for others. A growing number of young people in marriage are DINKS, meaning “double income no kids”. They think that so long they have money, they can employ people to look after them in their old age. When we live in a world without consciousness of the shortness of life, and the reality of eternity, we are deceived by the world to live just for today. Life has no other purpose than to live for this world. If that is the case, why live at all?
As the second reading reminds us, our life is but a pilgrimage from this world to the next. Our true dwelling place is in heaven. (cf. Philippians 3:20) This does not mean that we disdain the world as if this world is evil and not sanctified by God. The world is good but we are destined for a better and eternal world to come. We do not reject creation and its goodness but we cherish them and use them as means to prepare ourselves for the world to come, which is one of eternal love and sharing. We are called to do good, make use of whatever resources we have to give ourselves a foretaste of the life that is to come. We want to use this life on earth to grow in love, expand our capacity in loving God and our fellowmen, and be inclusive in our love. But our whole life is oriented towards the future.
For this reason, St Paul reminds the Thessalonians, to live with hope. “We want you to be quite certain, brothers, about those who have died, to make sure that you do not grieve about them, like the other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and that it will be the same for those who have died in Jesus: God will bring them with him. With such thoughts as these you should comfort one another.” So for Christians, we live with a certain hope of life after death. We do not live as if this life is the only one on earth. We do not fall into despair as those who live in the world. They meet death with fear, resentment, grim resignation and hopelessness because they have to leave everything they accumulated on earth. But for us, death is a gain because we will share the fulness of life in Christ.
Hence, we need to be prepared by growing in charity and love. This is what the oil symbolizes in today’s gospel. The wedding feast is a symbol of our union with God at the end of time. The emphasis of today’s gospel is the need to make due preparation, unlike the foolish bridesmaids. They did not have enough oil to welcome the bridegroom when he came. The failure to make due preparation is also an insult to the bridegroom and to all the guests because he would have arrived without the lighted torches. If the other five wise bridesmaids did not share their oil with the foolish ones, it was precisely because if they did, all the torches would have been extinguished by the time the bridegroom arrived, and more so if he were to be delayed, then the wedding procession would have been ruined.
Clearly, the parable teaches us that we need to be prepared at all times for the Lord’s coming now, if we were to welcome Him in the future. If we do not recognize the Lord now in our lives, how can we recognize Him when He comes at the end of time? If we leave our spiritual preparation until our death-bed, our hearts would have been so hardened by sin, causing us to be bitter, angry and unforgiving, clinging on to our possessions, so much so that when the Lord comes to take us, we would refuse to enter into His Kingdom. Growing in discipleship and in our spiritual life is a life-long process. We cannot presume that we will be ready but we must always be attending to our spiritual growth. Either we are growing or we are retrogressing.
Secondly, this parable warns us that there are certain things that we cannot borrow from others. A good life cannot be borrowed from someone else. We cannot borrow good conduct, a generous and forgiving heart, a pure and enlightened mind, and love for God and for our fellowmen. How can we borrow a character unless we form ourselves in that character? We cannot depend on someone’s relationship with God. We need to cultivate that relationship ourselves. So there is no question of delegating a life of virtue and spiritual growth to someone who could proxy on our behalf. So let us be witnesses of Christ’s life and eternity to come by living a life of wisdom fully on earth as a preparation for the fulness of life in heaven. There is no better preparation for entry into the Kingdom of God than to start living the life of Christ on earth. As we shine in the world, we are also lighted up ourselves in Christ.
Hence, it is necessary for us to come together to share our faith. We need a strong community to support each other in our spiritual life and growth. Like the bridesmaids, we need each other in order to welcome Christ. Sometimes we slack in our faith, but seeing how others are strong in their faith, we can be inspired to live likewise. It is therefore vital that we, Catholics, continue our faith journey by being a member of a faith community so that we can withstand the challenges of a worldly and aimless life that is offered by the world. Rather, we should show ourselves as a witnessing community that demonstrate to the world that we live fully in this life by a life of charity, as an indication of what the future life is for us. We know our purpose on this earth and we live fully for the future to be realized.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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