Commentary
Sunday, 11/12/2017, Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Spirit Will Come—Just Ask
First Reading Commentary: Wisdom 6:12-16
If you ask someone if they would like to be wise, they may look at you like you are crazy. What kind of question is that to ask, they may think. They may be humble and just shrug their shoulders or something like that. Or, they may say, “Of course I am.” Thing is, how many people even know what really wisdom is?
Wisdom is one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Like all of the Spirit’s gifts, wisdom is freely given to us in Baptism and re-enforced in us in Confirmation. Instead of defining the gift of wisdom, let’s concentrate on the fact that it is freely given to us. If wisdom is a free gift, why does today’s first reading tell us that wisdom is found by those who seek her? If wisdom is a gift that we already have, we should not have to look for it—right?
But once again, when we are thinking about God, we have to take our human definition of terms and throw them out of the window? It is not about looking for wisdom. It is not about looking for any of God’s gifts. It is all about deciding to use the gifts that God has bestowed on us. Furthermore, God wants us to use what He has given us.
The next part of today’s reading tells us just that. Wisdom hastens to be known and anticipates our desire. Wisdom will not disappoint and is sitting by our gate. In other words, God is always there for us and God will never fail us when we call on Him. In fact, God will be there for us in troubled times even though we may not ask for help. This is true because God is faithful and that is because, God is faith. In fact, everything that God gives us is a part of Himself. Therefore, God is wisdom. And, God loves us because God is love.
When we choose to use wisdom or any of the gifts that God bestows on us, accepting that gift knowing that is comes from God’s love for us, we are acknowledging God’s love for us. Today’s message tells us that this is perfect prudence. It means that we are paying attention, listening to God and always ready to accept His gifts with gratitude giving all praise and honor. This is what makes us worthy to receive everything that God gives us and this is what makes us worthy to be with God.
But, we have to exercise humility and remember that in our humanity, we can never be worthy to be with God. We are only worthy because God says that we are worthy and that will come when we exercise perfect prudence.
Today we learn that wisdom will come from God with all solicitude. Yes, solicitude is a new word for me too and I had to look it up. Nice word! It means that God gives us His wisdom out of His caring and concern for us. God does not just give us wisdom—God makes sure that we are wise in ways that will lead us to Him.
Get Ready Before You Fall Asleep
Second Reading Commentary: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
We often times refer to the deceased as those who have fallen asleep. Paul does this in today’s second reading from First Thessalonians as he testifies that he and the Apostles want the people to be aware of those who have fallen asleep. What Paul means is that he wants the Thessalonians to remember the deceased and he wants them to also remember the reward of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven that has been promised. Paul makes the point that he wants the Thessalonians to be aware of the promise of the Kingdom by saying that he does not want them to grieve like those who have no hope.
In this life, there are many things that we may look forward to. There are many things that we may want to have or want to do. We often say, “I hope that…” But we cannot take any of the things that we may hope for in this life with us into the next life. So, we have to ask ourselves, “What has been already promised to us which is the only thing worth looking forward to? What is worth having that will always belong to us and can never be taken away?”
The only answer to this question is the Kingdom of Heaven as was promised to us by Christ when He delivered the Beatitudes. Paul tells the Thessalonians that for those who are asleep and believe that Jesus died and rose will be taken with Him when He comes again. Then Paul tells the Thessalonians that those who are asleep will be taken first and that those who are alive will be taken next.
This is another place in Scripture where we have to keep the time in history that this took place in mind. It is also another place in Scripture where we have to remember that God’s sense of time is not the same as ours. We have to keep these two things in mind because the Apostles actually believed that Christ would make His triumphant second coming during their lifetime here on earth.
What Paul tells the Thessalonians is accurate to what John sees in Revelations. It is just that Paul and the Christians at that time did not have a true concept of when Christ would come again and that was because they were thinking of time in a worldly way. That is a mistake we cannot make when considering God and His timing of things. If believers in Christ understood this immediately or soon after Christ had died, the Gospels would have been written much sooner—my guess is after the Ascension. But, because they did not, the Gospels were not written until after the Apostles had died.
Because Paul did not understand this when he wrote his letter, the timing of God’s actions is not the point. Anyone and everyone who believes in Christ will be with Him. That is the point and that is for sure. In fact, Paul says, “…we shall always be with the Lord.” Here, the word “always” means: for an eternity, for all time—even beyond the ages.
Paul goes on to say, “Therefore, console one another with these words.” There are several messages of advice here, each one as important as the next. First, Console and comfort those who are grieving over the loss of a loved one with the promise of heaven that Jesus made to all who believe. Comfort them by reminding them that Jesus has prepared a place for us, that the deceased is now in their place and we will one day be in our place.
Second, Share and give witness to the Gospels. When we do this with others who are believers in Christ, we are consoling each other by sharing our faith with each other. When we do this with non-believers, we are evangelizing and we pray that the people whom we are evangelizing will listen.
Third, Proclaim the promises made in the Book of Revelations. Console others by teaching them not to be afraid of the images portrayed in Revelations because in the end, Revelations is all about the last day—the day that Christ will come to take all believers with Him to His Kingdom.
Fourth, Console by reminding believers and teaching non-believers that when our bodies die to this life, our spirit lives on. Proclaim that this life is temporary and a journey into the next which is eternal. Proclaim that for those who die to sin by repenting and having their sins washed away by the Blood of the Lamb are the ones whose spirits will live on forever with Christ in His Kingdom.
One overall message from Paul in this part of his letter to the Thessalonians is: We should prepare ourselves and we should make an effort to prepare others to be ready for the last day—the second coming of Christ because that is the day that Christ will come to take us with Him. The time to make ourselves ready is before we fall asleep.
Are You Wise or a Fool?
Gospel Commentary: Matthew 25:1-13
The ten virgins went out with their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish thinking that they did not need to bring any oil with them. The other five were wise and had flasks of oil with them. The bridegroom was delayed so when he finally came the wise virgins were able to trim their lamps but the foolish ones were not and asked the wise ones for some oil. But the wise refused saying that there may not be enough. So, the foolish went to buy oil but when they returned, the doors had been locked and when they asked to be let in, they were denied and they were told, “I do not know you.”
There is a direct link between this Gospel and today’s reading from Wisdom and Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians. The message is that it is wise to always be prepared because Jesus will come again—we just do not know when. Jesus said, “…stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” In other words, be alert and be prepared.
Here, Jesus is testifying to His second coming which is the last day as described in the Book of Revelations 20:11 – 22:5. The ten virgins in this parable are all of us waiting for Jesus to come again and Jesus is bridegroom. The second coming is announced in Revelations 21:3.
The five wise virgins, who are the victor in Revelations 21:7, are those people whose names are written in the book of life because they came prepared by living their lives according to the Word. But these virgins were not wise simply because they were prepared by having oil. We need to take a closer look at what the oil was.
The oil was the grace, mercy and forgiveness that is given to us by God when we confess and repent for our sins. The wise virgins had done this so their sins were washed away by the Blood of the Lamb and so, when the Groom—Christ came, they entered the wedding feast which is the Wedding Feast in the Kingdom of Heaven.
The five foolish virgins (those described in Revelations 21:8) are those people who did not live according to the Word and also failed to make themselves’ ready. They failed to confess their sins and they failed to repent. They are denied entry to the wedding feast because they were unknown.
What we learn here is that one who really knows God and really wants to be with God in heaven will make themselves ready as best they can. One who does not feel that they need to always be prepared for whatever happens so that they can always be ready, must not really know God and God does not know them.
Being prepared for whatever might happen is doing our best in standing up to the devil who will never stop tempting us and doing all that he can to keep us away from God. Because we are all weak in our humanity, we will occasionally fall into sin. Jesus gave us the Sacrament of Confession so that in spite of our sins, we can always make ourselves ready for His second coming. He will know us and as Paul told the Thessalonians, Jesus will take us with Him.
Scripture Reading From Give Us This Day Morning Prayers
Song of Songs 2:8-10
The sound of my lover! Here he comes / springing across the mountains, / leaping across the hills, / My lover is like al gazelle / or a young stag, / See! He is standing behind our wall, / gazing through the windows, / peering through the lattices, / My lover speaks and says to me, / "Arise, my friend, my beautiful one, / and come!"
