This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
Today’s readings, in a sense, are all about the radical difference between the view of things from the perspective of eternity, vs. the view of them from the perspective of earthly time.
Both the first reading from St. Paul, which is one of those great, moving, passionate Pauline declarations, and the gospel from today juxtapose foolishness and wisdom: The paradoxical foolishness of the earthly and temporal view, and the deep wisdom of the eternal view.
We can share St. Paul’s passion. Consider the time we are living in. The world is obsessed with “clanging cymbals,” “noisy gongs” (cf. 1 Cor. 13). People are running to and fro in fear of this and that, condemning on social media those whose views on rapidly passing realities is not their own, with a bitterness that implies that the definitive welfare of humankind depends on unanimity on these matters.
Noise, clamor, fear, angst, hand-wringing–these are the fruits of the wisdom of the world, which St. Paul describes in the first reading. For it is the wisdom of the world that seeks an earthly utopia, achieved through power and domination. And because earthly utopia, such a tempting objective, is perennially elusive, its advocates remain perennially bitter.
The crucifixion of Christ could not appear more foolish against the backdrop of this earth-centric view. It is the opposite of all that is needed to build the earthly utopia: Weakness, powerlessness, rejection, failure. And how Paul loves it, for all that; how beautifully he identifies its deeper wisdom.
For, if power and domination are the currency of the earthly utopia, love and self-giving are the currency of eternal life and happiness. Countless willing Christian martyrs, joyful and happy to sacrifice their lives for the eternal salvation of others in imitation of their Lord, put an exclamation point on the mute eloquence of a God who takes on flesh only to sacrifice Himself for the prize of eternal happiness for souls. Paul himself was ultimately one of these.
The superficiality of the foolish virgins in the today’s gospel mirrors the flesh-deep, utopian “wisdom” of the world. They brought their lamps, but no oil. Like the seed in the parable of the sower that fell on ground with no depth (cf. Mt. 13), they could not stick with it for the long haul. So it is with superficial Christians, who buy into a feel-good religion aimed only at a happy community of friends who like each other and do nice things, rather than fully and deeply buying into the wisdom of the crucified Christ.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Rather than taking the wisdom of the cross for granted, ask Jesus why–really, why–He opted for this path rather than bringing the earthly domination of God through the most obvious means: earthly power. Then, consider the concrete areas in which you yourself are perturbed by the way the powers of the world lean away from the Gospel. How does the crucified Christ answer these perturbations? Ask Him how you can conform your life more fully to the wisdom of the cross.
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