21st. Week Ordinary Time, Sept.1, 2006

Scripture: I Cor.1:17-25. Psalm 33:1-2,4-5,10-11. Matthew 25:1-13.

Both our first reading and our Gospel helps us to focus on the theme of God's wisdom and Jesus' way of teaching about it through an interesting and attractive parable, that of the five foolish and wise virgins. Paul sees God's wisdom in the great paradox of Jesus' death upon the Cross. We know that he focused on this mystery throughout his epistles. He saw the effects of this sacrificial death of Jesus in the Resurrection and its promise and hope for him and his communities. The Cross is absurdity and foolishness for the contemporaries of Paul. It makes sense only to those who like Paul believe in the Person of Jesus as the Son of God or as Paul calls upon him, as the Lord Jesus Christ. We can ask with those who were contemporary with Jesus, how can a death upon a cross which means the death of a criminal for the onlookers ever be a victory or a saving event? Paul sees and testifies that this paradoxical and mysterious historical event is to be seen with God's plan of salvation and within the wisdom of the Almighty Holy One. Paul tells us, "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel, not with the eloquence of human wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of meaning." (I Cor.1:17).

To our human way of looking upon this event it is complete absurdity and foolishness, yet, Paul, through his faith fortified by the experience he had of the Risen Christ now preaches this paradox boldly. From his Good Friday of struggles, Paul is led through the Cross to the Easter Event of Jesus' Resurrection. For Paul this is a pure gift of God's grace working within the salvation history of the world.

Jesus' parable of the five foolish and five wise virgins emphasizes that part of God-like wisdom is the attentiveness and confidence that the bridegroom is coming and one has to be ready when he does arrive at the threshold of his home. I take the parable to mean that Christians are to be ready and waiting for the coming of the Lord both now and at the endtime. It is best to live fully aware of the Eternal Now of God's time. Amen.