HOMILY SUNDAY 32 – Year A
Wisdom as Faith Expressed Through Love
(Wisdom 6:12-16; Psalm 63; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13)
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A young man was rather nervous about reading in Church, and instead of ending his reading with “The Word of the Lord” he stammered “The end of the world” to which the congregation dutifully responded “Thanks be to God!”
We are nearing the end of the Church year, and so the readings speak of the end of time. Today, the readings ask us to be wise, and to be ready by living as God wants us to, expressing our faith through prayer and loving service, every day.
The ten bridesmaids in the story all looked ready. All had lamps lit, and all were dressed for a wedding. The only difference is that half had enough oil for their lamps; the others did not and ran out.
Matthew in this gospel is teaching the members of his early Church two important lessons. First, they were to be ready for the coming of the Lord, and second, they were to stay ready even if that coming was delayed. He wanted to make sure that they all had enough oil of persevering love for their lamps of faith.
The lamps in the gospel can symbolize formal, institutional religion (being Catholic). The oil can stand for a personal relationship with God, filled with the Holy Spirit (living our faith). Both are needed. It is hard to burn oil without a lamp, and a lamp without oil gives no light.
For Matthew, to be ready means to live the way Jesus taught us. It means to live the Beatitudes; to be humble, gentle, merciful, forgiving, honest and fair, not just for a day, but every day. It means to keep the Great Commandment: to love God in prayer and worship; to love others through forgiveness, caring and sharing, and to love our selves through self-esteem, not just for a day, but every day. Then we will always be ready, because we are already living as God wants us to live. That is the oil, or spirituality, that gives light to our religion.
To be initiated into the Church is like the lamp in the gospel. To live out that initiation through love, caring, forgiveness, prayer and worship, is the oil. Those being initiated are being asked by God not just to be confirmed and to receive the Eucharist, but to live as God wants them to live, so that they will be like a lamp showing God’s love to all others.
John was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. His wife called me one day at 5 am to ask if he could go over to see me. John was restless, agitated, could not sleep, had seen the doctor twice already for sleeping pills and anti-depressants, causing her great concern. He came to the rectory and in their ensuing conversation I discovered that John was not really working the Steps of AA honestly. He had gone from Step 1 (joining the program) to Step 12 (trying to share his experience) without really working the Steps in between that would have led him to genuine healing. He had done a superficial Step 5 and had not been truly honest. I reminded him that the program demanded total honesty and invited him to do a sincere Step 5 then and there, which is what he did. He cleaned house, emptied himself of all the guilt, fear and anger that he had been carrying for years, and walked away a free man. John shared that experience at subsequent Round-ups for years. He had the lamp of program, but he was lacking the oil, working the Steps of the program.
There are many ways that we see this gospel lived out. A family can have the lamp of religiosity and go to church, yet miss the oil of affection and communication. A parish can have within it many people who ask for baptism, yet have no connection with the worshipping community.
The first reading today extols the virtue of wisdom, a part of which can be connecting our faith with our lives. A wise person not only comes to Church and celebrates the sacraments (the lamp of faith) but first of all has a personal relationship with God and enters into fellowship and relationships with others (the oil of love).
The Eucharist is an example of God’s wisdom in that it brings the lamp of faith and the oil of love together as a sacrament. It makes present to us the selfless sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. We are thus nourished by Word and Bread so that we might be empowered and given the wisdom to go out and live the Eucharist, to express our faith in God by genuine, sincere love from the heart for all people, friends, relatives and enemies alike. So, let us be wise, ready, and express our faith through prayer and loving service.
