1 Cor 1:17-25 / Matthew 25:1-13
Paul talks about Christ’s crucifixion: It was nonsense to the Gentiles.
The English poet Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem called “Cold
Iron.” It’s about a baron who rebels against his king and tries to overthrow
him. The king’s army engages the baron’s army, defeats it, and takes the baron
prisoner.
When the baron is brought before the king, everyone expects
him to be severely punished and then executed. To everyone’s consternation, the
king responds in a totally different way. Instead of punishing and executing
the baron, the king treats him kindly, sets before him a table, and serves him
bread and wine. The symbolism of the poem is obvious. It also helps us
understand better the “folly” of God’s wisdom.
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Paul knows that the Christians of Corinth are not only
divided in their loyalties but are also influenced by the Greek tendency to
philosophize about everything. They would think ordinarily that “Power and
wisdom” are the two essential qualities of God. These he shows in creation.
"I believe in God the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth".
In creation, we see God's power and wisdom the clearest. "Not so":
says Paul. Not in creation but in the Cross. We think we see His weakness and
folly in the Cross. Delivered into the hands of men, he became the plaything of
their cruel power. This weakness is God's folly. God wants to be the saviour.
The Cross was God's power to save. In no other way could he do that better.
That was his wisdom. In creation, God did manifest himself. The greatest
manifestation of God is the Cross. There he manifested not only his power and
wisdom but his love. God is love. The Cross is the greatest paradox. "For
God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger
than human strength " (verse 25).
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Christ is the power and wisdom of God. This is Paul’s
teaching today, and yet he admits its human irony. A crucified God flies in the
face of human expectations. The Jews looked for convincing signs, and the
Greeks, in their philosophical bent, looked for wisdom. Jesus on the cross
looked unconvincing on both counts. The sign was only one of weakness to the
Jews and foolishness to the Gentile. But in fact, the outcome was just the
opposite. To those who are being saved, there is power in the cross and wisdom
in a God who is willing to die to save us.
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How do we treat people who hurt us? “God’s foolishness is
wiser than human wisdom 1 Corinthians 1:25
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Gospel Reflection: When the bridegroom leaves
the parents' house on horseback to fetch the bride, his brothers, relatives and
friends try to hold him so that he is often delayed. Weddings start anyhow
only after dark. At the bride's home, they eagerly await him to give him a
festive welcome. The girls add brilliance by receiving him with burning
lamps, gracefully dancing as they lead him to the house. Three details attract
our attention. Some of the maidens are called foolish, It is foolishness not to
be ready. It foolish to have a lamp that gives no light. When the
bridegroom comes, they hear the sound of revel and mirth. They see the light of
the procession and cannot join it for the last stretch. Both slept: the wise
and the foolish. They want to light the lamps, but have no oil. The shining,
light that honours the coming of the bridegroom are the good works, grace
giving good deeds.
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To be late for an appointment is rather careless, to say the
least. To be late could mean that we don't really take care to be early for the
appointment, or at least to be there on time.
And it may also mean that we don't take much into
consideration how the other party feels about having to wait for us if we are
late through our own fault. More so if we have an appointment with someone of
importance. All the more we will want to make sure that we will be ready and
early for the appointment.
In the gospel parable, it was the bridegroom who was late.
But it was the duty of the ten bridesmaids to wait for him. The wise ones were
careful to be prepared with extra oil for their lamps. The foolish and careless
ones didn't consider the unexpected circumstance that the bridegroom would be
late.
So, to be wise is to be careful and to be ready for the
unexpected. To be foolish is to be careless and not be bothered about
unexpected situations. But whether wise or foolish, there are consequences for
better or for worse, as the gospel parable tells us. But to wise is not just
about being careful and ready for whatever situations. As St. Paul puts it in
the 1st reading, wisdom is about understanding the cross as God's power to
save.
The cross may look like foolishness, to the Jews an obstacle they cannot get
over, to the Greeks madness, but to those who are called to faith, it is the
power and wisdom of God. It is not too late for us to understand the meaning of
the cross, the power and wisdom that God grants through it, so that we will be
careful and ready to meet the challenges of life.
Let us Pray: Lord our God, source of all wisdom, you invite us to be wise and to encounter your Son with burning lamps in our hands. Help us to be prepared to meet him in the events of daily life and in people around us, that we may enter with him into your feast that lasts forever. In Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. God bless.
