32nd Sunday-Year A
Wis. 6:12-16
Psalm 63
1 Thes. 4:13-18
Mt. 25:1-13
Am I living According to
the Wisdom of God?
Beloved in Christ, our responsorial psalm today captures
the desire of every human heart. Every human being, even those who claim not to
believe in God, thirst for God. Every culture in the world believes that
life does not end on this earth and that there is a form of an afterlife.
Different religions differ on what life after death looks like. Our Christian
faith teaches us that through the Death and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ, all human beings are offered the gift of eternal life, the gift that we
lost through the sin of Adam and Eve. However, each of us can either choose to
hold on to God’s gift of eternal life or lose it (Catechism of the Catholic
Church 988-991).
The readings today remind me of one of the experiences I
had in Iowa. When I first came to Iowa, I was always very cold because I did
not have a good jacket. I often fell sick in the fall and winter because of
that. One of my good friends decided to buy me a jacket that would keep me
warm. She bought me a very warm and expensive one. That winter, I
travelled to Florida for a conference. Before I left Iowa, I checked the weather
in Florida for the week’s forecast; and it was going to be about 75 degrees
fahrenheit all week. However, I decided to bring my winter jacket along because
on my way back it was going to be below 20F in Iowa. My friend told me that was
a stupid idea and that she could pick me up on my way back and bring me the
jacket if I would leave it with her. I decided I was not going to take her
advice and went with the jacket. Guess what happened…..! Because the weather
was so hot in Florida, I forget to pick up the jacket from the rented car I was
using. It was only when I got back to Iowa that I remembered I had
lost the jacket. I called the rental company but they told me they saw no
jacket in the car. I was sad about that; but what made me even more sad was
when I told my friend that I lost the jacket, she told me she took money from
her savings to buy me that jacket. It was a special design from Burberry. She
gave me a precious jacket but I decided to ignore her good advice as to how to
keep it safe; and because of that I lost it.
Beloved, our scriptural readings today remind us that
eternal life is a gift; and like every gift, we can lose it if we don’t hold on
to it wisely. In the Scriptures the expression “eternal life” refers to the
quality of life God lives; and because that life never comes to an end, it is
also referred to as “everlasting life”. As we come to the end of our liturgical
year, our readings remind us that life on this earth will not last forever but
we can live for ever if we live like God. In our first readings, the writer of
the book of wisdom reminds us that if we ignore the wisdom of God, we will live
in vain. St. Paul in the second reading tells us that if we live like God, we
will always be for God, whether in this life or in the next, because God does
not abandon those who hope in him and live like him.
Jesus, in the gospel, shows us how we can live according
to the wisdom of God and hold on to his gift of eternal life forever. He tells
the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise and five foolish. They
represent the Christian community and all those who profess faith in God.
Scripture explains who a wise person is. In Matthew 7:24-29, Jesus tells us a
wise person is one who hears the word of God and actually puts it into practice.
Psalm 14: 1 says a fool is a person who ignores the voice of God and lives as
if there is no God. Jesus tells us what separates the wise and and foolish
virgins is the fact that the wise had enough oil while the foolish did not. So
what is that oil? In the Scripture, oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Thus,
to have enough oil is to live according to guidance of the Holy Spirit. St.
Paul tells the fruit of the Holy Spirit include love, joy, peace, patience,
faithfulness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-16).These are the virtues that
the wise kept in their heart and practiced. Bearing such fruits is how one
holds on to God’s gift of eternal life.. All the virgins were waiting but the
difference is in how well they waited. The right question in life is not how
long God is going to take before he comes but how well we can wait for him. As
I reflect on these readings, I ask myself: Am I living according to the Wisdom
of God? Can I describe the fruit of my life as the fruit of the Holy Spirit? Am
I truly loving? (Showing genuine concern towards God and others?). Do I
bring joy and peace into people’s lives? Am I patient and faithful to God,
country, my family, and friends? Do I have self-control? May God guide our feet
in the path of his commandment; our hearts in the paths of his Wisdom; and give
us the grace to hold on to the gift of eternal life. Amen!
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