Wise or Foolish?

Homily for Friday of the 21st Week in Ordinary Time

Both readings for this morning’s liturgy speak of wisdom and foolishness. St. Paul speaks of the wisdom and foolishness of God while the Gospel tells us a story about some wise and foolish maidens who were waiting for the return of the bridegroom.

It might be helpful to know the situation in the Corinthian community to completely understand what has prompted St. Paul’s thoughts about the wisdom and/or the foolishness of God. St. Paul spent nearly a year in Corinth getting the Christian community firmly planted in this ancient city. Once he had done all that he thought necessary, he moved on to found the next community. However, he kept in close contact with the Corinthians and wrote to them when he heard that things were going amiss.

In this morning’s particular instance, the Corinthian community was beginning to unravel because some of its members thought they were more important simply because of who had baptized them. Some of the Corinthians were proud of the fact that they had been baptized by Peter. Others bragged about the fact that they had been baptized by a man named Apollos who was reputedly one of the best public speakers in the early Church community. Another group claimed that they had been baptized by St. Paul. St. Paul refers to their argument about this to be utter foolishness. No matter who poured the waters of baptism, they all belong to Jesus.

It seems that the Corinthians were suffering from a poor self-image. Rather than accentuating that they were all God’s children and all saved through the waters of baptism, they chose to accentuate the importance of the man who had baptized them. The same kind of thinking still appears in our own world.

The Gospel reading reveals a different attitude about wisdom. This parable points to the day when Christ will return. As we have heard many other times in the Gospel, it is going to be important to be ready for that day. No one knows when it will come. The truly wise person is one who is ready at any time for the return of the Lord.

The message that comes through both readings is that God looks at the issues of wisdom and foolishness differently than the world. The truly wise person is the one who stays close to God at all times and in all situations.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator