Wis. 6:12-16; Ps 63:2-8; 1 Thes. 4:13-18; Mt. 25:1-13
Foolish or wise as we prepare for the last four things to come, death, judgement, heaven or hell. The wise live with the end in mind by active participation in our salvation while the foolish live in active participation for what this world has to give. For the wise their treasure comes from the internal grace of God in the many gifts of the Holy Spirit called to be holy. Even as we fail, we trust in God’s mercy as a work in progress. For the foolish their treasure comes from the external world that satisfies the senses while the spirit hungers for something greater. The foolish live as if the last four things don’t exist until death comes calling taking a loved one or delivering a terminal condition.
Foolish or wise as we prepare for our mortal death. The foolish prefers to avoid the reality of death living as if it is destined for a later day beyond in years. When death comes their house is not in order, no arrangements for death, funeral, or directives for their property as outward signs for lack of internal readiness. The wise recognizes today is the day the Lord comes calling to give an account of our labor and by his mercy we are given tomorrow to live and to serve. The wise prepare their souls for the coming day as if it will soon be here, detaching from the desires of the flesh with their readiness to “let go” and trust God with their whole being seeking his will and not ours.
Stay awake and keep vigil for the Lord for he comes as wisdom “seeking those worthy…and graciously appears to them” when we thirst for the Lord and for his wisdom. Who and what do we thirst for? Do we thirst for the riches of the world or the riches of the spirit? At night do we ponder how we will succeed in all our desires of life or how we will be ready to receive the Lord this night? This is what separates the foolish from the wise.
You may recall the story of the king who knew his hour of dying was approaching and so he got on his horse and rode all night long to escape the angel of death. When he finally stopped to rest out in the wilderness the angel of death appeared to him saying “I was told to wait here for you. Why would you pick this spot to come and die?” Why do we do some of the crazy things that steal away our days and choose to live as if we can escape the consequences of our actions? The foolish seek to avoid the judgment of God by proclaiming their own judgment upon themselves, “I am a good person…God knows”. The wise seek mercy because they recognize that God knows it all, what we have done, what we have failed to do.
When we choose to live to eat rather than eat to live; when a celebration of life becomes an excuse to abuse alcohol; when work is no longer to support our life but our reason to live; when the bond of our children is stronger with their friends than with their parents because that is who they see more of; we become the foolish virgins of the parable asleep to the things that matter most and get us to heaven. “God considers the wisdom of this world to be foolish” (1 Cor. 3:19) Do we stay awake to what we were created for or have we lost our focus?
The foolish see everyone getting into heaven and hell being empty with the exception of the most evil of individuals that walked this earth. The wise see heaven as a destination we begin on this earth, the taste of heaven in the Mass and the Eucharist opening up the path to heaven. It is a cleansing of our souls from sin, tested by fire for many through purgatory having received the promise of heaven.
We read today, “taking thought of wisdom is the perfection of prudence.” Prudence is making right judgment. Right judgment comes from an informed conscience. Many may say, “I follow my conscience” but an ill-informed conscience is the wisdom of the foolish. The world is full of people who follow their conscience but there is no unity in the world. Each mind desires to create their own truth and the result is chaos. True wisdom comes from above, from the light of the Spirit of truth to enlighten the soul. There is but one truth and it does not come from the mind itself but from the mind that seeks God. If we thirst for truth then we thirst for God. Stay awake to the voice of truth which is the source of all wisdom.
“My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God.”, says the psalm. To thirst implies a longing, a sense of need, an awareness that only God can satisfy us. The one who thirsts seeks, remains vigilant awaiting the arrival of our God. He comes in the silence of our prayer, he comes as a word of knowledge that speaks to our heart, he comes as a spirit of love to comfort a suffering soul, he comes as a neighbor who appears at our door just at the right moment when we needed God most.
The Lord does not delay for he is the God of the present closer to us than we can imagine. The Lord desires to remain with us and in us but our souls must be as the wise virgins, free of sin, having the light of the spirit, ready to receive him in body, blood, soul, and divinity. This is our call. For this he came into the world and for this we were created as a vessel of grace for the kingdom of God. Stay awake and don’t miss the coming of the Lord. We are reminded to be “as wise as serpents, and innocent as doves” (Mt. 10:16) Let us not be fooled by the “wisdom” of this world when it denies the last four things that are already among us.
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