HOMILY FOR 32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR-A)
THEME: Penny Wise Pound Foolish
By: Fr Anthony Chukwuebuka Ohaekwusi
Wisdom is often interpreted as being smart or intelligent. Despite the similarities, not every intelligent person is wise. Sometimes people act unwisely, trying to play smart. Like when a man who was too frugal to replace worn-out car tyres, thinking he was saving money, but had to pay a lot for repairs and insurance after an accident in the rain. Or when a woman drove 20 miles to buy groceries a few pence cheaper than the store in her neighbourhood, wasting more petrol and time in the process. We could say that this is being very penny wise and pound foolish because they were outsmarting themselves. If wisdom begins with what is beneficial to me here and now, then there will be no need to plan for a better future.
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The readings this Sunday place the virtue of wisdom at the centre of our life and journey of faith. It is a beacon of hope that keeps us awake and waiting for that future day when God will reveal His children (Romans 8:19). We often think of people who spend less to achieve more as being clever. But what is the use of being clever now and paying heavily for it later. That’s why being clever and being wise are not the same thing, because cleverness seeks immediate results, while wisdom anticipates. It is like a light that shines brightly beyond the here and now. The five women without extra oil were considered foolish because they outsmarted themselves.
The light of faith we carry on our watch should not be determined by the measure of our intelligence. These maidens were too smart to burn their light with a measured amount of oil that would last for the wedding without considering contingencies. This is like paying for a ticket for a short stay without considering that you might stay longer, or buying a measured amount of petrol without considering the heavy traffic. If they had succeeded, they might have been considered smarter than those with extra oil. But faith doesn’t work that way. It is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we have not seen (Hebrews 11:1). So how can the light of faith be sustained without the oil of commitment? Faith is not opportunistic, it is a light sustained by God’s oil of wisdom. This oil of wisdom overcomes all human savvy and allows us to recognize that our lives have a purpose beyond the present. This is why we remember the dead not as those who lived in the past, but as those who have gone before us into the future.
Remain lifted and do have a great Sunday
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