Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time
August 26, 2022
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082622.cfm
Alleluia, alleluia.
Be vigilant at all times and pray,
that you may have the strength
to stand before your God.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy, our readings are full of dichotomies and contrasts to help us understand the Truth.
Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish?
1 Corinthians 1: 20-21
For since in the wisdom of God
the world did not come to know God through wisdom,
it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation
to save those who have faith.
The core of Paul’s eloquent lesson is this:
Worldly wisdom = foolishness
Heavenly foolishness = true wisdom
Reading this passage, we might feel like we’re back in our Logic 101 class in college. But remember, Paul is preaching to a Greek audience, inheritors of Socratic and Aristotelian language. They would be fascinated and moved by Paul’s presentation style.
Us? Maybe not so much. We might prefer the storytelling technique Jesus used to get the same point across.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
Matthew 25:3-4
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Jesus’s lesson:
Foolish virgins = no oil = can’t find Lord
Wise virgins = refreshed oil = find Lord easily
Our Alleluia Verse captures the essence of all our readings for us:
Pay attention to your spiritual life.
- Keep the Light lit.
- Don’t be fooled by the world’s false logic.
- In Christ, we live by the true logic and light of the Cross and Resurrection
Prose: Elizabeth Mattis Namgyel – The Logic of Faith: A Buddhist Approach to Finding Certainty Beyond Belief and Doubt
But if you are not careful,
spirituality can quite easily allow you
to bypass the human dilemma,
because spirituality can be
anything you want it to be,
whereas faith will challenge you.
It’s not so comfortable.
It carries with it the undeniable tension
between your search for security
and the limits of your ability to know.
Faith keeps your spiritual quest relevant
and connected to the heart
of the human predicament.
Music: Fool’s Wisdom – Malcolm and Alayna
Got myself some wisdom
From a leather-back book
Got myself a Savior
When I took a second look
Opened up the pages
And what did I find
A black and white portrait
Of a King Who’s a friend of mine
Funny how when you think you’re right
Everybody else must be wrong
Till someone with fool’s wisdom
Somehow comes along
His voice is strange and the words He said
I didn’t quite understand
Yet I knew that He was speaking right
By the leather-back book in His hand
Hey, hey
What a day
Fool’s wisdom
Hey, hey
What a day
Fool’s wisdom
Got myself some wisdom
From a leather-back book
Got myself a Savior
When I took a second look
Lavish Mercy 