Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 15, 2020
Proverbs 31 Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character
A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.
Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.
She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.
She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants.
She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night.
In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy.
When it snows, she has no fear for her household; for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
She makes coverings for her bed; she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
Her husband is respected at the city gate, where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.
She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. (NIV)
Concerning times and seasons, brothers and sisters,
you have no need for anything to be written to you.
For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.
When people are saying, "Peace and security," then sudden disaster comes upon them,
like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.
But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness,
for that day to overtake you like a thief.
For all of you are children of the light and children of the day.
We are not of the night or of darkness.
Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober.
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"A man going on a journey
called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.
To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one--
to each according to his ability.
Then he went away.
Immediately the one who received five talents went and traded with them,
and made another five.
Likewise, the one who received two made another two.
But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground
and buried his master's money.
"After a long time
the master of those servants came back
and settled accounts with them.
The one who had received five talents came forward
bringing the additional five.
He said, 'Master, you gave me five talents.
See, I have made five more.’
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.’
Then the one who had received two talents also came forward and said,
'Master, you gave me two talents.
See, I have made two more.'
His master said to him, 'Well done, my good and faithful servant.
Since you were faithful in small matters,
I will give you great responsibilities.
Come, share your master's joy.’
Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said,
'Master, I knew you were a demanding person,
harvesting where you did not plant
and gathering where you did not scatter;
so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground.
Here it is back.'
His master said to him in reply, 'You wicked, lazy servant!
So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant
and gather where I did not scatter?
Should you not then have put my money in the bank
so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?
Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.
For to everyone who has,
more will be given and he will grow rich;
but from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.'"
WISDOM is practical
When you cut away the myth and drop the Cap W, wisdom starts to look more like the good healthy common sense that we see around us. A good half of the young maidens allocated to the lamp brigade at the wedding had their reserve supply of oil with them; two out of three money managers made their hundred percent return.
When I first looked at these two Sundays together I thought they were all about wisdom. But then, a run of comments in the thread focused on Wisdom as personified and greatly exalted so that it became something 'out there', something with its own personal name. As always I find myself wanting to bring our thoughts back to ordinary living in the here and now, so I shy away from some of the Kabbalah talk. Then I checked on those maidens at the wedding discovered that 'wise' was not the right word, but 'sensible', or 'practical' as in the example given in today's first reading.**
Wisdom should not be thought of as reserved for the elderly. No doubt we grow and mature with the years, but it's especially when we're young that we learn by doing. There is wisdom in that too, especially for a young person who 'has a go' at something and learns even from failure; especially for failure.
Jeshua does not seem to have talked much about Wisdom, but if you skim through the gospels you will find that his way of teaching was not that of a distant, detached guru but of a man mixing with the people and looking to teach the ordinary men and women in the street how to live properly. In the language of the day that was 'to live according to God's will'. You could say he was teaching 'how to live wisely'.
And in the first reading today we're presented with a model of practical wisdom: a woman, wife, mother, manager of the household much like the millions who keep the world going. The description of her industrious ways may be a bit over the top, but its purpose is to challenge us, and that it does at many levels.
The church itself: how does it measure up? Quite poorly, I'm afraid. It's not a good sign when thousands are leaving home, no longer able to tolerate the smothering atmosphere and sheer irrelevance of that house.
Some still dream of what it could have been had there been a bit of practical wisdom around. For starters looking after people shouldn't be an extra for the few volunteers; nor should they have to spend extra time recruiting helpers and holding weeknight meetings when they know a lot of people would join in if only those meetings were held in small groups during Sunday assembly.
How different it would be if the 60 or 90 minutes a week were divided between prayerful reading/explanation/listening/sharing and silent times in small groups; followed by discussion and planning for effective action on some of the many fronts we care about; and this followed by all together sharing a simple meal of fellowship and thanksgiving in memory of Jeshua.
The meal segment might take different formats, including the ritual we call 'the mass'. If the weekly assembly were recast in this format would God be short-changed? If one small group, one single parish, were to make this their regular Sunday experience would the world stop turning?
Would it bring crowds flocking back? Hardly. But those taking part would find, over time, a refreshed and more vigorous christian experience. It will be a time of worship in spirit and in truth when there is genuine learning/listening, real caring for those in need and real witness in the community around us, and an actual experience of fellowship in communion.
How do we measure up?
For all the talk of revisiting the origins and reviewing dogma and moral teaching on the forum, there are very few practical suggestions on what we could do. I wonder is any criticism or suggestion valid if it does not contain at least some indication of exactly where the problem lies and how it might be remedied. Then, are we doing all we can?
Where a lack of leadership is identified in a parish there is nothing to stop groups of parishioners taking leadership roles themselves. The same applies to the diocese. Nothing is to be done in secret. The clergy are kept informed. If they question what you are doing, the simple answer is that we are filling a gap, taking care of someone in need, teaching those who come looking for guidance. This is what we do on Catholica and it could be done in every parish. It seems very foolish to bewail the sorry condition of the community if we are not doing what is within our power to do.
Wisdom is not only 'practical'; it demands action.
** 5429 phrónimos (an adjective, derived from 5424 /phrḗn, "personal perspective regulating outward behavior," and the root of the English term "diaphragm" which controls key body functions from the inside out) – properly, "how we size things up," reflecting our personal ("visceral") opinions, i.e. what we consider "savvy" (smart). This always roots to our personal perspective ("inner outlook") which regulates our definition of being "shrewd," i.e. reflects personal mind-set (insight), See https://biblehub.com/greek/5429.htm