Sunday Reflection with Canon Robin Gibbons 12 November 2023

Wisdom - Google Art Project

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

We can be so very poor in the way we describe and perceive the All Holy One, usually we write or say 'God', or equivalent epithets, Almighty, Lord, Creator, and so on, but there is in Scripture a richness of poetry and image that allows us to enter the enveloping mystery of the All Holy in so many different ways. For there are far more attributions of the Unseen, Unknown, All Loving One that we often leave unused or untouched, but they are there ready for us to take them into our own vocabulary and prayer, and so help unlock a small piece of that eternal Love, in an eternity which itself cannot fully hold the mystery of God. It is as the great writer and preacher Jacques-Begnigne Bossuet wrote: "A spark of God's love is capable of sustaining a heart for eternity." He also wrote this truism that we need to pay more attention to: 'L'imagination aide beaucoup l'intelligence', or as we can translate, 'Imagination helps intelligence a lot'. Faith is not simply reason and intelligence, it is the heart, imagination and the voiceless depths of our hidden selves all together, seeking the One who also seeks us.

So our first reading hands us the figure of Wisdom, a personification of the holy One, often seen in our Christian tradition of art in the figure of Our Lady as the seat of Wisdom, that is the Christ held in her arms, seated on her knees, rervealing him to us. But we also understand Wisdom as Christ, who as Word opens for us the depths of knowledge. I think of the great Church of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul ( Constaninople) now alas a cause of yet more dispute, but still one of the greatest and numinous buildings that faith has created. In that space the living God in Christ was celebrated in Liturgy , song and personal prayer, and it was this combination of architecture, art, imagination, that opened up for so many the spiritual treasures and pastoral care of our faith. And so might we all in a time of fraught world difficulty, where ancient boundaries are now being moved, pray to Holy Wisdom that the words we find in our reading might be part of our lives now : "Resplendent and unfading is wisdom, and she is readily perceived by those who love her, and found by those who seek her" ( Wis 12: 6)

Yet as we remember this Armistice Day, and Remembrance Sunday those who gave their lives for others in conflict, and all through November our departed, might there not be a greater wisdom in reflecting, as our second reading shows us, on death not as something terrible( even though the manner in which it happens might be) but as part of the mystery of life ? There is something utterly consoling in these words if we open ourselves to them :

"For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep…. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord".

( I Thes 4: 14,17)

This is the attribution and virtue of Hope that Wisdom gives to us, and it is one we need to proclaim in the midst of the appalling messes we see about us, for it is by Hope we shine a light on our Christian road each day, placing our trust in the One who keeps promise with us.

The Gospel of the wise and foolish handmaids waiting for the Bridegroom can be understood in a number of ways, the historical context makes a lot more sense of the story if we remind ourselves that in first century Jewish weddings there were several ceremonies at the Brides house including one where the Bridegroom arrived and then, with his bride, the bridesmaids and the guests, was escorted with lamps in the night darkness to his home for a feast . Anybody who did not have a lamp was either a possible hanger on and uninvited, or more sinisterly could be part of a group seeking to steal what they could. In any event, the imprudence, lack of wisdom of the handmaids who did not perceive the eventuality of the Grooms late arrival, and prepare for it, allows us to understand that what they were doing was creating a situation of danger. The apparent refusal of those who had enough oil to share, was in fact a wiser decision than we think, they understood the risks and also the ceremony, they also show care for Bride, Groom and Guests. Jesus by linking it to a suggestion of His own coming, intends to waken up both our intelligence and imagination, for at some point each one of us must be prepared to meet Him. The inference is obvious, every day be open to that moment and in being prepared-do not fear Him. But there iks one thing more, our lamp has oil that can never fail, unless we reject it utterly, for we are the lamp itself with `Christ our light, and the oil the gives that light its energy and fuel is the gift of the Holy Spirit, marked in us at our Baptism and Confirmation. So, we must all hold fast to that firm hope given to us by the Wisdom of the Most High. Amen

LECTIO

1. Prayer for Holy Wisdom

Based on Wisdom 6:12-16

Fr Robert Gibbons

O Resplendent and unfading Holy Wisdom,
so readily perceived by all those who love You,
and found by those who seek You.
Hasten to make yourself known in anticipation of our desire;
That we who watch for You at dawn shall not be disappointed,
and find You sitting by our gate.
By Your light kindle in us the perfection of prudence,
that we may keep vigil in prayer.
Free us from all cares that harm and disturb us;
Seeking out all those worthy of You,
to instill in them hope
and graciously appear to us in our day,
and meet us with all solicitude.

Amen

2. Saint Gregory the Great (Parables of the Gospel, "The Ten Virgins")

The blessed will rejoice in their recompense, when they enjoy that vision of Him in Whose presence the elements tremble. They will then go in with Him to the marriage. As they rejoice in the nuptials of the Bridegroom, they themselves will be the bride; for in the bridal chamber of the eternal Kingdom, they are united forever to their God. Thenceforth, that vision can never be snatched from them. The door of the Kingdom will close forever upon those left outside, who then will weep. However, that same door is now open to all penitents. There will be repentance then, but it will be fruitless. When the Bridegroom comes, those that wasted time that might have be used for repentance shall not find pardon. Thus St. Paul warns us: "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2). The Prophet Isaiah says: "Seek ye the Lord, and when ye find Him, call upon Him" (Is. 55:6).

3. St Romanos the Melodist - Vol. II, Kontakion On the Ten Virgins I

O brothers and sisters, let us love the Bridegroom, Let us make ready our lamps, Shining out with brightness and true faith, So that, like the wise virgins at the Lord's coming, We may arrive with Him at the marriage, For He, the Merciful, since He is God, Offers to all as a gift The incorruptible crown!

Thou, O God, the Bridegroom of salvation, the hope of those who hymn Thee, Grant to us who pray to Thee That we find, without stain, in Thy marriage, Just like the virgins The incorruptible crown.