THE READINESS IS ALL
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 32 Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A, is, “Wisdom: The Readiness Is All.”
Recently, I listened to a teenage girl talking about being totally surprised when she found out that her dad actually heard her when she said out loud to him every everning, “Dad, how was your day?” She would ask that and he would grunt a throw away response back to her. Surprise! She found out in a letter from him from a distance - afterwards - that he appreciated hearing that question every night when he got home after a long day at work around 7 PM - along with dealing with the traffic coming home.
So how was your day?
So how's your weekend going?
So how was your life going so far?
TWO THEMES
The title of my homily is, “Wisdom: The Readiness Is All.”
I chose the theme of wisdom because that’s a key theme in today’s first reading and I chose the theme of “readiness” because that’s a key theme in today’s gospel.
PART ONE: WISDOM
Let me begin with the theme of “wisdom” - Part One of this homily - and then say some words about “readiness” - Part Two of this homily.
Scriptures, fairy tales, literature have a vast collection of stories about being wise and not being a fool.
The obvious reason is to strive for wisdom and don’t be a fool. There are enough of those.
Wisdom - “Sophia” in Greek - became a theme in Hebrew life - when Greece was a super power in the Mediterranean basin and then spread out into Asia.
So we have in our Bible - in the Hebrew section, not just the prophets and the history sections - but also the later section called, “The Wisdom Literature.”
Today’s first reading is from the Book of Wisdom and next Sunday’s first reading is from the Book of Proverbs.
In today’s first reading Wisdom is pictured as a mysterious entity - feminine - present everywhere - in every situation - for those who want wisdom, love wisdom, and are searching for her.
Listen again to the first part of today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom with that in mind:
Resplendent and unfading is wisdom,
and she is readily perceived
by those who love her,
and found by those who seek her.
She hastens to make herself known
in anticipation of their desire;
whoever watches for her at dawn
shall not be disappointed,
for he shall find her sitting by his gate.
If you’ve been to a Greek Orthodox or an Eastern Rite Catholic Mass you’ve heard the lector - the reader - the cantor - hold up the scriptures and chant, “Wisdom! Be attentive.”
Talk about changes in the liturgy, I always thought that would be a good addition to the liturgy of the Roman or Western Rite of the Church.
“Wisdom! Be attentive.”
I remember hearing a public speaker tell about her granddaughter who came up to her once and said, “Grandma, why do you always say, “What's the lesson in that?”
At that, her granddaughter stopped her for a moment. She hit her grandmother’s mute button. Then after pausing, she said to her granddaughter, “Because there’s a lesson in everything.”
Then she told us, “The lesson I learned at that moment is: kids are listening.” And, “Kids can tell us a lot about ourselves if we listen.”
I remember hearing a story about a dad who had only a few years of schooling. He would ask his kids when he came home from work, “What did you learn in school today?”
And the story teller said, “And he meant it.”
I learned from that, that not all words and comments and tiny questions are throw away words and comments and questions.
And this dad would sit there and have his kids teach him stuff - geography, history, math, - things he never learned during his 4 years of elementary school.
As they say, “The teacher learns more than the student!” Those kids looking back at their dad at his funeral told everyone in a eulogy that was one of the things they learned from their dad.
I learned from someone to jot down on one page of a spiral note book a quick list of what happened that day - like a shopping list - just one or two words indicating something that happened on the menu of that day. It’s something I suggest to people who ask for spiritual direction.
So at night I pick up my spiral note book - put the date, time, and place, on top - and then say a short prayer like, “Come Holy Spirit” and then make my list. Then I look at the list and ask, “Which one had the most energy - or most emotion - or excitement - or drama - or what have you?”
Then I put a circle around it and think and pray about it and then go to sleep on it.
It takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
“Wisdom! Be attentive.”
Someone also told me to take a journal with you on whatever trip you go on. Then at the end of the day, write down what happened that day. After a long, long day, this can be a chore.
Doing this I learned a see a lot more the next day - because I have homework to do that night. I also learned that I look at what happened that day - a good bit more - and pick out its lessons - even though I’m dead tired.
So on trips I have both those books: my spiral note book and a journal. They add to the weight of my bag - but I also hope they add to the weight of my life.
Wisdom! Be attentive.
There is a difference between knowledge, information, and wisdom.
The smartest person is the world can be a fool. The world’s literature has all kinds of stories about that reality.
Wisdom is reflection and learning from knowledge - but especially from experiences.
I remember hearing in a talk somewhere that someone who works at the same job can have 20 years experience or one year’s experience 20 times.
I didn’t hear anything else in that talk but that. It triggered the question: “How do we milk an experience for its wisdom?”
Two quick answers: Talk - better listen to each other about our life experiences. Ask questions. Jot down stuff. Secondly: keep asking, “Is there a lesson here?”
I look for déjà vu’s. Life is filled with them. When has something like this happened to me before?
I like good questions.
The question mark is designed the way it is for a reason. It’s a hook!
PART TWO: THE READINESS IS ALL
As you know the comment, “The Readiness Is All” is something Hamlet said.
Somewhere along the line - in some school hall way or classroom or somewhere I saw a poster on a wall - that was glossy white paper - with a big, big rich green circle on it - and in black bold letters in the green circle were the words, “The Readiness Is All!”
Those 2 words are still on the walls of my mind - but I don’t always see them.
It’s the message of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts: “Be Prepared!”
It’s the message of the military - the police - firefighters - CIA, FBI, NSA, Homeland Security, especially after 9-11 - but it’s always been there.
“The Readiness is All.”
It’s the message of today’s second reading - but especially today's gospel and in various sections of the New Testament - but especially in these readings for the end of the Church Year.
Many in the early church thought that Christ was going to come back at any moment - so you better be awake - on the ball - ready - and not be like the foolish virgins or bridesmaids in today’s gospel.
The Early Church had to make adjustments when this didn’t happen.
It’s now 2000 years later. It still hasn’t happened.
And if we know the history of the Christian World, we know that there have always been predictors of the end of the world by a specific, certain date. Surprise, it hasn't happened yet. The Rapture hasn’t happened.
If we know anything, we know there always will be predictors of the end of the world. Some people will then get ready. Then when we pass the due date, they will be disappointed or have to do some kind of recalculating. I predict that.
Cry, "Wolf!" too often - and people will stop being prepred for wolves - even if they come in sheep's clothing.
So preachers then apply this readiness theme to our own death and demise. You never know the day nor the hour. Or preachers and spiritual writers stress the presence of the Risen Christ who has already come - and is present on every crossroad and every meal, every wedding and every sunrise, every hurt and every healing.
The readiness is all.
CONCLUSION
The end is near.
That's a joke - my homily is about to end.
What’s the lesson here? What’s the wisdom here?
As I listened to my homily, I sense that in this sermon, I'm pushing for a general attitude towards how to do life.
What is your basic attitude in how you do life?
I prefer St. Francis de Sales advice about life - summed up in two Italian words, “con calme” - “with calmness”.
I prefer Thornton Wilder’s words - which I often quote to myself - even though I’m a diabetic, “My advice to you is not to inquire why or wherefore, but just enjoy your ice cream while it’s on your plate - that’s my philosophy.” Those words are from the first act of his play, “The Skin of our Teeth" [1942].
I never saw that play, but I like that line. I've seen Hamlet several times - and I find myself saying, "This is not the person I want to be like."
The title of my homily is, "Wisdom: The Readiness Is All."
"The readiness is all" are Hamlet's words. That was his approach to life. They are from Act 5 of Hamlet. As I watch Hamlet I can sense: here is someone who is living a nervous, indecisive, moody, mind shifting, mode of life.
I think one ought to be ready - but not do life with tension, tension, tension, stress, stress, stress.
Be ready - but I'm sure firefighters take good naps, play cards, chat, enjoy ice cream - but are ready at a moment's notice to answer the call.
So I prefer the wisdom of being ready but not being a nervous wreck about it.
How about you?
Enough already ....
