STUPID, STUPID, STUPID
SMART, SMART, SMART
INTRODUCTION
The title of my homily for this 21 Friday in Ordinary
Time is, “Stupid, Stupid, Stupid, Smart, Smart, Smart.”
If you’re anything like me, you say at least a dozen times a year, “Stupid, Stupid,
Stupid.”
I miss an appointment or say the wrong thing or can’t
find my keys.
Or sometimes I or we say, ‘Dumb, dumb, dumb.”
Meaning: “How could I be so dumb?”
Next, making a jump, I don’t know if we ever say, “Smart,
Smart, Smart.”
Okay, we might say that once every 10 years - especially
when we do something smart. Smile, it could be a moment when we do something -
and we realize at the moment we were not dumb. We didn’t do dumb. We did smart.
When we say, “Smart, Smart, Smart” - we might think we
shouldn’t say that, because it’s not right. That’s more like the sin of
pride.” And we all want to avoid
criticisms like: “Who does she think she is?”
In the meanwhile, we rather go for humility and keep
saying, “Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.”
But is that humility? Because there is that saying,
“Humility is truth.”
And the truth might be there are times when we’re smart.
TODAY’S READINGS
Today’s readings triggered these thoughts.
In the first reading for today, 1st Corinthians
1: 17-25, Paul talks about wisdom and foolishness.
The word “wisdom” and
the word “wise” are used 10 times in
this English translation of today’s first reading. In the Greek text - the Greek words used are “sophia” and “sophos”.
In today’s gospel,
Matthew 25: 1-13, our English translation
uses the word wise - in describing the five wise virgins - but the Greek word
is not “sophos”. The word is “phronismos” - which in my opinion is better translated “prudent”.
The word for foolishness “moros” in Greek - is the same in both readings.
I know you were dying to hear all this - whereas I’ve
read it’s not wise in preaching to bring in Greek words.
WISDOM
The title of my homily is, “Stupid, Stupid, Stupid,
Smart, Smart, Smart.”
An obvious message would be: Wisdom is a goal in
everyone’s life
We hear this all through the scriptures and I’m sure all
through our early life from our parents and our teachers.
Jesus often calls out people to be wise.
So that’s a desired goal in life.
It’s a goal and a hope in Israel’s library - in the scrolls
called: the wisdom literature.
I would think the call would be to be wise in relationships,
use and attitude wards money, and how we
use or manage or balance our time.
I would think it would be good to know what skills we
have - and to look to where we can share our talents. An obvious skill is to
grow in wisdom, age and grace.
This is a good area to talk to our peers, parents, and
counselors about.
It would be wise to figure out who the wise are.
It would be wise to find out from others what others are
skilled in and to give them “atta girl’s” or “atta boy’s”.
CONCLUSION
One last message from all this would be to pause and look
at our life and say, “Stupid, Stupid, Stupid”
where we are dumb and to say, “Smart, Smart,
Smart” - where we are smart. But, of
course, it would be smart to talk to
each other about all this - and maybe then we’ll get a better handle on the
wisdom of life and others see us performing. Amen.
