The first reading from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians frames contrasting truth commitments of those who are perishing and those who are being redeemed. Where does one stand on the power of the cross?
Humorist George Gobel once asked, “Did you ever get the feeling that the world is a tuxedo and you are a pair of brown shoes?” That reference may seem dated for the younger set. When tuxedos were either white or black, only black shoes could be fashionable. Christians who take the cross of Christ seriously may feel like brown shoes sometimes. But take heart. What seems fashionable now may not be the timeless fashion worn by the saints in heaven.
Movements to save the planet or humanity continue to be popular. Identifying flaws in the world and prescribing change to fix them seems like a noble and worthwhile mission. But if we are honest, we don’t really know how to fix everything that is wrong in this world. Human justice is imperfect, and our efforts to fix past wrongs ironically may continue a cycle of harm with imperfect remedies.
And what of the brokenness within ourselves, and the brokenness which we cause? If we are honest, we cannot fix this either. Pride and plaudits from others may keep us trying to ignore the brokenness within that cries out for help. But the meaning and peace that we seek will prove elusive. The cross and its power are missing from this approach to living.
Our Lord offers more than banal attempts to restore a flawed status quo. He offers us real freedom from the sins that bind and imprison us, and which wound others. He offers us transformation that affects not only this life, but a life to come. But he requires us to choose, which sometimes requires obedience in what might appear to be small things.
For example, he asks us to forgive others who offend us, when worldly wisdom may counsel retribution. God uses this forgiveness to heal our wounds and to stop the cycle of wounding others. He empowers us to do what might seem impossible through filling our heart with His love. We soon discover that charity is within our reach, even when justice may prove elusive.
Father James Schall, S.J., was particularly fond of Saint Augustine, for whom we celebrate this feast day. Father Schall wrote that Augustine’s City of God contemplates a human existence based, “not upon the ‘survival’ of future generations but on the quality of the spiritual choices of persons within the context of their histories and lives that will normally and necessarily be lived in very imperfect states and human conditions.” Our messy world will survive. We should do our best to clean up the messes, especially those of our own making. But we must start with the cross, or those efforts will be in vain.
Today’s gospel tells the parable of the ten virgins, which contrasts the wise choice of preparing for the future judgment with foolish unpreparedness. A prayer written by a pope but prayed by a U.S. Army general seems apt: “Discover to me, O my God, the nothingness of this world, the greatness of heaven, the shortness of time, and the length of eternity.”
Let us prepare with these discoveries in mind. Indeed, there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1).
Thanks be to God.
Edward Morse
Ed Morse is a professor of law who holds the McGrath North Endowed Chair in business law at Creighton. University School of Law. He and his wife Susan are Catholic converts. Together, they operate a family cattle farm in rural Western Iowa.
Writing these reflections over the past fifteen years has helped me to learn and grow in faith. Sometimes it has also chastened me by reminding me of the constant need to practice what we have learned as we live out our faith journey together. I am grateful for feedback and encouragement from my fellow travelers.
