He was not quite the Karate Kid:
no Jaden Smith
no Ralph Macchio
no budding movie star \u2026 after all, he only had one arm
having lost his left one in a devastating car accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
To build up his confidence his family encouraged him
to study judo with a seasoned Master.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The boy did surprising well,
but after three months of training
had only been taught one move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSensei,\u201d he asked, \u201cshouldn\u2019t I be learning more moves?”
The Master replied, \u201cthis is the only move
you will ever need to know.\u201d
Trusting this wisdom, he continued training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eventually the Master enrolled him in a tournament.
He did amazingly well, winning match after match
until, surprisingly, he ended up in the finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His last opponent was not only older and more experienced
but considerably larger, towering above him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concerned that the one-armed boy might get hurt
the referee moved to call off the match
but Sensei insisted that it go on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A grueling struggle ensued
but when the overconfident opponent dropped his guard
the boy used his one move to pin his opponent,
winning the match and tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the way home, the young champion asked his Master,
\u201cSensei, how did I win the tournament with only 1 move?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sensei replied, \u201cYou won for two reasons:
first, you mastered one of the most difficult throws
in all of Judo,
and second, the only known defense for that move
is for your opponent to grab your left arm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There it is: a baptized equivalent of a Sheldon Cooper \u201cbazinga\u201d–
the unexpected twist that catches us off guard,
ambushes us with wisdom
undercuts our expectations, and
delivers a considerable dose of humility
to those who think they understand.
It\u2019s called a parable!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus was a parabolic master–
his most characteristic form of instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like other teaching strategies,
parables have multiple dynamics,
which is why they are so effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One obvious dynamic
— like in the right handed karate kid story
— is the element of surprise
that knocks the listener off balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the process the parable dismantles our presuppositions,
disrupts our usual line of thinking,
and proposes unexpected, even uncomfortable, new truths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A superficial reading of today\u2019s parable
could give the impression that God\u2019s reign is binary;
that there are only wise and foolish
saints and sinners,
Christians and non-Christians
Yalies and those who want to be:
one good \u2026 the other highly questionable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We are wired for this instinctive and problematic kind of thinking:
a source of much critique and humor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Likewise, Mark Twain proposed: \u201cThere are basically 2 types of people:<\/em> Dear Abby suggested that the two kinds of people Finally, Robert Benchley summarizes: Jesus is clearly in the second category, Rather, his ministry was nothing less than an extended parable That disruption is clearly operative in today\u2019s parable It is my first instinct, maybe yours, The problem with being a cheerleader for the wise virgins– Furthermore, if they were so wise why couldn\u2019t the five of them That certainly would have created a more impressive display: But instead, their wisdom turned inward, And what do we know about the so-called \u201cfoolish\u201d? A seldom explored aspect of this Oil is a coveted and all too weaponized resource. Even though those bananas were harvested by hand, And then there is the current fuel embargo in Palestine \u2026 Interestingly enough, the Jesus instruction Rather, the oil of the so called foolish and wise This was not extracted from fracking, This wisdom of this replenishable oil whose kingdom vision of a world without rivalry, is a peaceable kingdom In baptism, each Roman Catholic is chrismated We are anointed in the Christ vision Journalist Leslie Guttman was visiting a packed bookstore one day.\u00a0[i]<\/sup><\/a> Guttman describes: It was a journal designed for someone who was grieving. Someone like me.\u00a0\u201cShe\u2019s been wanting that book,\u201d said the manager \u201cShe comes in all the time and looks at it. Sometimes,\u00a0putting it on hold, but never gets it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dammit! [I said to myself].\u00a0\u00a0I ran out of the store and caught up with her. \u201cDid you just lose someone?\u201d I asked.<\/em> I handed her the book, we both stood on the curb and wept.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n For the first time since my stepdad died, I felt understood.\u00a0\u00a0Until then, I felt alone in my grief.\u00a0But because the grieving thief and I didn\u2019t know each other, I had no expectations of being understood and no fear of being disappointed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Guttman concludes: This encounter made me want to stay open to chance meetings of important strangers, the possibility of unplanned symmetry that is luminous and magical.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n So who is wise? The Jesus of the gospels acquired wisdom Jesus was a wisdom fount because he was a wisdom collector, In baptism, we were infused with wisdom [i]<\/a><\/sup> I am grateful to my colleague the Rev. Dr. Patrick Shebeck for this insight<\/p>\n\n\n\n [<\/a>ii] <\/sup>https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC9792163\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [iii]<\/sup> https:\/\/ancientglass.wordpress.com\/ancient-roman-islamic-oil-lamps\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n [iv]<\/sup><\/a> Leslie Guttman, \u201cImportant Strangers,\u201d https:\/\/thisibelieve.org\/essay\/76927\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jesus’ ministry was nothing less than an extended parable
those who accomplish things<\/em>
and those who claim to have accomplished things,\u201d<\/em>
concluding: \u201cThe first group is less crowded.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
are those who walk into a room and say, \u201cThere you are!\u201d<\/em><\/em>
and those who walk into a room and say, \u201cHere I am!\u201d<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are two kinds of people in the world,<\/em>
those who believe there are two kinds of people in the world<\/em>
and those who don\u2019t.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
for he did not divide folk up into redeemable and irredeemable,
worthy and unworthy, lovable and despicable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
that continuously scrambled traditional thinking,
upended well-established categories
and redefined the very reign of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
that typically raises more questions than it answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to side with the so-called wise virgins.
Since I am more than a tad OCD,
I applaud the prepared,
embrace the forward-thinking,
and recognize their ancient affinity with the Coast Guard
whose motto is semper paratus.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
gospel futurologists,
prophetic souls with eyes on what\u2019s ahead–
is that they also appear to be greedy.
Oops!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
combine their collective wisdom
and find a solution
that would enable all ten virgins to meet the bridegroom?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
all ten of them in the dark,
accompanying him
with their dancing lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
maybe to curry more favor from the bridegroom,
insuring choice victuals and spirits at the festal banquet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe it was their first time at this ritual rodeo–
junior bridesmaids whose frontal cortexs were underdeveloped
or distant cousins who didn\u2019t know the Bridegroom\u2019s reputation
for being late for everything, including his own wedding.
What does it mean to be wise?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
share or not to share parable
is its central commodity: oil[i]<\/sup><\/a> \u2026
an asset that\u2019s been in the news for millennia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s not just US carpoolers and German truck drivers
who suffer from the greed of OPEC
when deciding to reduce their production quotas,
but also family farmers across the globe
who struggle to produce enough to live, much less thrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
you can\u2019t get them to global markets
without the oil guzzling barges and seafaring cargo ships
whose increased costs are also passed on to consumers.
Oil greed increases the price of food globally.[<\/a>ii<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n
where the weaponization of oil
shuts down hospitals, relief agencies and bakeries
increasing mortality in an already devastated population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
delivered in the gospel envelope we call parable
is not grounded
in the unreplenishable oil derived from fossils,
which some predicted could be depleted by the year 2070.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
came from fish oil, animal oil, and animal fat,
but especially from olives.[iii]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
deep sea drilling,
or artic explorations,
but from the eminently replenishable
animals and trees in the back yard:
what we literally name as
fruit of the earth and work of human hands
during the preparation of the gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
is a harbinger of the inexhaustible Christ–
the divine chr\u012bst\u00f3s \u2026 <\/em>the anointed one<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a society without the haves and the have-nots,
a community devoid of greed,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
where wisdom is shared,
resources support the common good,
and the lavish graces of an eternal Abba
never run dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
not with petrol extracted from miles down in the earth\u2019s crust,
but from oil extracted from groves of olives,
like the ones on that famous mount
that witnessed the ascension of the Christ
into the kingdom he foretold (Acts 1:11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To collaborate in building a holy kingdom of new wisdom:
devoid of rivalry, greed and exclusion,
especially of the marginalized, rejected, and lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A woman with long, black hair about five feet away was leafing [through a book]. I saw her slip a book into her satchel and walk off. Hesitating, I walked after her and pointed at the satchel. She was about thirty, filthy khaki parka, hair matted. The satchel was bursting with belongings. She gave me a sorrowful look, handed me the book and ran off.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy grandmother,\u201d she replied\u2026 \u201cI miss her so much I can\u2019t stand it.\u201d I mentioned my stepdad, who just died. His kindness knit our family together for decades.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve experienced enough Ph.D.\u2019s in my life to know
that doctorandus is not synonymous with wisdom.
Nor is ordination, or election, or even the odd lecture invitation
to the disruptive outsider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
not only from direct infusions from blessed Sophia
but from Syrophoenician women,
the company of lepers and the lame, and
interactions with the adulterous and tax collectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
anointed by those he encountered
and anointing them in return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
from the eternally anointed one
sealed with the oil of healing,
the oil of acceptance,
the oil of gladness.
This is our baptismal birthright and mission:
not only to revel in this immeasurable gift,
but, more importantly,
to recognize it in those the world considers foolish
and thus promote its flourishing
through Christ our Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
\nthat continuously scrambled traditional thinking,
\nupended well-established categories
\nand redefined the very reign of God.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":62646,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3294],"tags":[3638,3253],"class_list":["post-62644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ars-praedicandi","tag-32nd-sunday-of-ordinary-time","tag-ed-foley"],"yoast_head":"\n