Third Wednesday in Advent (O Sapientia)

O, Wisdom! You came out of the mouth of the Most High, and reach to the earth’s farthest bounds, mightily and sweetly ordering all things: come and teach us the way of prudence.

Zech. 3:1-10; Rev. 4:1-8; Matthew 24:45-51

Most of you will start saying or singing the Great Os tomorrow night, but some of us start now and add an O for Mary at the end.  Each O is addressed to a particular manifestation or description of God.  Many of these appear in our daily readings, where you might have seen some already.  Coincidence? Or conspiracy?  Or con-Spiracy (with the Spirit)?  You decide.  Let me know when you find the source for one!

But I need to address these last teachings of Jesus.  We have four days of parables, Matthew’s last words of Jesus before the Passion.  And they bring us back to the scary side of Advent.  Today we hear of the choices facing slaves whose master goes away and is delayed in return.  (I could tidy this up by changing the words, but I want you to wrestle with being addressed as a slave.)

The parable is vivid.  Some will be faithful, good stewards.  They will be blessed when the master returns.  Some will be, er, not so faithful.  They will abuse themselves and others, and they will pay dearly.

Now, this is parable - not prediction.  But I do believe there are consequences for our beliefs and actions, and there are intrinsic returns.  When I lose faith and hope, I naturally begin to flag in my spiritual life.  Soon I’m closed in on myself, losing love as well.  The more I close in, the smaller and more painful my world is.  I am indeed out “with the hypocrites,” living the shell of a life.  

If I choose instead to live in hope and faith, my world expands.  I treat others well, and so they treat me well (as much as their condition permits).  If they don’t treat me well, I have the strength to endure.  And one day I look up, and I see Christ.  And more importantly, Christ sees me.  I feel the sun on my face.

So: do you believe the master will return?

If not, why are you reading this?

If you do, what are you doing in the meantime?

If you don’t, how is that shaping your behavior?