The Folly of God. The Folly of Creation. The Folly of the Cross.

At today’s community Mass, Fr. Phil Rossi, SJ preached about the foolishness of God as seen in the gift of creation. The incarnation expressed that same gift and came to fruition in the folly of the cross we get to deal with today. Here are some verses from today’s first reading Phil referred to:

  Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish? For since in the wisdom of God
the world did not come to know God through wisdom, it was the will of God through the foolishness of the proclamation to save those who have faith.
   For Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.
   For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. [selections from 1 Corinthians 1:17-25]

The divine folly is revealed in a gift given freely. Creation. And this same giving continued in the folly of the cross. What’s that about?

Here’s a thought:

1. We have a Giver, a gift, and many, many receivers. Humankind.
2. The gift is glorious! Beautiful! Deeply moving!
3. Oops, the gift changes. Evolves. Undergoes cataclysmic alterations over millennia.
4. Humanity appears. “Hey, this is cool! I love the beauty of earth and heaven! I want it to be like this forever!”
5. Human beings develop. We die. Beauty continues. Change continues.
6. Human beings seek security in a changing world. “Let’s fix this thing forever.”
7. “Don’t threaten what I have set in place!” “Don’t tread on me!” The mystery of human self-will appears through conflicts over control.
8. “Love one another as I have loved you.” 
9. “Who does this guy think he is?” “Away with him!”
10. Voila! The folly of the cross reveals how we receive the gift of creation and incarnation.

What mystery of receiving and grasping is being revealed in your good life today?

–roc,sj