32nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
1
Thessalonians 4:13-17
Matthew 25:1-13
neither the day nor the
hour.”
We are only three Sundays away from the end of the year. This, our liturgy for these last three Sundays sets her theme on the coming of Christ. This theme, of course, connects us to the beginning of another year - the Advent, which main idea is also to prepare for the coming of the Incarnate Word.
Today’s call for vigilance puts us at a very familiar biblical scenario: the Wedding Celebration. Here, it is easy to guess that the Bridegroom refers to Christ and the Bride his Church. But the star of the show is neither the groom nor the bride, but the ten virgins. Indeed, as the parable begins, "The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom." Clearly, then, we are told to gain lessons about vigilance from the five wise virgins. But how do these virgins portray vigilance? What does it mean to stay awake and be prepared for the day or the hour we do not know?
1. To be prepared means to be wise. At the
outset; we must say that the five wise virgins are here called wise
because they were the one who were able to keep their lamps burning. The other
five failed and so they are called foolish. The five virgins earned
their title as the wise virgins precisely because of their ability to be
equipped and ready even at
the middle of the nigh. Perhaps, we can draw some concrete acts of wisdom by
the way these five wise virgins behaved.
The five virgins were wise enough to be aware of the hour's uncertainty. They were well aware that in occasions like this, the bridegroom comes unexpectedly. This kind of awareness does not really come from deep reflection and laborious inquiry, but from simple common sense. And this common sense is gained by being part of their culture as a people. By being "at home" with their culture, they easily understand why and how the bridegroom might be delayed.
The five virgins were wise because they had that foresight of things, which might possibly happen amidst the uncertainty of the hour. This foresight follows their awareness. Since the hour is uncertain, the bridegroom might come before midnight, or at midnight, or perhaps at dawn. With this, they foresaw how their lamps and oil would work at this given circumstance.
Because they were aware and they foresaw possibilities, the five virgins were just that wise as to anticipate the events at that wedding night. And they were just that right and correct. Having equipped themselves with enough oil, they were ready and prepared at anytime when the bridegroom comes. And with their lamps burning, they were there all set to enlighten the path of the groom and bride and be of that joyous celebration
Faith is like this, and our attitude towards faith towards maturity runs parallel Religion and piety teach us about the importance of knowing our faith and its imperatives. But sometimes we do not know what is asked or demanded of us. We are not even aware of them aware of them. And the reason is very elementary: we are not "at home" with our faith; we are not "at home" with our church. As a result, we do not know how and when to act. We are no more than the other five foolish virgins. We lack foresight, we fail to anticipate. Wisdom, then, is the best companion in this life of vigilance. It tells and directs us to genuine preparedness.
2. To be prepared means to be faithful to one's duty. The five virgins were wise enough to foresee and anticipate the events because they were that faithful to their duties. We must rightly suppose that the ten virgins know very well why they were there. Certainly, they know their roles as virgins in the wedding feast. They know, too, that they were light bearers, among others. But only the wise five succeeded while the other five failed, because while the latter were unfaithful, .the former were faithful to their duties. From the comparison of the two five’s, we learn what faithfulness here means.
To be faithful means to be mindful and responsible; to be unfaithful means to be carefree and irresponsible. The virgins are the bridesmaids in the wedding celebration. As customary, their job is to accompany the groom and the bride from the bride's house to the house of the groom’s father. At the procession, they are to lighten the way and invite everybody to a festive mood by the brightness of their light. With this, one can just see the importance of the lamp and the oil. The lamp and the oil make the purpose of the bridesmaids. Without their lamps and their oil giving light to the affair, the virgins simply defeat their purpose as bridesmaids. Their presence is useless.
Here, we see that nothing extraordinary was demanded of the virgins. Nothing more was asked of them, but to simply keep their duties as bridesmaids. The fact that all of the ten fell asleep and were not even blamed of having fallen asleep, suggests that the bridegroom was not that strict nor demanding as to ask them of another extra effort. Thus, to be faithful was not an added responsibility. It was all that was need. Yet, only five were wise as to be faithful and responsible.
3. To be prepared means to be ready and complete with "credentials." These "credentials" refer to virtues and good works. This seems to be the highest point of the gospel message. "To stay awake,” to keep watch, to be vigilant, to be ready necessarily includes a clear and clean "passport". It is only with it that we can enter and join the celebration: Entering the kingdom does not only mean not doing bad; it means, above all, doing good. This we can deduce from what happened at the middle of the night when the bridegroom finally came.
First, the five foolish virgins failed to do their job of giving light because they brought no enough oil. In other words, perhaps these virgins might not have done anything bad in life. But not doing bad makes only half of the needed "credentials." The other half is to do well, i.e., to bring oil that we may able constantly shine, and shine brightly. Indeed, the kingdom is the place where everybody shines with virtues and good works!
Second, these credentials are non-transferable, just as virtues and good works. And in a sense, the oil seems to stand for this truth. That is why the five wise virgins could not give their oil, not only because there would not be enough for them, but also because the oil was exclusively theirs. They can shine and shine brightly with their own oil and not with the oil of others. So, the other five foolish virgins had to secure their own oil, for only then that they could shine and shine brightly, too. But poor virgins. It was just too late. So, "stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour!"