Gospel: Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins

 Today marks the Thirty Second Sunday in Ordinary time, and the Gospel for today's celebration of the Holy Eucharist will be lifted from the account of St Matthew.

"Then the Kingdom of Heaven will be like this: Ten wedding attendants took  their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 

Five of them were foolish and five of them were sensible:

the foolish ones, though they took their lamps, took no oil with them, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps.

The bridgroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep.

But at midnight there was a cry, 'Look! The bridegroom! Go out and meet him.'

Then all those wedding attendants woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, 'Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out.'

But they replied, 'There might not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves.'

They had gone off  to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed.

The other attendants arrived later. 'Lord, Lord,' they said. 'Open the door for us.'

But he replied, 'In truth I tell you, I do not know you.'

So stay awake, because you do not know the either the day or the hour."

The Gospel reading continues the series on the apocalyptic warnings and how the disciples were taught to prepare for it. Jesus urges his followers to remain vigilant because nobody knows the exact day or hour, so everybody must be prepared at any moment.

In reflecting on this Parable, it is important to consider the first-century wedding traditions of Palestine. Scholars tell us that it was the custom of the day for the maidens--friends and family members of the bride--to meet the bridegroom when he comes to bring his bride to her new home.

This narrative, therefore, is a continuing critique of Israel, as the Pharisees were portrayed as the foolish virgins who were then unprepared to meet Jesus, the bridegroom of Israel. The Lamp symbolizes the Word of God, the light of the world, in  which hope that the wise virgins has set out to keep their flames shining bright, even though the bridegroom was late in coming. As Christians, the light of Jesus should radiate from us, ever seen in the darkness through our love for God, and our genuine care for others. Love is like the oil that fuels our longing for God.

Most of the time, when we are caught unprepared, we try to rectify our mistakes by cramming to meet what we should have done early before, when it is already too late. Let us not wait for the circumstances to force us to repent. What we can do now for us to prepare to meet our Creator, we must not wait for tomorrow. Life is short, and the time to prepare for life after death is much shorter. Death is like a thief in the night; we do not know when it will strike us. Spiritual death is also ever so common in an increasingly becoming secular world. A lamp of hypocrisy will never last, but the light of the righteous will be fueled by an abundant oil of hope. 

Jesus recognizes our lamp which shines from the light that can only come from him. As we patiently wait for him, whatever we can do for the love of our neighbor, we must do in his most holy name. Only God's love can fuel a lamp of hope, that carries with it a light of love, which, in turn, motivates the faith that one day the bridegroom will finally meet his bride, to bring all of his faithful ones into Heaven.

Amen.

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