By Fr. Eugene Lobo SJ.
Thirty Second Sunday of the Year November 12, 2023
Wisdom 6:12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13
Christian spirituality has always insisted on the need to live this life as a clear and certain preparation for the future eternal life. The mere desire of eternal life is not sufficient but the life a person lives must show in practical ways this preparedness and the worthiness for the Kingdom of Heaven. The message given to us today is one of watchfulness and to be ready to receive the Lord. As we approach the end of the Liturgical Year, the Church seems to place these very mysteries before us. We have to be alert to the signs God gives us in our lives. When troubles overtake us, we have to build our lives on the practice of faith, hope and love. We are called upon to keep the light burning in our lives. St. Matthew’s Gospel changes the emphasis on the theme of eternal life to stress the necessity of being awake and prepared for the Lord’s coming and the definitive establishment of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus tells of a division between those who prepare themselves for the patient wait for the proverbial spouse and those who do not. He speaks of a lost opportunity as those who should have been ready are shut out.
The first reading of today taken from the Book of Wisdom written about hundred years before Christ speaks about what the title indicates. The word wisdom has several meanings. It means going beyond mere knowledge to the depth and breadth of the mind boggling issues of life. It means understanding and insight. It means the best way for one to relate to God and to other people. It means seeing every thought and word and deed in relation to the very purpose of life. Here wisdom presented is personified and presented as an alluring woman because of her divine origin, unfading, caring and waiting for the one who searches for her. It is in fact a literal personification of the attribute of God. The author says that the wisdom is easily recognized by those who love the truth and is easily found by all who seek knowledge.
The Thessalonians were much preoccupied with the question of Christ’s second coming as judge of the world. They even thought of escaping death by the early arrival of Christ in the Parusia. Some of the members of the community had died and they were worried about it. In today’s Second Reading Paul tells the Thessalonians church what the Second Coming of Christ will be like. He tells them the Thessalonians converts must not grieve over the death of their relatives and friends unlike the pagans who had no hope in resurrection. Here Paul was addressing the issue of the resurrection of the physical bodies and the glorifying of all those who lived their faith in Christ until the end. He was telling those who were present that those who die first will not be glorified first. In fact, when the moment arrives, the physical bodies of the dead will rise from their graves to be lifted into the clouds alongside those who are presently living. The final judgment of all shall come at the same time, some going to the right and some to the left according to their rewards.
In today’s passage from Matthew, Jesus tells a parable, partially an allegory, based on Palestinian matrimonial customs, teaches us to be prepared at all times for the Lord’s return. The narrative is something which would be very familiar to his Palestinian readers – a village marriage. Matthew gives the parable of ten virgins who were waiting eagerly for the coming of the bridegroom. Apparently ten girls would be asked to accompany the bride as she awaited the arrival of the bridegroom. The problem was that they had no idea when the bridegroom would turn up and, when it got dark, they would need to have lighted lamps. If the bride’s companions were caught unawares, if they were not around when the bridegroom came, they could be locked out or left behind. The wedding among the Jews at the time of Jesus was preceded by a week of feverish preparations on the part of the bride, assisted by her chosen attendants, unmarried maidens of her own age. The wedding celebration generally took place in the bridegroom’s house. He accompanied by the friends of the bridegroom came to bride’s house about sunset. Having received his bride from her parents and guardians, a procession was formed.
In this parable our Lord describes what will happen to the very special guests, the intimate friends of the bride who gladly accepted the invitation and went through a lot of trouble to prepare for the occasion and yet through carelessness was found unworthy to share in the festivities. The chosen bridesmaids had to carry lighted lamps in the bridal procession which always took place at night. All the ten came to the bride’s place in good time dressed for the occasion and carrying their lamps with them. These lamps were generally small bronze or earthen vessels which held little oil enough for a few hours. Hence they normally carried small jars of oil to fill their lamps and to keep them burning continuously. Here Jesus points to the folly of the five young girls who took the lamp but forgot to take extra oil with them. The wise on the other hand remembered to take extra oil for they realized that their celebration would last through the night. As the bridegroom was delayed in coming they dozed off and fell asleep. There was the call at midnight to meet the bridegroom and the foolish ones recognized their mistake. They then unsuccessfully tried to borrow and finally had to go in search of the merchants for their purchase.
Jesus tells the story to impress his followers of the supreme need of vigilance and watchfulness. The parable shows that some of his followers, who have been chosen to play a special role in the nuptials of Christ with his Church, will forfeit their place at the eternal nuptials in heaven through their carelessness and not positive malice. The image Jesus gave of marriage regarding the kingdom of heaven was easily understood by his hearers. The reference here is primarily to the second coming of Christ as he comes in glory to judge all mankind. On that day his kingdom will be completed and the eternal triumphal kingdom of heaven will begin. In this story Jesus illustrates what will happen on that day to some of those whom he had chosen and to whom he had given every facility to reach their one and only goal. In this parable, Matthew is telling the Christian community that the return of the Lord may be delayed beyond their expectation and that they should, therefore, prepare for the long wait by providing enough oil for their lamps.
The conclusion to be drawn from this story by the disciples is this: the time of the arrival of our Lord as judge of the universe, the day on which the eternal wedding feast of Christ with his elect will begin, is as uncertain as the arrival of the bridegroom. There is one sure way to be found ready on that all important moment is to be ever prepared and ready to meet the bridegroom. A follower of Christ cannot afford to be casual and unprepared for that moment. Like the foolish bridesmaids many will fail to make use of the means provided for the salvation and only realize their folly when it is too late. As we draw close to the end of the liturgical year, the church, through the gospel, invites us to contemplate the end – the end of our lives and the end of the world. Jesus has told us that the Son of Man will come back on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead. How and when that will be, we do not know for sure. But today’s parable gives us the hope and tells us to prepare for the end by following the example of the wise virgins.
The Christian faith requires of us to listen to the invitation of faith and hope and recognize the path they show. For those who have squandered their personal gifts given by the Lord, this announcement will fill them with dread. We may feel that the wise virgins were rather selfish in refusing to share their oil with the foolish in such a critical situation. Today let us be thankful to God for His infinite love that controls our spiritual lives. We are thankful for the Body of Christ, the Church, where we can find spiritual support to persevere to the end in our spiritual journey as pilgrims. We are thankful for today’s message that makes us aware of our human weaknesses and helps us to be spiritually mature call to become as shining lights in the world. The final advice of Jesus is very clear, to be prepared, to stay awake, because we do not know the day or the hour when we will be summoned to answer before the Lord God.
Here is a true story about a ‘coolie’, a luggage porter. He was poor, illiterate and the lone breadwinner of his eight-member family. He had to labour hard in order to earn a day’s pittance. What was remarkable about this man was that he never complained of the hard labour which kept him occupied from dawn to dusk. In his work he would never charge more than his due. He would often help his fellow coolies to carry luggage in addition to the heavy weight he had to carry. One day, a gentleman, seeing this act of kindness, asked him, “Young man, I have noticed your generosity. Why do you do this while all others are concerned with themselves?” The coolie looked straight at the eyes of the gentleman and answered: “Sir, I am poor and illiterate. I don’t know any other work than carrying luggage. But I know that I have only one life to live and this life is a waste if I don’t set aside a little energy of mine to help others and share their burden. But I do believe that my creator does not demand more from me since He knows me more than anybody else.”
When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers. The book contained between its pages something very interesting. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”! The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. This real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold. So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He picked up ordinary pebbles and when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea so as not to mix with others. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. He would pick up a pebble, find it cold, and throw it into the sea. He did this for weeks and months. One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done out of sheer habit. Meantime he realized that the metal piece attached to his waste belt was heavy and shining. It had in fact turned into gold. He had the stone in hand and he had lost it forever.