32 Sunday year A
I am wise, I have my oil
✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 25:1-13
Jesus told this parable to his disciples: ‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids 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 may 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 bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you.” So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.’
1. Today’s readings focus on the importance of wisely preparing for the Lord’s coming. They confirm the saying that “the wise person does in the first place what the foolish person does last.” The first reading (Wis 6:12-16) affirms that wisdom, the gift of God, is ever present to any soul that desires it. It does not impose itself but accepts every invitation. It does not go to the foolish. The stake is therefore between the wise and the foolish.
2. The gospel dramatized the point with the parable of the ten maidens invited to a marriage feast. Five of them took their lamp with some reserve of oil. The other five took their lamps and were unwilling to make any expenses for oil. They wanted to enjoy without contributing. Well, the marrying couple took time in coming as was the custom of the epoch. The preliminary part of mariage feast normally begins in the evening at the bride’s father’s house. This can take a longer or shorter time depending on how the event is managed by the bride’s family. The main feast then continues to the bridegroom’s compound right into the night. We can understand the late arrival of the couple in the parable. At arrival of the wedding train, each of the bridesmaids trimmed up her lamp. It was then that the foolish ones, wanting to be smart, started begging the wise ones to give them a little of their own oil for their lamps were going off. They were asked to go and buy for themselves. They went off to buy, thereby doing last what they should have done first. When they came back the doors were already locked and they could no longer be admitted into the party.
3. A wise person begins early to prepare for events, even the Sunday mass. He/she makes sacrifices that the situation demands. A foolish person believes that he/she can always count on others even for the things that he/she could easily do. The parable teaches how erroneous such presumption could be. There are things that could never be borrowed from others. Such things represented in the parable as oil are the virtues that make one fit for the kingdom. Nobody who fails to live a virtuous life will be able to borrow such from others.
4. The parable also teaches that certain things cannot be acquired at the eleventh hour. The foolish virgins did not complain of not having money to buy oil. They had money but never wanted to use it until it became obvious that they must get their own oil. But it was then too late. There is time for everything. The time for living good christian life is when one is still alive and active. Becoming a good person on the dead bed is a risk that is not worth taking. It worked for the good thief that was crucified with Jesus but it has not worked for many people.
5. Your going to heaven is an expensive project that requires consistent personal effort and constant sacrifices. This demands wisdom and not selfishness. The foolish virgins wanted to enjoy a party without contributing their legitimate quota to make the party successful. They wanted to take and not give. They forgot that heaven is for the wise and not just for the smart. I read about a group of smart people who organised a party. It was agreed that each person will bring a liter of good quality palm wine and on arrival pour it into the general recipient. Most of them thought to themselves that if everyone brings a good quality wine and he brings a bad one or even water, the general wine will still be good. At the end, almost everyone brought water or a bad quality wine. Imagine how the feast ended. If heaven is your goal, you must be wise and not just smart because we must reap what we sow.
