The Foolish Will Miss Heaven's Wedding Feast
Introduction: May you seek the wisdom of GOD and continue to focus
your attention on deepening your relationship with the Lord Jesus, all with the
guidance of the Holy Spirit.
How’s your prayer life? Are you devoting enough time to enhancing your relationship
with the Triune GOD? What are the effective means you have been using to draw ever
closer to the GOD Who loves you? Do you find it hard to pray “constantly”? Are you
distracted in your prayer life? These questions should lead us to examine our relationship
with GOD and be ever-ready for the Coming of the Lord Jesus into our lives. We must
constantly pray for an increase in the Wisdom that comes from our desire to be with
GOD.
Are you ready? How are you preparing yourself? Are you fully aware of what
is happening? These questions flow from the readings today. The author of the Book
of Wisdom urges his listeners to look for wisdom. Wisdom not only is something that
should be sought, but it (or “she” as the author “genderizes” wisdom) is making
herself available to those who seek it. Wisdom even goes out in search of seekers.
The psalm describes the quest for GOD. It is a desire to be in the presence of GOD.
St. Paul addresses the faith community at Thessalonika telling them they must continue
to be vigilant for the Lord Jesus’ coming and not to be upset if some of their members
die before the Lord Jesus returns. Jesus will restore all to a new life when He
returns. The Gospel’s parable of the ten virgins waiting for the Bridegroom also
proclaims the need to be prepared.
First Reading: Wisdom
6:12-16
Wisdom is found by those who look for her
Commentary: For the Bible, Wisdom is not knowledge, such as scientific
or philosophical knowledge acquired by study and learning, or even the sound judgment
acquired by experience and maturity. It is the reflection of God’s own Wisdom, the
Wisdom by which God creates the world and guides humanity. Wisdom is therefore divine,
a reflection or image of God, ‘the reflection of the eternal light and the image
of his power’. Everything created is good in so far as it expresses this Wisdom
of God. In the New Testament Jesus is seen as the incarnation of God’s own Wisdom
as well as the incarnation of the ‘Word’ of God, for Jesus is both the first-born
and the summit of God’s creative purpose. In Greek ‘Wisdom’ is a feminine noun,
and therefore divine Wisdom is often represented as a female character, a hostess
inviting to her banquet all who desire true Wisdom. We need to seek out this Wisdom.
It can be granted only by God, but God is eager to share divine Wisdom with those
who truly seek it. This reading is given here to pair with the gospel-reading, through
the image of keeping awake to seek the banquet of Wisdom.
Responsorial Psalm
63:2-8
For you, my soul is thirsting, O God, my God.
The psalm echoes the theme of the Book of Wisdom. It is not just wisdom,
but the source of wisdom Who is to be sought. GOD is the object of those longing
and desiring to be faithful. Being one with GOD is something upon which one should
aspire. It is only in and with GOD that one finds rest, refreshment, and re-creation.
Without GOD, one is out in the desert, where there is only dryness and death.
Second reading:
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Do not grieve about those who have died in Jesus
Commentary: The first Christians were unclear about many things in
their faith. The Thessalonians were obviously worried about the fate of Christians
who had died. Had not Paul taught them that Christ had conquered death? What was
this talk about an imminent final coming of Christ to bring history to its end?
How soon would it occur? Paul gives an answer in terms of a familiar image, a Roman
triumphal procession. After a great victory in battle, a Roman general could be
granted a ‘triumph’, marching through the streets of Rome with his victorious army
amid cheering crowds, like a successful football team or local regiment coming home.
There was no need to worry about Christian friends and relations who had died, for
they would come with Christ in his triumphal procession, and the rest of us would
join him on the way. All this, of course, is imagery. Neither Paul nor anyone else
had any idea when it would occur. But he teaches with firm confidence that it would
occur. The timing is irrelevant. We don’t mind waiting a bit, so long as we can
be sure that we will all be re-united in the joyful triumph of Christ’s victory
over death.
Gospel: Matthew
25:1-13
The wise and foolish virgins
Commentary: The principal moment of a wedding on this date was when
the groom went to fetch the bride from her father’s house and took her to his own.
The torches should be pictured as oil-soaked rags, flaming on the end of a stick,
to usher him either into one house or into the other. (The little oil lamps found
in archaeological excavations would hardly be suitable for such a celebration: they
provide minimal light and would blow out in any gust of wind).
In a typical black-and-white Matthean parable
the point is not that they all went to sleep, but that only some had brought oil
with which to soak the rags. In Matthew, this would be a stock of good works (like
the wedding garment in 22.12). The point is no longer alertness, as in the previous
parable, but due preparation. It is not that the silly girls did not have enough
oil; they simply did not have any; no wonder the rags kept going out! Without oil,
the rags wouldn’t even light properly! The story is not an allegory, but only a
single-point parable on the need to prepare for the final wedding. That wedding
feast is the joyful moment of the wedding of the Lord to his bride at the end of
time, as so often in both Old and New Testaments.
Reflection: Are you missing out on what's most important in life?
Being unprepared can lead to unnecessary trouble and even disaster! What good is
a life-jacket left on the shore when the boat is sinking? Jesus' story of ten single
ladies waiting for a wedding procession in the middle of the night seems strange
to most today. But Jesus' audience knew all too well how easily this could happen
to them.
Don't miss the most important
engagement of all
Wedding customs in ancient Palestine required
extra vigilance and preparation for everyone involved. (Some near-eastern villages
still follow this custom.) The bride and groom did not go away for their honeymoon
but celebrated for a whole week with their family and friends. It was the custom
for the groom, in company with his friends, to come at his discretion and get his
bride and bring her to their new home. They would take the longest route possible
so that many villagers along the way could join in the wedding procession. Once
they arrived and closed the doors, no one else could be admitted. If the groom decided
to come and bring his bride at night, then lights were required by necessity to
guide the travelers through the dark and narrow streets. No one was allowed on the
village streets at night without a lamp!
To show up for a wedding party without proper
attire and travel arrangements is like trying to get into a special event today
that requires a prearranged permit or reservation. You just don't get in without
the proper pass. Can you imagine the frustration travelers might experience when
going abroad and finding out that they can't get into some country because they
don't have the right visa or a valid passport.
The consequences of being unprepared
to meet the Lord
Jesus warns us that there are consequences
for being unprepared. There are certain things you cannot obtain at the last moment.
For example, students cannot prepare for their exams when the day of testing is
already upon them. A person cannot get the right kind of character, strength, and
skill required for a task at hand unless they already possess it, such as a captain
with courage and nautical skills who must steer a ship through a dangerous storm
at sea.
When the Lord Jesus comes to lead you to
his heavenly banquet will you be ready to hear his voice and follow? Our eternal
welfare depends on our hearing, and many have trained themselves to not hear. We
will not be prepared to meet the Lord, face to face, when he calls us on the day
of judgment unless we listen to him today. The Lord invites us to feast at his heavenly
banquet table. Are you ready?
Lord Jesus, make me vigilant and attentive
to your voice so that I may heed your call at all times. May I find joy in your
presence and delight in doing your will.
Daily Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The Kingdom
of God compared with ten maidens, by Hilary of Poitiers (315-367 AD)
"The whole story is about the great
day of the Lord when those things concealed from the human mind will be revealed
through our understanding of divine judgment. Then the faith true to the Lord's
coming will win the just reward for unwavering hope. For in the five wise and five
foolish virgins (Matthew 25:2), a complete separation between the faithful and unfaithful
is established... The wise virgins are those who, embracing the time available to
them, were prepared at the first onset of the coming of the Lord. But the foolish
were those who were lax and unmindful. They troubled themselves only over present
matters and, forgetting what God said, did not direct their efforts toward hope
for resurrection." (excerpt from the commentary ON MATTHEW 27.3,5)
GET FIT FOR JESUS
“I do not know you.” —Matthew 25:12. At first reading, the wise virgins may appear
selfish when they do not share their oil with the foolish virgins (Mt 25:8-9). However, some things cannot be shared. For example,
a marathon runner must prepare for a long time to get in condition for a marathon.
If a person were to approach a long-distance runner and say: “Give me some of your
endurance,” the runner would rightly respond: “I cannot give that to you. That kind
of endurance is only gained through long training and daily discipline.”
Likewise, the spiritual “shape” required
to be “ready to greet [the Lord] when He comes again” is something that cannot simply
be handed from a person who is spiritually mature to a person who is not. Our relationship
with Jesus, the Bridegroom (Mk 2:19), is similar to a marriage. A marriage relationship
is cultivated and developed by daily communication, sacrifice, and love. Spouses
who do not attempt to grow in love for each other might one day look at their spouse
and proclaim: “I do not know you” (Mt 25:12).
Now is the time (2 Cor 6:2). Start today to get to know Jesus more deeply.
Spend at least five extra minutes each day this week in prayer with the Lord. Then
spend ten extra minutes a day next week reading the Gospels. Come to know Jesus
(Phil 3:10).
Prayer: Father, draw me ever nearer to Your Son. Create in me
a new heart for Him. May Your love be for me better than life (Ps 63:4). “If we believe that Jesus died and rose, God will
bring forth with Him from the dead those also who have fallen asleep believing in
Him.” —1 Thes 4:14. Praise Jesus, Who is coming again to judge the
living and the dead. Maranatha! “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rv 22:20)
The personal action for today: How ready am I for the Lord
Jesus’ return? Do I seek the Wisdom of GOD through my prayer life? Of what does
my prayer life consist of? Am I always seeking to be aware of the presence of GOD?
How can I assist others and console others with the message that “they and their
loved ones in the Lord Jesus shall always be with the Lord Jesus”?