Matthew 25,1-13: Parable of the ten maidens.
Today the parable of the ten maidens who await the arrival of the bridegroom at the wedding banquet is proclaimed as a gospel. The parable affects the Christian’s own attitude in the time between the ascension of Jesus and his glorious return at the end of time as judge of the living and the dead. Fact that is designated in the writings of the new testament with the already consecrated term of «Parousia». Follow Jesus’ teaching on vigilance. Yesterday I gave the example of the thief who can come at any time, and that of the master of the house, who will want to see the servants ready when he returns. Today are the ten young women who will accompany, as bridesmaids, the bride when the groom arrives. The parable is simple, but very beautiful and meaningful.
Of course, as always happens in parables, there are exaggerated or unusual details, which serve to further underline the teaching that Jesus seeks. Thus, the delay of the groom until midnight, or the refusal of the sensible young women to share their oil with the others, or the idea that the shops may be open at those hours, or the sharp response of the groom, who abruptly closes the door , against all the rules of oriental hospitality. Jesus wants to convey this idea: that everyone should have been ready and awake when the bridegroom arrived. His coming will be unforeseen. Nobody knows the day or the hour. Israel – at least its leaders – did not know how to be and wasted the great occasion of the coming of the Bridegroom, Jesus, the Messenger of God, the one who inaugurated the Kingdom and its festive banquet.
«Watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.» Are we always ready and awake? Do we carry oil for our lamp? The question is asked of us, who are going forward in our history, we are supposed to be attentive to the presence of the Risen Lord – the Bridegroom in our life, preparing ourselves for the definitive encounter with him. Let there be no lack of oil in our lamp. It is what the young women should have taken care of before going to sleep. Like the driver who checks the car’s oil and gasoline before the trip. As the person in charge of the economy when making their budgets.
It is about being alert and aware of the closeness of the Lord to our lives. We are all invited to the wedding, but we have to bring oil. It is not necessary, even here, that we necessarily think about the end of the world, or only about the hour of our death. The wedding party to which we are invited happens every day, in the small encounters with the Lord, in the continuous occasions that he gives us to know how to discover him in the sacraments, in people, in the signs of the times. And as «we do not know the day or the hour» of the final meeting, this daily vigilance, made of love and seriousness, prepares us so that there is no lack of oil in our lamp. When we celebrate the Eucharist of Jesus, «while we await his glorious coming,» we are provided with that light and that strength that we need for the journey. Jesus told us: «He who eats me has eternal life, I will raise him up on the last day.»
Peace and good
Br. Antonio Majeesh George Kallely, OFM
