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"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight, a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."
- Matthew 25:1-13
In recent readings, Jesus has been speaking both about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem (and the temple) and also the time of His second coming, the end of the age (see readings from Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday). In yesterday's reading, He continued, "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight, a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!' Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.' And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming." Jesus today gives us the parable of the Ten Virgins: all about those preparing for a wedding, for the bridegroom. The Bridegroom, as we know, is Christ. The Kingdom is often portrayed as a marriage (see Matthew 22:1-14) between Christ and His Bride, who is the Church. This is a marriage that happens at the end of the age, when the Bridegroom returns to escort His Bride in to the great eternal wedding banquet. My study bible suggests to us that this parable is mainly about the virtue of charity and almsgiving. The words for oil and "mercy" have the same root in Greek; they sound alike. And we have to also understand that all healing medicine up until quite recent history was based on balms which used the same olive oil base: so in Scriptural language, mercy and healing are tied as well with the idea of anointing. When we understanding anointing as that which sanctifies, as Messiah is "the Anointed One" and as the Holy Spirit anoints the world, and each one of us at baptism (chrismation), then we begin to understand the intertwined nature of mercy, holiness, healing, and Christ: all contained linguistically in this word that sounds like the word for olive oil (which by tradition also fills the oil lamps in churches). We can take a further look at this Scriptural implication when we read the parable of the Good Samaritan, who also uses oil (and wine) to heal the wounds of the injured stranger. All of this is for us to understand that mercy is the essence of Christ's call and of the Church itself. So, the wise virgins are those who practice mercy and charity in life, while the foolish are those who squander God's gifts in a self-centered way. My study bible tells us that the fact that all the virgins slumbered and slept indicates death -- in our world, the virtuous will die alongside the wicked. The cry at midnight, at the coming of the bridegroom, is the Second Coming, when, as my study bible puts it, the "wicked will arise with the righteous for judgment." We also have to consider why the righteous can't share their oil: it's an illustration that we each must have our own faith and virtue for this Kingdom; it also teaches us about the necessity of "having" such virtue in this lifetime -- that our capacities really do depend on our practice.
The teachings in today's parable, and in yesterday's reading about the "good servant," tie together in the essence of Christ's teachings. We return again and again to His commands that we are to love God wholeheartedly and with all that we are, and to love neighbor as oneself. We remember also that He left us with a new commandment: to love one another as He has loved us. If this is the practice of mercy (and these commands encapsulate active love and mercy), then by following these commands, and remembering what we are to be about, we keep our lamps full of the oil of Christ's mercy, the active love He calls us to be always a part of. Recently a friend shared with me an excerpt from a book quite popular in some circles, and whose author has received numerous awards, which I've written about earlier this month (in this reading). In it, the author stated that in his younger days, he defined himself by the people he hated, the "others" who were different. But what we see repeatedly with Christ is just the opposite teaching: the call to community is through love, through who we love and love actively. Love of God and love of neighbor, and love for one another as He has loved us: these are the basis of identity in Christ. This is so important, because it sets us in the right place of "right relatedness" to do so, to practice His commands, as He has taught. We can't forget what that means, and how it roots us in the oil of His mercy. If we look around the world, we see a lot of hate being fostered in various ways. There is tremendous violence being expressed on both personal and social levels. We have terrorist groups that encourage individual hatred and rage be channeled into some sort of social statement of blind mass violence. We have individuals in copycat scenarios who use their personal rage to assault others in frequently suicidal rampage as well. These scenes are antithetical to the life to which Christ calls us. He does not ask us to live out rage and anger. It is Christ who taught us that even name-calling is akin to the statute against murder (Matthew 5:22). Rage and anger do not provide us with longterm solutions to problems. There is a "righteous anger" that may be directed toward the identification of injustice, lacking love. But our activities must be done in His love. In Jesus' great critiques of religious practices in His day, He speaks the clear truth about hypocrisy, and bad, unjust practice. He tells the truth and He doesn't mince words. But truth must be spoken in the kind of love that He calls us toward. This isn't a "minced words" sort of statement that somehow everybody is right. No, it's a clear statement about where His love leads us, and where the failure to practice that love takes us: the abuse of the "widow and the orphan" (in violation of the Law), the harm and lack of care of "the littlest ones" or "the least of these." To protect the powerless, to love one another the way He teaches, is His way. Let us remember to be guided by what we love. To take our cues from prayer and seeking His way reminds us that we are to be both "wise and faithful," as His words taught in yesterday's reading. The Kingdom come near means we participate in it; we live in it and it lives in us. The only way to keep our vessels full is to do as He teaches. If we truly pay attention to the words of this parable, the time to do so is right now.
