Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!

 

"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 

 

On Saturday, we continued to read Jesus' discourse on the end times to His disciples:  "Now learn this parable from the fig tree:  When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near.  So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near - at the doors!  Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.  But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then two men will be in the field:  one will be taken and the other left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill:  one will be taken and the other left.  Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.  But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.  Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to given 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 is continuing His discourse to the disciples regarding the end times, which specifically refers to this time in which we now live, this period of the Church since His Incarnation, as we await His return.   My study Bible has lengthy notes on this parable.  It says that this parable illustrates the need for being spiritually prepared while the bridegroom -- that is, Christ Himself -- is delayed in His return.  The Kingdom, it says, is often portrayed as a marriage between Christ and His Church (see, for example, Matthew 22:1-14 in this reading and commentary).  The marriage will e consummated at the end of the age when the Bridegroom returns to escort His Bride (the Church) into the eternal wedding banquet.   This parable is primarily about the virtue of charity and almsgiving.  In the Greek, the words for oil (meaning olive oil) and "mercy" sound alike.  (In the parable of the Good Samaritan, the pouring out of the oil upon the wounds of the hurt man by the Samaritan is an image of mercy, as is the image of the anointing of the Holy Spirit given to humankind and mirrored in chrismation in the Church.)   The wise virgins in the parable, therefore, are those who practice charity and mercy in this life, while the foolish are those who squander God's gifts on themselves.  The fact that all of the virgins slumbered and slept indicates death, my study Bible says.  In this world the virtuous will die alongside the wicked.  The cry at midnight is an indication of the Second Coming, when the wicked will arise with the righteous for judgment.  The inability of the righteous to share their oil is not to be understood as a lack of generosity.  Instead, it illustrates the impossibility of entering heaven without one's own faith and virtue, and also the impossibility of changing one's state of virtue after death (see Luke 16:26).  In the Orthodox Church, the Holy Week services of Holy Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are called the Services of the Bridegroom.  The themes of its hymns come from today's parable and Christ's parable of the Wedding Feast in this reading.  

The link between "oil" and mercy is important to understand.  In the ancient world, olive oil, in its various qualities, was used for all kinds of purposes.  It was the basis for medicines, including topical medicines and unguents such as was used in the parable of the Good Samaritan, as mentioned above.  Very pure olive oil was also the basis for perfumes, such as that which was used to anoint Jesus (John 12:1-8, Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9).  In the ministry of the apostles, when they were sent out on their first mission, Jesus instructed them to anoint the sick with oil (Mark 6:13).  We see this practice continued by the early Church, as the Epistle of James instructs (James 5:14).  The connection between anointing with oil and the anointing of the Spirit is clear as St. Peter quotes from the prophecy of Joel as he preaches in Judea, and speaks of the gift of the Holy Spirit in baptism (see Acts 2:1-39).   In Greek, the word for this oil is ἔλαιον/elaion and the word for mercy is ἔλεος/eleos.  The only difference in pronunciation is in the final letter; in all other ways these two words are pronounced exactly alike.  So when we are to understand that it is this oil of mercy and compassion that fills the lamps that may burn with the light we shine to the world, we can make sense of the parable, and also out of why the prudent virgins who were prepared with oil could not share with the others.  This is one thing we must do for ourselves.  This understanding of the image and word for oil, and the linked meanings to the Holy Spirit, also gives us a picture of the fullness of the lamps as fruit of the spirit, those things which fill up who we are through the action of the Holy Spirit and our cooperation in its blessings and the manifestation of its goodness.   Jesus' choice of the image of the lamps echoes His teachings in the Sermon on the Mount, that believers are the light of the world, and such light must shine so that the good works that are its product will glorify our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16).  As my study Bible indicates, this parable teaches us to seize the day, that there is no time like the present for a prayerful life, one lived in communion and faith, and -- moment to moment -- one in which we remember who we are and who we're supposed to be.  In this way we are the "wise virgins."  Again, the Greek of the text tells us something.  The word for "wise" here is the same word that Jesus used when He taught the disciples to be "wise as serpents and harmless as doves."  It means shrewd, prudent, a practical understanding of what's sensible and wise in conduct.  Let us make good choices with the time we have in our lives, and think of the fullness of our lamps.