Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming

 

 "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 our current readings, Jesus has been in Jerusalem, teaching and disputing in the temple with the religious leaders.  The setting is Holy Week, the final week of Christ's earthly life.  He has been prophesying to His disciples regarding the end times, and also the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.  Reminding them what they must be and do as they await His return in this period of the Church, He taught the following parable:  "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 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."  Once again, Jesus gives another parable for this time in which we who are nominal believers await Christ's return, His Second Coming.  My study Bible comments on today's parable that it illustrates the need for being spiritually prepared while the bridegroom -- Christ -- is delayed in His return.  The Kingdom, it says, is frequently portrayed as a marriage between Christ and Christ's Church (see the parable of the Wedding Feast).  This marriage will be consummated at the end of the age, when Christ the Bridegroom returns to us in order to escort His Bride -- that is, the Church -- into the eternal wedding banquet.  My study Bible emphasizes that the parable stresses the virtue of charity and almsgiving.  The words for oil (meaning olive oil) and "mercy" sound the same in Greek.  So therefore the wise virgins are those who practice charity and mercy in this life, prepared for the coming of the Bridegroom, and filling up their lives (their lamps) with such.   The foolish, my study Bible says, are those who squander God's gifts on themselves.   My study Bible also explains that the fact that all the virgins slumbered and slept is an indication of death -- that all will die in this earthly life, both the virtuous and the wicked.  The cry at midnight is an indication of the Second Coming, when both wicked and righteous will arise for judgment.   Note also that the inability of the righteous to share their oil is not due to a lack of generosity, for mercy or charity or compassion are qualities that can only be gained through one's own efforts.  My study Bible comments that this 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 verse 26, in the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus found at Luke 16:19-31).   

The question of mercy is rather a tricky one in the Gospels; and yet, it is also absolutely central to the gospel of the Kingdom.  In today's reading, it is clear that the wise virgins cannot share their oil for the lamps of the foolish ones.  In this sense, it seems rather out of place with the Christ that we know, who so shares His gifts freely with all, who feeds those in the wilderness (twice!) who followed Him and heard His teachings and stayed with Him.  This is the image of compassion and graciousness, and our understanding of the whole of the Incarnation, and all that it produced and produces and will go on producing for us and for our world, is sheer grace, a gift (and gifts) for all of us.  But in this question of mercy and of the showing of mercy and compassion, there is no compromise.  We each must do so for ourselves.  We are called to be "like God" and to fail to make an effort to be and to do so is to fail at life itself.  When Jesus teaches the Lord's Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount, He teaches us to pray, "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."  In that case, debts function as sin committed against someone else, hurting of others, places where we've fallen short, so to speak.  But Jesus adds for emphasis this caveat, just in case we haven't understood properly:  "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:15).  Trespass is another word for sin, this time for a violation of boundaries, so to speak, a breaking of a law.  But the gist of this teaching is clear:  if we do not forgive, we will not be forgiven.  So it is with the acts of mercy and compassion which the foolish virgins have failed to do:  one must practice mercy in order to realize it.  This kind of mutual effort and recognition permeates the gospel of Jesus.  When He teaches the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), it is to emphasize precisely that it is we who become neighbors by being neighbors, by practicing acts of mercy and kindness, taking the initiative to do so.  That the compassionate man is a Samaritan emphasizes there are no other boundaries to define "neighbor" but that.  In the parable of the Unforgiving Servant, one who does not forgive as he was forgiven is sent to truly reap all that he has sown.  Jesus ends that parable with this statement, "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses" (see Matthew 18:21-35).  If we look closely at this parable, we will understand that this is, in fact, how judgment is rendered.  Our acts of mercy have greater power than we know.  When He sends out the disciples on their first apostolic mission, Jesus teaches, "And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward" (see verse 42 in Matthew 10).  So how do we fill our lamps so that they shine brightly?  Going back again to the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches disciples that they are the light of the world, and that they are to reflect the light of God, the Source of all light, comparing them to a lamp (see Matthew 5:15-16).  He finishes that passage by saying, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."    In today's parable, He affirms that not only is this the way He teaches us to live, but that all our lives -- and even an eternal life -- depend upon how well we fulfill this mission and take the initiative.  Let us follow His example and remember this teaching.  For this is what it means to be watchful, and we have been warned that we do not know at what hour our Bridegroom will return.