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 

 

In our present readings, Jesus has been speaking about end times (Matthew 24).  In yesterday's reading, Jesus taught the 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 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."  My study Bible explains that this parable is an illustration by Christ of the need to be spiritually prepared while the bridegroom (Christ Himself) is delayed in His return; that is, as we await His second coming.  The Kingdom, it notes, is frequently portrayed as a marriage (Matthew 22:1-14) between Christ and His Church.  This marriage will be consummated at the end of the age when the Bridegroom returns to escort His Bride, the Church, into what my study Bible calls the eternal wedding banquet.  To understand this parable clearly, it's important that we see how oil lamps work;  a wick is placed in a container holding oil.  To trim the lamp is to trim the wick so that the flame burns brightly and clearly; but there must be oil (fuel) in the vessel to burn in order to have a flame to cast light.  But we need to understand that the Greek word for oil (ἔλαιον/elaion, meaning olive oil) and the word for "mercy" (ἔλεος/eleos) sound the same.  Therefore, my study Bible explains, this parable is primarily about the virtue of charity and almsgiving -- a preparation for judgment.  The wise virgins are those who practice charity and mercy in this life, but the foolish are those who, in the words of my study Bible, "squander God's gifts on themselves."   Moreover, my study Bible explains, the fact that all the virgins slumbered and slept indicates death.  In a worldly sense, the virtuous will die alongside the wicked.  The cry at midnight indicates the Second Coming, when all will rise together for judgment.  So, therefore, those "wise" who cannot share their oil in the parable cannot be attributed to a lack of generosity.  On the contrary, it shows the impossibility of entering eternal life without one's own practice of faith and virtue, and also the impossibility of changing one's state of virtue after death (see Luke 16:26).  

As my study Bible indicates, the parable in today's reading is Jesus' illustration of the need for vigilance as we await His second coming, and the judgment it will entail.  In our previous reading, Jesus concluded His prophecy on the end times by teaching us,  "Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."  Today's parable is an illustration of that principle, that our lamps must be kept full through our own capacity for practicing our faith, following His commands, exercising our ability to live righteously.  At the end of the chapter we've begun, Jesus will tell the parable of the sheep and the goats, whereby they are separated on the basis of acts of compassion.  Today's parable, and our understanding of the word "mercy" heard in the telling of the story and the filling of the lamps, emphasizes our actions of lived faith.  Looking closely at the Greek word for mercy (ἔλεος/eleos), Strong's Concordance explains its use in the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament) as indicating "mercy as it is defined by loyalty to God's covenant."  It corresponds to the repeated times the Gospels witness Christ being "moved with compassion" for those whom He helps (Matthew 9:36; 14:14, 18:27; note the use of this phrase in the parable in chapter 18).  We must take this teaching into the context of Christ's teachings regarding "treasure in heaven," for it is by doing in this world, through acts of compassion, that we have treasure in heaven.  This is made clear when Christ advises the rich young ruler to sell all that he has and give to the poor (Matthew 19:21), and also in His teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).  For this is how our lamps are filled with the oil of mercy, the balm that helps to heal the world, a kind of ointment of care corresponding to the healing done in the ancient church (James 5:14).  This connection is also illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan, in that the Samaritan "anointed" the wounds of the man injured on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho (Luke 10:25-37).  So, if we put all of these things together, we might consider how daily acts of compassion work to keep our lamps full, so that we might see more brightly by the light cast through Christ's teachings, and be prepared no matter what time or day He returns -- for He has promised yet again it will be at a time we don't expect: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming'"  This kind of righteousness we also find in Christ's teaching of the two greatest commandments, for they go hand in hand:  "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind' This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself'" (Matthew 22:35-39).  For in loving God we enter a lifelong journey of learning what love is and how it works, and how to express that love to others -- and this is righteousness and mercy.  Let us live our lives as if every day, every minute mattered, in that ongoing filling of our lamps with this oil.  We have nothing to lose but emptiness.