Keep those lamps burning
Gospel Reflection
Jesus told his disciples this parable:
“The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones, when taking their lamps,
brought no oil with them,
but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps.
Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.’
But the wise ones replied,
‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’
While they went off to buy it,
the bridegroom came
and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked.
Afterwards the other virgins came and said,
‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’
But he said in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Stay awake, be alert.
That is the message of our readings for today, and most importantly we are asked to prepare ourselves, to be holy and to see and respect the holiness of others, for "whoever disregards this, disregards not a human being but God," as St. Paul told the Christians in Thessalonica (1 Thes 4:1-8) in our first reading.
Today we are told how the Kingdom of heaven would be like, and its like that of ten virgins who come waiting for the bridegroom.
This story is particularly that part of the Jewish marriage tradition called the Erusin, when the bride is formally betrothed to the bridegroom. This is the last part of the Erusin. After they have made their marriage contract binding through a public ceremony under the huppah or the marriage canopy, the groom leaves the bride. They are officially considered married but has not consummated their marriage - meaning no sexual relations yet.
So, what happens? Why does the groom leave the bride? Because the groom would prepare their house, their home, where they would spend eternity.
On the other hand, the bride is expected to prepare herself for the groom's return. She makes sure to keep the wedding garment pure. They do not know when the bridegroom would return, and while waiting the bride must keep the oil lamps ready at all times, the ladies in waiting, the virgins, the bride's maids, must keep their lamps burning until finally the groom would arrive, with the sounding of the shofar or the ram's horn and his escorts crying out: Behold the bridegroom. Come out to meet him. At this time, the groom would take the bride and bring her to the place he has prepared for her.
But, what happened in our gospel reading? Half of the ladies in waiting did not come prepared, so they had to go look for oil and when they returned, the door of the dwelling place was already closed and they were not allowed by the groom to enter, for he said: "I say to you, I do not know you."
And so, we are invited by our Lord to prepare ourselves, to keep our wedding garment pure, to let love - love for God and love for the least of our brothers and sisters - to be the guiding principle of our life.
Let us stay awake, let us be alert, and let us always be aware that our bodies, the bodies of all, are of God, are for God, and so let us constantly be aware, awake, and alert. And, be prepared.
Keep those lamps burning, to welcome the bridegroom that we may be welcomed to the wedding feast of our groom.
Let this be our prayer. Amen.
Image: Tanuj Handa | Pixabay
That is the message of our readings for today, and most importantly we are asked to prepare ourselves, to be holy and to see and respect the holiness of others, for "whoever disregards this, disregards not a human being but God," as St. Paul told the Christians in Thessalonica (1 Thes 4:1-8) in our first reading.
Today we are told how the Kingdom of heaven would be like, and its like that of ten virgins who come waiting for the bridegroom.
This story is particularly that part of the Jewish marriage tradition called the Erusin, when the bride is formally betrothed to the bridegroom. This is the last part of the Erusin. After they have made their marriage contract binding through a public ceremony under the huppah or the marriage canopy, the groom leaves the bride. They are officially considered married but has not consummated their marriage - meaning no sexual relations yet.
So, what happens? Why does the groom leave the bride? Because the groom would prepare their house, their home, where they would spend eternity.
On the other hand, the bride is expected to prepare herself for the groom's return. She makes sure to keep the wedding garment pure. They do not know when the bridegroom would return, and while waiting the bride must keep the oil lamps ready at all times, the ladies in waiting, the virgins, the bride's maids, must keep their lamps burning until finally the groom would arrive, with the sounding of the shofar or the ram's horn and his escorts crying out: Behold the bridegroom. Come out to meet him. At this time, the groom would take the bride and bring her to the place he has prepared for her.
But, what happened in our gospel reading? Half of the ladies in waiting did not come prepared, so they had to go look for oil and when they returned, the door of the dwelling place was already closed and they were not allowed by the groom to enter, for he said: "I say to you, I do not know you."
And so, we are invited by our Lord to prepare ourselves, to keep our wedding garment pure, to let love - love for God and love for the least of our brothers and sisters - to be the guiding principle of our life.
Let us stay awake, let us be alert, and let us always be aware that our bodies, the bodies of all, are of God, are for God, and so let us constantly be aware, awake, and alert. And, be prepared.
Keep those lamps burning, to welcome the bridegroom that we may be welcomed to the wedding feast of our groom.
Let this be our prayer. Amen.
Image: Tanuj Handa | Pixabay
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