32nd Sunday in ordinary time, Cycle A. Today’s readings: Wisdom 6:12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13
For a while, as a young seminarian, I adopted the unfortunate habit of delaying filling my car’s fuel tank until the last possible moment, always presuming (or hoping) that I would have enough petrol for at least a few more kilometres. The error of my ways became clear to me one afternoon when my poor car trundled to a halt in rush-hour traffic around the Santa Luċija roundabout.
The danger of running out of fuel is central to today’s gospel, for as the liturgical year draws to its end, the mass readings tend to focus more and more on our preparedness for our final encounter with Christ.
In today’s parable, Jesus speaks of 10 virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom as part of a wedding celebration. Five of them are described as wise because they brought extra oil for their lamps, while the other five are foolish because they did not prepare adequately. The bridegroom’s delay in arriving lays bare their foresight or lack thereof. All of them fall asleep, but the wise virgins’ lamps remain lit whereas the foolish ones’ lamps run out of oil and are about to go out. They anxiously demand that the wise ones share their oil with them, but this request is turned down out of fear that the remaining oil will not be sufficient for all.
When the bridegroom finally arrives the foolish virgins are absent, having scrambled at the last moment to procure more fuel for their lamps. Sadly, they are unable to join the wedding party and are left out in the darkness. Their desperate entreaties to be let in are met with the stern reply: “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.”
It would be good to think a little: one day will be the last one. If it were today, how prepared am I?
In a parable so replete with evocative images and details, it is easy for us to miss the wood for the trees and speculate about secondary details: could the wise virgins not have shared their oil? Should the bridegroom not have made an exception and let the foolish ones in? This parable, however, has a different message: it is about navigating through the joys and cares of life, yet in such a way that we still keep our eyes and hearts fixed on our final destination: union with Christ.
Pope Francis explained this back in 2017 when he said that “to be watchful does not mean simply not sleeping, but being prepared; indeed, all the virgins slept before the bridegroom arrived, but upon reawakening, some are ready and others not. Here, therefore, is the meaning of being wise and prudent: it means not waiting for the last moment of our life to collaborate with the grace of God, but to do so already from now on. It would be good to think a little: one day will be the last one. If it were today, how prepared am I?”
So what does the oil in the parable refer to? The answers given by saints and authors over the centuries appear to be variations on a theme: for some (including greats like St Augustine and St John Chrysostom), the oil signifies charity: love for God and neighbour. Others suggest it is faith expressing itself in works of love, or the joy that comes from performing actions of love. Whatever this oil is, therefore, love is central to it.
In our fast-paced world of distractions and anxieties, today’s parable reminds us that the divine bridegroom is still on the way. Let us therefore shake off the complacency and lethargy that so often plague the innermost component of our journey through life. Remember: in the spiritual realm, ‘running on fumes’ won’t bring us home.
bgatt@maltachurchtribunals.org