“HONEY FROM THE ROCK”
Daily Reflections
Sunday, 12th November 2017.
Thirty Second Week in Ordinary Time
Wis6:12-16;
Ps 62:2-8;
1Thes4:13-18;
Mt 25: 1-13
LAMPS BURNING BRIGHT
The First Reading sings the praise of wisdom. At the same time it says that wisdom can be found by all those who seek it. In the Second Reading, St Paul consoles his converts at Thessalonika who are worried about the fate of their loved ones who have died. He tells them that God will raise them up as surely as he raised up Christ. In the Gospel, through a parable. Jesus urges us to stay awake because we do not know the day or the hour of the Lord's coming.
At first sight this parable seems rather unfair. It seems unfair that the five foolish maids are excluded from the wedding simply because they forgot to bring sufficient oil for their lamps. However, the parable is deeper than it seems. There is far more involved that a little lamp oil. Here is modern version of the same parable to better understand today’s Gospel.
The Kingdom of heaven is like ten women who went to look for discounts/bargains in the Christmas sales at Shopping Malls. They set out bright and early and, to their great delight, secured places near the entrance of the queue outside a city store. Each of them had brought along her handbag which she now gripped tightly to guard against would-be snatchers. Five of the women were wise and generous. They were hardworking mothers who had made a lot of personal sacrifices in saving up for the sales. They desperately needed to get the bargains as each had a large young family to provide for. They were not thinking of themselves but of their homes and their children. The other five were foolish and selfish. They didn’t really need the bargains as their children were grown up. It was a combination of greed and the excitement of bargain-hunting that had brought them along. One thing was clear: they were thinking only of what they could get out of it for themselves.
The store was late in opening. The waiting was tiring. All ten women grew sleepy. Then suddenly a cry arose: ‘They’re opening!’ With that each of them took a hurried look into her handbag to see if her money was still there. It was then that the foolish ones discovered, to their horror, that they had only a few pounds with them. They had forgotten that they had gone on a shopping spree the previous weekend, and spent most of the money they had put aside for the sales. In their panic they turned to the wise ones and said: ‘Lend us a little money. We’ll pay you back just as soon as we get home’.‘Sorry’, the wise ones answered, ‘we’ve just barely got enough for ourselves. This is our big opportunity. We can’t afford to miss it. The best thing you can do is dash back home and get some more’. As they said this, they were carried inside the store on the crest of the first wave of frantic bargain-hunters. As for the foolish ones, they were left standing there on the pavement. However, they soon came to their senses, grabbed a taxi, and dashed back home. But by the time the banks opened, and they got back to the store, it was already half-empty. All the best bargains were gone. They went to the manager and complained.‘ Sorry, ladies’, he said, ‘but there’s nothing I can do for you. It’s your own fault. Why didn’t you come in time?’They knew of course that he was right. They departed empty- handed, sad, frustrated, all because of their foolishness and carelessness.
Now let us return to Christ’s story. For the wise maids it was obviously the chance of a lifetime. It was something they really appreciated and for which they had prepared diligently. Here was a never-to-be-repeated opportunity to meet the Bridegroom and to get into the wedding feast. No way were they going to miss it. For the foolish ones it was a bit of fun, a game, they tagged along merely out of duty or habit. Even so, they felt let-down when they didn’t get in. But it was their whole attitude that was wrong, not just one little lapse of concentration or memory. In other words, they were not judged on one moment of their lives. The first five were ready, careful, and wise - all doers of the word. The second five were unprepared, careless, and foolish - mere hearers of the word.
For us the lesson should be pretty obvious. We are not dealing with a few bargains. The stakes are far higher. It is our eternal salvation that is at stake. We are talking about the possibility of finding ourselves locked out of the eternal banquet. When the Lord’s call comes, all that will matter will be the kind of persons we are, not what we have achieved or what we have amassed. What if we should be caught unprepared, with no oil in our spiritual lamps? We have to make sure that our lamps are always burning. Therefore, we must keep on putting oil into them. The Lord can come at any moment.
However, let us not forget that it is to something joyful that we are invited. It is to a wedding feast, not a funeral. It is too good to be missed. If we have made Christ our best and closest companion on the road of life, then it is unlikely that his final coming will catch us unprepared.
We are all called to be bearers of the light of Christ, lamp-carriers, if you like. But like the five foolish maids, we too are sometimes careless and irresponsible, and allow this lamp to go out or at least grow very dim. Through a spirit of prayer and watchfulness, Christ will help us to keep his light burning brightly.
Prayer: Lord, help us to keep the lamp of faith burning brightly. May we hold nothing back and, in so doing, be fully prepared to meet You whenever You call us home. Jesus, I trust in You. Amen.