Wisdom 6:12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13
It is NOT the Day or Hour that Matters, What Matters is BEING with God/Bridegroom!
What is the point of the gospel of today, given the roles assigned to the different characters of the gospel – virgins, bridegroom and olive-oil/lamp-oil? Today’s gospel comes on the heels of Jesus’ discourse on time and its utilization, which begins this way, “But concerning that DAY and HOUR no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only” (Matthew 24:36-51). Today’s gospel is followed by the very nice statement which recalls division of labor, “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property” (Matthew 25:14-30). One point is clear from the context of todays gospel – there is a Christian understanding of “time,” and every consideration of “time” must, of necessity, factor in Christ or must make reference to him, in order to be a Christian understanding of time.
The very first sentence of today’s gospel situates the relationship between the virgins and the bridegroom as a context of a journey, probably a nuptial journey, since the parable talks of virgins and bridegroom – “The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom” (Matthew 25:1). In the language of today, we will call this journey a period of fiançaille or engagement, a period when two people understudy each other to figure out whether they are made for each other or not. However, the contemporary “engagement” period includes frequent visitation and telephone calls, etc., which is very different from the image given by the gospel. A key difference between the period of fiancaille of which the gospel speaks and what obtains today is the uncertainty in the knowledge of the other party – the bride has to identify the bridegroom, and she to be recognized by him. Hence, the need for the lamps taken by each virgin, a means of verification of the identity of the bridegroom.
The Greek word used by the gospel today evokes the understanding of “knowledge” to mean “recognition”; in other words, there are attributes to be found in a person which lead to the recognition of the person. Every marital engagement is a search for the qualities of a good wife or husband, as the case maybe. In the context of our gospel, the virgins set out in search of the bridegroom; at the end of the journey, the bridegroom failed to recognize the foolish virgins who cried out “Lord, Lord, open for us,” but the wise ones recognized him and he identified them as wise or having the attributes or qualities required for the wedding feast, so he took them into the wedding banquet.
When the gospel concludes with the saying “you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matthew 25:13), it simply takes our minds off the everyday conception of time and addresses the importance of the presence of God/Christ/bridegroom in the life of a Christian. Time is only measured by the presence and intervention of God in human history. In fact, two conditions were satisfied by the so-called “wise virgins”, they were in possession of extra-oil for their lamps and they were ready for the wedding feast. The “readiness” in question, in the gospel, is the ability to recognize the bridegroom and be recognized by him. Remember that all ten virgins went to sleep as a result of the delay of the bridegroom, but at zero-hour, when time ceased, when God had taken over – the kingdom of heaven period – it was then that the cry was sent out for the virgins to identify the groom, it was at that juncture that five virgins realized that they were ill-prepared to identify the bridegroom, they went to those who knew the bridegroom to share with them the recognizable indices of the groom, which they didn’t.
The symbolism of the oil goes beyond what one puts in a lamb because the parable was comparing what will happen in heaven to what happens on earth. In heaven, we will not need oils and lamps and virginity. Remember that virginity among the Jews was always temporal, it was never a permanent virtue, because every virginity must be lost at marriage, unlike the perpetual virginity of Christian men and women of today for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.
The moment of truth for the ten virgins was the call or the cry “behold/see the bridegroom go out to encounter him.” This very statement, in the middle of the parable of this Sunday, tells us to recast the ordering of the parable in order to decipher its precise meaning. Some noted inconsistencies will help us to see the need to recast the order of the parable: 1) the gospel does not give us a clear sense of the point of departure of the virgins, from their homes or village square, etc.? 2) How come they all fell asleep, was it while walking, sitting at home, waiting, etc.? 3) Where were they headed, no name given, no destination in sight?
When we recast our parable, its full sense and meaning becomes evident – “It is NOT the Day or Hour that Matters, What Matters is BEING with God/Bridegroom!” The center and focus of the parable is the bridegroom and what he does. From the perspective of the bridegroom, he is the one in search of his brides. The brides were aware he was coming for them, the delay of the bridegroom was not expected by the so-called foolish virgins. The foolish virgins knew the normal length of the night and what quantity of oil is needed, so getting extra oil was not budgeted for. In order to show that God’s concept of time is different from human’s, the bridegroom arrived at the zero-hour/midnight. More so, it was the job of the brides to make out the bridegroom, hence the need for light or indices for recognizing the bridegroom.
The “cry at midnight” tells us two things, 1) it is at that point that the virgins set out of their homes, where they were all asleep, and 2) the fact that the reason why some virgins were considered foolish springs from their inability to recognize the bridegroom, and when they eventually did, it was too late, so he told, in his own turn, “I don’t know you”.
When we recast our gospel, it reads thus:
A Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
A’ As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.
B Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
B’ Then all those virgins rose 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, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’
A” And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
B” Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Liturgically speaking, the first reading of today supplies the kind of preparation required or what makes a Christian wise as opposed to being foolish. The remedy to foolishness is “wisdom.” According to our first reading, “she [Wisdom] makes her own rounds, seeking those worthy of her, and graciously appears to them in the ways, and meets them with all solicitude” (Wisdom 6:16). “Wisdom” or God seeks out people/virgins, an idea which agrees with the nuptial journey of today’s gospel. The real personage of “wisdom” remains as illusory as those of the ten virgins of our gospel. This illusiveness results from the symbolism to be associated with the personality of wisdom and the parable of the ten virgins.
The eschatological perspective Paul brings to the table drives home the message of the gospel in two ways, 1) it reorients our minds to the fact that the parable of the gospel explains end-time realities and not immediate context, and 2) it also takes up the idea of a “voice,” instead of the impersonal voice of the gospel, we have the voice of the “archangel” which announces end-time or decision making situation. These two similarities take us back to the relevance of God as regards the meaning of “time”. The activities of God in human history defines the meaning of time. Given the near-end of the liturgical year, the three dimensions of Christian elements of eschatology life, death, judgment, hell and heaven come to the fore.
Every human activity on earth is choice-based, and those choices either make or mar end-time episode. In the choices that human beings make the evidence for the evaluation of either wisdom or foolishness becomes imperative. The inner voice of God via the symbolism of the archangel’s voice or the nameless voice of the gospel calls us to take seriously end-time’s imminence and the need to remain alert and watchful. Every loss of virginity which is tantamount to activities of foolishness announces an irreversible option for death and condemnation – “Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’” The irreversibility of Judgment Day evaluation makes sense when time ceases to be of importance because God has intervened and all comes to an end.
Therefore, the focus of every human activity has to gravitate around God and what he commands. Ultimately, Judgement Day is inevitable; on that day, those whose lamps have extra oil or those who spent their lives getting ready for God will enter eternal joy. The meaning of time becomes very important because it is when one stays in the company of God that time becomes irrelevant. For, the first intervention of God in time was to bring about salvation – “in the fullness of time, God sent his son” (Galatians 4:4). The coming of God or his intervention in history again will be as decisive as the first because it will mark salvation and for those who will be with him, and damnation for those who will be separated from him.