Sunday Gospel Comment
Alberic Jacovone OSB
YEAR A THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY - 6.11.05 Wis 6,12-16; 1 Thess 4,13-18; Mt 25,1-13 Bridesmaids for a special Bridegroom Joyful
expectations!
The Bible presents our Christian life against the back-drop of a most fantastic
Wedding-Feast between Jesus as Bridegroom, & the Church as Bride. All our
life on earth is a joyful preparation & exciting awaiting for Bridegroom
Jesus to arrive & for the Wedding to be enjoyed by all. In it, we are called
to be in the Bridal Party; & for it we must be worthy, ready & excited,
executing our role with dignity. At the time of Jesus, a solemn procession from the Bride’s home, to
the house of the Bridegroom was an important part of the wedding ceremony. The
Bridesmaids & Bridal Party were to form a ‘guard of honour’ to greet the
Bridegroom on his return with the Bride. As in all weddings, long delays were to
be expected for the Spouses to arrive & the Bridal Party had to be prepared
& wait in readiness. Today’s parable of the 10 Bridesmaids, is packed with
vivid creativity, it sums up the whole chapter 25, as indeed
the full message of Jesus during his three years of public ministry. Two
powerful truths stand out: 1st, the ‘coming of the Lord’ for whom we wait in
joyful expectation & whom we long to meet at the end of life; & 2nd, the
‘patient watching & waiting in readiness’, for we do not know the time
& the hour of the Lord’s coming: both events are shrouded in mystery &
uncertainty. Today’s parable is steeped in local culture & customs. At the
same time it’s brilliant in the subtle application of each detail to the many
layers of meaning. The end of the story is full of surprises! Today’s parable
is a brilliant allegory of the Church, as she unites us with Christ & each
other. In it we are the proud members of the bridal party in a celebration of
the eternal ‘wedding of the Lamb’. We are all invited: good & bad,
foolish & prudent. Together we travel through time, eager to meet the Lord,
doing our best to be ready, when the midnight call awakes us. A
responsible Bridal Party.
As his Gospel comes to a close, Matthew introduces the themes of delay of the
Lord’s coming & of the need to be ready. Now we all live in the
‘in-between two events: Christ’s coming in death & resurrection &
his return in glory at the completion of God’s plan. Matthew speaks strongly
of the need to live in the present, but with an eye to the future.
And indeed we cannot live only for the ‘now’, with no thought for our
ultimate goal, nor can we ignore the sufferings & responsibilities of the
people around us as we set our hearts towards heaven. So, the parable can be
summed up in the following way: Christian life on earth is like being bunched up
in a Bridal Party - going to a wedding Feast - to meet Groom & Bride -
holding lit torches - and waiting for the Lord to arrive: there is joy in
waiting to escort Him into the Wedding Hall... But life is full of unexpected
surprises, the delays are long & tiring - the lit torches are soon to
dwindle & die-out, since the oil or fuel runs out quickly, & the torches
need to be soaked again in additional oil. The point of the parable is that in
our Christian life, we need to plan wisely, cannot afford to be caught unawares
or without additional supplies for
the journey - long delays are bound to happen. The final sentence says it all:
stay alert, since you do not know the day or the hour’. Lesson:
Be prepared for the Lord’s coming, (be it the hour of death or of God’s
‘visitation’). He will certainly come & come soon. If there is a delay,
be well provided; & whatever you do, make sure you are not left out. In a
wider perspective, as we discover that we are locked in personal hurts &
contradictions, we need to be painfully aware of how provisional & uncertain
life is: so watch & pray. ______________________________________ |
