November 8th 2020. The Thirty-second Sunday of Ordinary Time
GOSPEL: Matthew 25, 1-13
Translated from a homily by Don Fabio Rosini broadcast on Vatican Radio
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Don Fabio’s homily follows the Gospel
GOSPEL: Matthew 25, 1-13
Jesus told this parable to his disciples:
‘The kingdom of heaven will be like this: Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were sensible: the foolish ones did take their lamps, but they brought no oil, whereas the sensible ones took flasks of oil as well as their lamps. The bridegroom was late, and they all grew drowsy and fell asleep. But at midnight there was a cry, “The bridegroom is here! Go out and meet him.” At this, all those bridesmaids woke up and trimmed their lamps, and the foolish ones said to the sensible ones, “Give us some of your oil: our lamps are going out”. But they replied, “There may not be enough for us and for you; you had better go to those who sell it and buy some for yourselves”. They had gone off to buy it when the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready went in with him to the wedding hall and the door was closed. The other bridesmaids arrived later. “Lord, Lord,” they said “open the door for us.” But he replied, “I tell you solemnly, I do not know you”. So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.
The Gospel of the Lord: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Kieran’s summary . . . The Gospel parable for Sunday is about the bridesmaids who are waiting for the arrival of the Bridegroom. Each one of us knows intuitively that we were created for something important and beautiful! We were created to encounter fulness, to encounter the Spouse of our hearts. If we lose the sense of waiting for this ultimate encounter, then we become shadows of ourselves. Even if our Spouse seems to delay in coming, it is worth waiting for him because he is so beautiful. Woe to those who extinguish hope in the hearts of young people! We need to say to young people with confidence: prepare yourself well for your mission of being parent, spouse, friend, student; you are being called to an encounter with the beautiful! Fill up with oil the jars of your existence! If it is necessary to wait for a while and be vigilant, then so be it! We must educate our young people so that they are know how to be vigilant for what is truly beautiful and meaningful, instead of living instinctive lives of vanity and emptiness. Our young people are often fixated with the transitory, with the next weekend, as if nothing else mattered, but they need to learn to use this present moment to prepare for something greater. Now is the time to fill our jars with oil. We do not know when the Bridegroom will come, only that he surely will, perhaps on the last day of our lives to lead us into the feast of heaven, or maybe at a critical moment when we wants us to show love to someone in difficulty. Be that as it may, now is the time to fill our jars with oil. At times, life challenges us to do something important or difficult, and we are there with our reserves empty. Let us be ready for action, filled with oil. Sometimes we are visited by beauty, but we are oriented to what is empty or fleeting, we are distracted, and we end up not growing. Let us be ready. Let us not trust tin ourselves but wait for the Lord.
Three parables in Matthew 25 are directed to three different groups of people: those who never knew Christ; those who work in the service of the Church; and those of us who are invited to enter into relationship with Christ here on earth.
Chapter 25 of Matthew provides the readings for the three last Sundays of this liturgical year, with three parables on the judgments to which humanity will be subjected. The third parable is for those who meet Jesus for the first time at the end of time, the scene of the King-Shepherd who divides "all peoples" among those who, even if they did not know it, took care of and welcomed Jesus in the poor, and those who did not reach out to the poor. The second parable (that of the talents) is for those who have been in the service of the Lord. Have they carried out their mission in the way they were called to? This Sunday's parable is the first one in the chapter, and it is for those who were called to enter the feast together with the Bridegroom. They are those who have been given the privilege of encountering the Bridegroom and being invited by him into the Wedding feast to which humanity is destined, the salvation for which we were born. Have we made use of this opportunity or wasted it?
These parables have a serious message. We can fail and can lose the blessings that were possible for us.
In all three cases we are faced with a dividing line, a crossroads where life always has only two opposite outcomes: we end up either inside or outside! This is the tragic dimension of our existence; it is a fact that we are headed either towards the light or the darkness. We are challenged to accept this serious message: life can be wasted; we can misuse the chances we are given to make life beautiful. Whether we like this message or not, it is a fact. There is value in knowing that failure is possible and that we must get our act together.
We have an innate sense that life has an ultimate meaning. We know intuitively that we are destined to enter into relationship with the Bridegroom. It is essential that we do not lose the sense of living for what is noble, just and beautiful.
In our parable, the meeting with the Bridegroom is not accidental but is the result of a period of waiting. We naturally have an expectation that life is leading to something meaningful; we understand from childhood that we were not born by chance; we sense that we are moving towards something important, that there is someone we are destined to meet. Every person who comes into the world is “programmed” for what is true, noble, just, lovable, and what is worth waiting for. And he must not miss that which he is destined for.
Like the ten young girls, each one of us tends either to live life seriously, aiming to do all things well, or we live it instinctively.
The ten young girls in the parable are awaiting their encounter with what is beautiful, but they wait in two different ways. Some do it instinctively, without preparation: they go out with their lamps and wait, without thinking about it. But important things should not be done in such a superficial way! The others make an investment for the beauty they expect to encounter, procuring extra oil for their lamps. For them, there is something at stake that is worth spending money on, worth the effort of preparation and organization. They are wise and are using their heads, whilst the others are foolish. Each one of us tends to be like these two types of youth: either we prepare for great things and aim high, or we base our lives on the immediate, on instinct.
We all have opportunities to fill the “jars” that will provide light for our lamp. Each day, we have these possibilities to prepare, to grow, to unite ourselves with the Bridegroom
But those who sense the depth and riches of life are right. They feel the greatness of things and consider it worthwhile to prepare for it, to strive for it, to be ready to embrace it. There are many opportunities to grow and to prepare, at any age! We need to fill the “little jars” that we have with the graces that we receive here and there. These are the opportunities to receive oil, perfume, and a source of light for our lamp. It pays to prepare. Hope, says St Paul, does not disappoint.
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