Dear Parishioner,
A wedding in the family! What joy, what excitement – and what a lot of preparation! Jesus knew all about the importance of wedding feasts and he referred to them in his parables, sometimes comparing the Kingdom of God (or, as some scholars say, ‘the Kin-dom of God’) to a wedding feast to which we are all invited. Obviously, the invited guests need to prepare themselves, and today’s Gospel tells us how, in Jesus’ time, the guests awaited the bridegroom’s approach to the bride’s house, in order to enter into the festivities – but the bridegroom’s arrival could happen at any time, so thoughtful preparation was needed!
In its Biblical context, this parable is at the beginning of chapter 25 of Matthew’s Gospel, while chapter 24 is a gathering of sayings of Jesus about endings, specifically the Fall of Jerusalem and the Second Coming, with the final verses (24: 37 – 51) referring to being aware and ready. When we put this parable in the context of today, we realise we are now in November, and the year is drawing to an end: in fact, the Church’s Liturgical Year will end in two weeks’ time. Today we are being reminded about the end of time and encouraged to be aware and ready. One day Christ will come to each of us, in that final mysterious moment when our earthly life is completed. This is not meant as a frightening or threatening thought, but an invitation to prepare to enter joyfully into the feast that God has prepared for us.
Actually, Christ is always coming he comes in Scripture, in the Eucharist, in the person who needs a hand or a smile, in the interruption we did not plan, in a quiet moment. The invitation is to meet the Lord with burning lamps: the oil is the individual life of each one of us – we cannot borrow that oil from someone else, but we can tend our own lamp wisely. We don’t have to illuminate the whole world, but only to try faithfully to keep our small flame alive, ready to greet the bridegroom who will lead us into the banquet.
Have a blessed week.
Sr. Catherine Booth, MSOLA
