Matthew 25:1-13
Dear Friends, We are in the final three weeks of this Church year. This particular liturgical time has a special message for us about time. It may be better stated that the Church invites us to ponder the mystery of time.
In today ‘s Gospel about the ten virgins, both wise and foolish, and in next week’s parable about the men gifted with a sum of money to challenge their responsibility, we are asked to consider the consequences of time coming to an end. Then, after the final Sunday of Christ the King, we begin a new year. In the first three Sundays of Advent, we are asked to consider time beginning. Both of these approaches to time offer us a challenge to investigate our life in light of the Gospel.
The story of the ten virgins and next week’s Gospel about the talents call us to responsibility for our life. The message is simple and clear. Stay awake and be responsible.
The basic implication of the parable of the ten virgins is to be prepared. The preparation is expressed in a life faithful to God’s word. The wise virgins and their extra oil represent a life committed to the Lord in the righteousness of obedience, service and love. The unwise virgins represent a life that says “Yes, Lord!” but has no action backing the words.
There is one immediate consequence for us. What we do with our time is consequential. We will be called to answer for it. There is definitely a limit to this time. “Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord open the door for us.” But He said in reply “Amen I say to you, I do not know you!” Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Mt 25:13)
Time has limits for us. All of this year’s selections from the Gospel of Matthew have laid out a clear path and plan of how we can be responsible in the footsteps of Jesus.
In the flow of the Church’s teachings in the Sunday liturgies, there is a deep connection between the end of one year to the beginning of the next. After the feast of Christ the King, the Gospel of Mark awaits. The first three Sundays of the coming Advent take up the mystery of time with a different approach. They lay out a plan of time centered on the coming of Jesus. The message is: Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!
We are invited into a new reality, a new time. Jesus lets us know time is pregnant with new possibilities. It is not slipping away but coming wrapped in the love of a gracious and saving God. Time is a bequest filled with hope and an invitation into new life. Time holds the legacy for which our heart has been yearning. Time is not a threat but a gift.
In this end-time of closing this year and the upcoming journey with the Gospel of Mark, we are confronted with a paradox. Time is going away and coming anew! Of course, this is an arrangement to help us understand that each day of our lives holds this mystery of time that is coming and going. Each day is a gift filled with the opportunity of new life and new love. Each day is one day closer to our death that opens to our true destiny, to be one with God in eternal life!
In the funeral Mass of the Resurrection, we have even deeper insight into this paradox of time. The Preface of the Mass proclaims, “In Him, who rose from the dead, our hope of the resurrection dawned. The sadness gives way to the bright promise of immortality. Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended.”
In this paradox of time ending and beginning, we are called to face up to death as a dominant aspect of our reality. Yet, in Jesus, our Risen Savior, we share in the victory over death.
This message of the mystery of time calls us to live today to its fullness, to live today filled with joy and hope. We are called to be attentive and responsible, to be loving and confident. When we walk with Jesus, we are ready for the reality of today whether it be the devastations of climate change, Covid 19 or whatever tomorrow brings.It is true wisdom, not a morose and gloomy anxiety, that helps us realize that today brings us one day closer to our death. This simply means that today is all the more beautiful and gifted. So, we can truly say. “This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it.” (Ps. 118:24)
In today ‘s Gospel about the ten virgins, both wise and foolish, and in next week’s parable about the men gifted with a sum of money to challenge their responsibility, we are asked to consider the consequences of time coming to an end. Then, after the final Sunday of Christ the King, we begin a new year. In the first three Sundays of Advent, we are asked to consider time beginning. Both of these approaches to time offer us a challenge to investigate our life in light of the Gospel.
The story of the ten virgins and next week’s Gospel about the talents call us to responsibility for our life. The message is simple and clear. Stay awake and be responsible.
The basic implication of the parable of the ten virgins is to be prepared. The preparation is expressed in a life faithful to God’s word. The wise virgins and their extra oil represent a life committed to the Lord in the righteousness of obedience, service and love. The unwise virgins represent a life that says “Yes, Lord!” but has no action backing the words.
There is one immediate consequence for us. What we do with our time is consequential. We will be called to answer for it. There is definitely a limit to this time. “Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord open the door for us.” But He said in reply “Amen I say to you, I do not know you!” Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Mt 25:13)
Time has limits for us. All of this year’s selections from the Gospel of Matthew have laid out a clear path and plan of how we can be responsible in the footsteps of Jesus.
In the flow of the Church’s teachings in the Sunday liturgies, there is a deep connection between the end of one year to the beginning of the next. After the feast of Christ the King, the Gospel of Mark awaits. The first three Sundays of the coming Advent take up the mystery of time with a different approach. They lay out a plan of time centered on the coming of Jesus. The message is: Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!
We are invited into a new reality, a new time. Jesus lets us know time is pregnant with new possibilities. It is not slipping away but coming wrapped in the love of a gracious and saving God. Time is a bequest filled with hope and an invitation into new life. Time holds the legacy for which our heart has been yearning. Time is not a threat but a gift.
In this end-time of closing this year and the upcoming journey with the Gospel of Mark, we are confronted with a paradox. Time is going away and coming anew! Of course, this is an arrangement to help us understand that each day of our lives holds this mystery of time that is coming and going. Each day is a gift filled with the opportunity of new life and new love. Each day is one day closer to our death that opens to our true destiny, to be one with God in eternal life!
In the funeral Mass of the Resurrection, we have even deeper insight into this paradox of time. The Preface of the Mass proclaims, “In Him, who rose from the dead, our hope of the resurrection dawned. The sadness gives way to the bright promise of immortality. Lord, for your faithful people life is changed, not ended.”
In this paradox of time ending and beginning, we are called to face up to death as a dominant aspect of our reality. Yet, in Jesus, our Risen Savior, we share in the victory over death.
This message of the mystery of time calls us to live today to its fullness, to live today filled with joy and hope. We are called to be attentive and responsible, to be loving and confident. When we walk with Jesus, we are ready for the reality of today whether it be the devastations of climate change, Covid 19 or whatever tomorrow brings.It is true wisdom, not a morose and gloomy anxiety, that helps us realize that today brings us one day closer to our death. This simply means that today is all the more beautiful and gifted. So, we can truly say. “This is the day the Lord has made, let us be glad and rejoice in it.” (Ps. 118:24)
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