Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25:11-13

The liturgical word, Advent, means coming, for Advent is the season to prepare for the coming of the Lord at Christmas. We should naturally focus on making the right preparations; not the showy kind of preparations we see in the malls, but preparations of the heart to receive Christ and follow His example better.

Today’s gospel passage from Matthew is about vigilance. The sort of vigilance urged upon us by the gospel is different to the worldly type, such as good financial planning and management. The gospel is talking about another kind of vigilance, the kind that really prepares us for the Lord’s coming. We are summoned as Christians to action, to hop to it. When the Lord comes, we must be ready with our lamps trimmed. We are not summoned simply to stand by and just fade away as if the Lord never came to redeem and raise us up.

Jesus’ story in Matthew twenty five of the five wise and five foolish bridesmaids is downright hilarious. To catch the humor of the story, you have to appreciate the circumstances which were indeed familiar to the listeners. Weddings, as you know, never start on time. There’s always a delay. Cars full of wedding guests get caught in traffic. Buttons pop off at the last minute. Flowers wilt. Soloists contract laryngitis. The groom or the bride show up late and they forget to bring the marriage license with them; a common mishap at weddings.

The only reasonable approach to a wedding is to stay calm, to realize that something probably will go awry and, when it happens, to be prepared and smile about it. Jesus tells this amusing story in Matthew’s gospel to encourage us to be watchful and to expect the unexpected. The perceptive ones know that the unexpected will happen, indeed is bound to happen, and when it does they are awake and ready. The listless ones, on the other hand, lose sight of reality, lose their place in God’s providential scheme of things and fall away because of apathy or laziness.

The message of today’s amusing story is an invitation to remain alert for the Lord’s coming in the many unexpected happenings of our day-to-day lives. Look around you and see what you must be ready for. Are you prepared for the unexpected guest? Are you responsive to the needs of the stranger? Are you eager for the many surprises sprung by a child? Are you attentive to the needs and joys of your marriage partner? Are you receptive to the insights and gifts of others? If you can answer ‘yes” to these questions, then you are ready for the Lord on Christmas. You are doing what the Lord expects of you.

You are like the five wise virgins, with their lamps fully lighted, ready to enter with the groom to the wedding feast.

Fr. Hugh Duffy