The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today bring the motto of the Boy Scouts to mind "Be Prepared". The parable of the ten bridesmaids from the Gospel of Matthew shows the consequence of not taking care of preparations to be exclusion from the marriage feast. As the psalmist proclaims "light dawns for the righteous and joy for the upright of heart". The temptation is to become smug and self congratulatory about our preparation. Paul urges the good people of Thesslonika to do more and more to please God. We need to review our "preparedness" and find those areas of our life which need more illumination and more oil in our lamps so that even those areas are better prepared. The call to more and more also involves spreading our light so that the other bridesmaids have a change of heart and seek oil for their lamps. The more oil we think we have, the greater is our obligation to make light overcome darkness. We need to be prepared to be thankful for the oil in our lamp and to strive to make the marriage feast accessible to all.
No comments:
Post a Comment