Preparation and redemption

The apparent tension between our individual practices in living our relationship with God and the communal life in which we strive to live as Jesus is tied to the text in the Roman Catholic Lectionarytoday. The first letter of Paul to the Thessalonians instructs the former pagans of this city to live in a manner that rejects the sexual immorality which Friar Jude Winkler notes was common when religious observance and practice at the pagan temple was to placate the gods and once this routine was exercised, it did not really matter how the person behaved in relationship to the people in his society. The Jewish tradition of the Goel is mentioned by Friar Jude as the inclusion of the way we live in society as a concern for our relationship with God. Our immoral action damages our relationship with others and with God. The parable of the unwise virgins, which is in the passage today from the Gospel of Matthew, refers to a marriage tradition which would be familiar to the Jewish audience of Matthew. The bridegroom prior to the wedding ceremony would be “out with his buddies”. His return to the wedding would be late at night and lamps would be required to guide him and his party to the event. The preparedness of the wise virgins is the message. We may try to add more to parables than the meaning intended by the author. There was no question that to fulfill the role of the virgin to light the way for the groom’s party to the wedding you will need oil sufficient to the task. The return of Jesus at the end of time is one concern of “wise virgin” Christians. The discipline of applying the oil of leaving nothing unsaid and nothing undone in our daily life will keep us on the path of the Bridegroom with our lamps shining as He comes to take us home as individuals.