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DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(Wisdom 6, 12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4,13-18; Matthew 25, 1-13; 32nd Sunday of the Year, Nov. 8, 2020)
On this Sunday the second reading speaks to us of the dead, therefore, corresponds to this time of the year when we think more about our dead. The Gospel speaks of the condition for entering the kingdom of heaven, and is prepared by the first reading, taken from the book of Wisdom.
The Christians of Thessalonia worry about their dead. They await the coming of Jesus, consider it imminent and they think that it is necessary for them to still be alive in order to be introduced by Jesus into heaven. Paul wants to dispel these worries, and explains that death is not an obstacle to rediscovering Christ, because the Lord, when he comes, will make us rise again. Therefore everyone will be able to go to meet the Lord, and to be always with him. These words gave us hope. The awareness that death is not an obstacle for the Lord must console us when we think of our dead, but also when we think of our destiny, because in all probability we too may still be alive when the Lord manifests himself in his definitive glory.
The Gospel indicates the condition for entering into celestial glory with Jesus. The Lord compares the kingdom of heaven to a group of girls preparing for the wedding celebration. Five of them are wise, and five foolish, that is, imprudent, unable to foresee the future.
In Jesus' time it was customary for weddings to be celebrated at night. Therefore, the procession had to proceed with the lamps lit. Foolish girls take their lamps, but they don't take oil with them; the wise ones, however, together with the lamps also take some oil. The bridegroom is late in coming, and they all doze off. At midnight a cry is heard: Here is the bridegroom, go to meet him! The foolish realise that they have no oil for their lamps; they ask the wise, but they point out that the oil will not be enough for everyone, and that then, everyone will be in trouble. While the foolish go to buy oil, the bridegroom arrives. The wise girls enter the banquet hall with him, and the door is closed. The other girls arrive too late and cannot enter. What teaching does Jesus want to give us with this parable? He wants to tell us that we must always prepare ourselves for the encounter with him: for the final encounter, but also for our day to day life. Often Jesus invites us to keep watch in the Gospel, and also at the end of this passage he repeats it: Watch, therefore, because you know neither the day nor the hour. But with this parable he wants us to understand that it is not enough to be awake: we also need to be prepared. Watching is not just about resisting sleep. And in fact in this parable all the girls are asleep when the bridegroom arrives. The important thing, therefore, is not to be physically awake, but to be prepared. Jesus does not specify what he means by that reserve oil that the wise girls took with the lamps. Therefore, various interpretations can be given. However, it is probable that with it Jesus wants to understand the good deeds done in correspondence with his grace. Being prudent means not waiting for the last moment to correspond to the grace of God, but actively correspond to it right now. If we want to be ready at the moment of the encounter with the Lord, we must from now on collaborate with his grace and carry out good deeds inspired by his love. It is not enough to have the lamp. This can be compared to faith, which illuminates our life. But faith alone is not enough; the faith that is valid, as Paul says, is the faith that works through charity (Gal 5,6). In this way, the Apostle makes us understand what condition to be ready for the encounter with the Lord should be: not only faith, but the Christian life, which is a life of love, full of good works. If we let ourselves to be guided by our human inclinations, what we consider interesting, and the pursuit of our interest, then our lives are sterile, and we do not accumulate any reserves of oil for our lamp. This will be extinguished at the time of the Lord's coming, or even before. If, on the other hand, we are vigilant and do good to correspond to God's grace, then we can be calm: the Lord will be able to come even while we sleep; this doesn't matter, because we have the reserve accumulated with the good works of every day. Faith that operates through charity is what is worthwhile, that is what truly unites us to the Lord. It is an illusion to think that it is enough to believe in God in order to be truly united with Christ. As James says, idle, inactive, and dead faith is useless. To be authentic, faith must be active. Another way of presenting this requirement of the Lord is what is indicated by Paul in the Letter to the Romans, when he says that we must offer our bodies to the Lord, that is, to put our whole person at his disposal, to do his will, which is a will of love. We must always seek the will of God and correspond to it in various circumstances. This is another way to be vigilant: to seek to correspond to the will of the Lord. The Lord is good; his will is not a heavy yoke. He said that his yoke is sweet and his burden is light (cf. Matt 11,30). So we can move forward with him with confidence. Guided by him, we will become capable of discerning his will and carrying it out day by day. Then we will be truly wise.
Old Testament holds wisdom in great esteem. The first reading praises her, as radiant and unswerving/unfailing, and full of attention for those who are concerned about finding her. Indeed, she moves forward to make herself known to those who wish to be acquainted with her: Who gets up for her early in the morning, will find her sitting at his door. Therefore, it is not difficult to obtain wisdom: only to be vigilant is enough to seek her and to welcome her. Wisdom is a way to speak of an aspect of God's grace. This illuminates our lives, shows us the sure path and enables us to always welcome Christ when he appears in our lives. Every day he presents himself to us, and we must welcome him with vigilance and love. Otherwise we will be like the foolish girls of the Gospel parable, who do not foresee the necessities of life and in the end, when the definitive encounter with the Lord takes place, they find themselves in a desperate situation. +John I. Okoye
(graphics by Charles)
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