I BIBLICAL REFLECTION:

  Last Week’s Memory Verse Psalm 52 (51) “The Fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”

  Messages  for our Life in Christ drawn from Psalm 54 (Septuagint 53)

  Selection of Memory Verse:

II THE CONTEXT OF THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS IN MATTHEW’ GOSPEL

     The Parable of the Ten Virgins is found only in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25:1-13. It is helpful for us to see where Matthew has placed this Parable –that is, its context.

      In the preceding chapter 24 we find the following events and parables:

Matthew 24

   Verses 1-3 – Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple and the Disciples ask Him "Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?"

   Verses 4-8 – Christ responds to them, warning them of the coming of the end-times: “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars . . . For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs.”
   Verses 9-14 – He continues, speaking of some of the signs of the end times: “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.
   Verses 15-20 – The end-times will fulfill the prophesies of Daniel and Jesus gives instructions to all who will flee from the destruction.

   Verses 21-28 – Then, Jesus speaks of a time of “great tribulation” never seen before, but it will not last long, when “false Christ’s” will appear, but believers are not to follow them. The Lord will return, “as lightening comes from the east and shines as far as the west.”

   Verses 29-35 – More signs will follow, “the sun will be darkened” and “the Son of man (will be) coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

    Verses 36-44 – However, in spite of the signs . . . "of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” It will come suddenly, so the Lord instructs “Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. . . . Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
    Verses 45-51 – The true disciple is “the faithful and wise servant” who waits in a spirit of continuing service to God. “Blessed is that servant whom his master when he comes will find so doing.” But if the false disciple “says to himself, `My master is delayed,'” and does not live up to his calling, when the Lord comes “on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know,” the Lord “will punish him, and put him with the hypocrites; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.”

Matthew 25

   Verses 1-13 – The Parable of the 10 Virgins, five wise and five foolish, with the concluding instruction: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
   Verses 14-30 – Jesus tells the Parable of the Talents, in which a man entrusts three servants with large amounts of money- five talents, two talents and one talent. He leaves them to manage the money as he goes on a long trip. When he returns, he demands an accounting. Both the servant who received five talents, and the servant who received two talents, double what they had received. To each of them, the rich man says “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master.” The one who received the one talent buried it because he was afraid of losing it. So the master says “cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.”
   Verses 31-46 – The description of the Last Judgment: “When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left.” And to the good who showed compassion to the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, imprisoned in whom Christ resided, He says, “Come to me, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” Then he will say to the goats -the disobedient ones at his left hand- who ignored the suffering of those in need, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” The conclusion regarding the end-times is: “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

   So we see that the context of the Parable of the Ten Virgins is the end times, the time of preparation for the return of Christ. This is what we are talking about when we say in the Creed: “And He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. And His Kingdom shall have no end.”

   Let us see exactly what the Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) teaches us.

III THE BACKGROUND OF THE PARABLE

a. The Role of the Ten Virgins (or “Friends of the Bride”) The parable of the 10 Virgins is based on the Jewish marriage customs at the time of Jesus. “The setting is fairly clear from what we know of the marriage customs of the day. Normally the bridegroom with some close friends left his home to go to the bride’s home, where there were various ceremonies, making the marriage official, followed by a procession through the streets –after nightfall- to his home. The ten virgins await the procession in order to meet the groom and wedding party as they come from the bride’s house. Everyone in the procession was expected to carry his or her own torch. . . . The festivities, which might last several days, would formally get under way at the groom’s house” (Adapted- The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, v. 8,  p. 513.) The ten virgins’ role was to greet the wedding party as they returned to the groom’s home so that the did not come to a darkened and empty house. So it was necessary for their lamps to be lit, in order to welcome the wedding party as they approached the groom’s house.

b. Jesus as Bridegroom – Awaiting the Bridegroom: “In all four Gospels in the New Testament, Jesus is characterized metaphorically or symbolically as a bridegroom (Matthew 9:15-16; Mark 2:19-20; Luke 5:34-35; John 3:29.) The parable is based on then existing Jewish marriage customs.  In the Parable of the Bridegroom, the five wise and five foolish young women, awaiting the return of the bridal party to the home of the groom, are contrasted in terms of their alertness and readiness to receive the bridegroom upon his return to the house. The point of the parable is the need for spiritual watchfulness: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour" (Matthew 25:13). This attentiveness most certainly referred originally to waiting for the Second Coming of Christ. This is expanded by the "Bridegroom Services" to attentiveness to the spiritual things of life.” (Stanley S. Harakas, “The Bridegroom Services of Holy Week: An Ethical Analysis”)

 VI. The Text of the Parable of the Ten Virgins – Matthew 25:1-13

   Let us read it together:

[1]Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. [2] Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. [3] For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; [4] but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. [5] As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. [6] But at midnight there was a cry, `Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.' [7] Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. [8] And the foolish said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' [9] But the wise replied, `Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.' [10] And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. [11] Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, `Lord, lord, open to us.' [12] But he replied, `Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.' [13] Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour (when the Son of Man is coming).

VII. THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS: FOUR DIFFERENT

        BUT USEFUL AND VALID INTERPRETATIONS

a. THE TEN VIRGINS -AN END-TIME PARABLE

   - St. Hilary of Potiers:  “The whole story is about the great day of the Lord, when those things concealed from the human mind will be revealed through our understanding of divine judgment” (On Matthew 27.3).

    “The wise virgins are those who, embracing the time available to them, were prepared at the first onset of the coming of the Lord. But the fookish were those who were lax and unmindful. They troubled themselves only over present matters and, forgetting what God said, did not direct their efforts toward hope for resurrection.” (On Matthew27.5).

    “The delay of the Bridegoom is the time for repentance. . . The cry comes at midnight, when no one yet knows what is happening. The sound of the trumpet of God heralds his coming, rousing all to go out and meet the bridegroom. (On Matthew 27.4).

    -Epiphanius the Latin: “As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Likewise the blessed Apostle Paul declared ‘For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them.’”

  b.  THE TEN VIRGINS -A PARABLE EXHORTING US TO GOOD WORKS IN THIS LIFE

    -St. Augustine: “Is it some great thing, some exceedingly great thing, that this oil signifies? Do you think it might be charity (agape-love)? . . .I will tell you why charity (agape-love) seems to be signified by the oil. . . . It is ‘the way above the rest’ (1 Corinthians 13), which is with good reason signified by the oil. For oil swims above all liquids” (Sermon 93.4).

    -St. Augustine: “Every soul that enlivens a body is marked by the number five, because it makes use of five senses. For there is nothing of which we have perception by the body except through this five-fold gate, either by sight, or hearing, or smelling, or tasting or touching. Whoever abstains from unlawful seeing,  unlawful hearing, unlawful smelling, unlawful tasting and unlawful touching, by reason of blamelessness, is here called by the name of virgin.” (Sermon 903.2).

   -St. Epiphanios the Latin: “The wise had oil with them along with their lamps. But the foolish did not take oil with them. Thus they were foolish, because they were not prepared for the future but only for the present. Thus they were foolish, because they did not have works of compassion. For the oil is compassion. But the wise took oil with their lamps.  . . . Thus they were wise, because they had works of compassion.” (Interpretation of the Gospels 36.).

   -St. John Chrysostom: “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” Do you see how he adds this, showing how awful our ignorance concerning our departure from this life? Where now are they, who throughout all their life fail to show charitable love, but when they are blamed by us, say ‘At the time of my death, I shall leave money to the poor.’ Let them listen to these words and be amended. For indeed at that time many have failed at this, having been snatched away suddenly, and not permitted so much as to give instructions to their relatives touching what they wished to be done.” (Homilies on Matthew, 73.)

c. THE TEN VIRGINS – A PARABLE ABOUT ACTIVE LIVING OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE

   “The wise virgins left for the wedding with conviction. They took the journey seriously, considering all the potential problems involved. They took a more permanent source of oil with them. In other parables they represent those who fell on good soil; those who showed up at the wedding dressed appropriately; those who built their house on the rock; those who applied their talents. These had the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, rather than simply beside them.

   The foolish ones left carelessly, not counting the cost of their journey. They accepted a limited amount of guidance from the Holy Spirit, but ran out of spiritual insight, not having taken the journey seriously, and had to go back to the beginning. But time ran out and they were lost.

   These are those who follow Christ in name only. When trouble or persecution comes due to their lack of allegiance, they quickly fall away. They have a non-application oriented faith, not born of conviction. They don't take the Christian faith seriously. They must start all over from the beginning and receive the invitation appropriately. But their time may run out. They may die or Christ may return before they are prepared for the wedding.

   Christ declares to them ‘I don't know you.’ ‘Know’ in the Greek is actually in the perfect tense. Literally: ‘I have not known you.’ There are many who presume their salvation status without regard to whether their behavior indicates a level of faith of the quality acceptable to God to save. Let's not be too presumptuous, but take an active part in being prepared for judgment.” (Lightly revised: The Boston Christian Bible Study Resources Website - http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/pa/pa_16.htm.)

d. THE TEN VIRGINS – A PARABLE TEACHING US TO BE PREPARED TO MEET CHRIST

    “You know the look of disappointment when you miss a ‘once in a life-time’ opportunity.  Being unprepared can lead to disastrous consequences!  What good is a forgotten life-jacket, when the boat is sinking?  Jesus' story of ten girlfriends of the bride being caught off-guard by the groom's party seems strange to westerners today.  But his audience knew all too well how easily this could happen to them.

    Wedding customs in ancient Palestine required extra vigilance and preparation for everyone involved.  (Some near eastern villages still follow this custom.)  The bride and groom did not go away for their honeymoon, but celebrated for a whole week with their family and friends.  To show up for a wedding party at night without proper attire, such as a lamp and a wedding garment, is like showing up for an important event today without a reservation or a ticket.  You just don't get in without the proper pass.  Can you imagine the frustration one experiences in traveling abroad and finding out you can't get into some country because you don't have a valid passport or visa? 

   Jesus warns us that there are consequences for being unprepared.  There are certain things you cannot obtain at the last moment. For example, a student cannot prepare for his exam when the day of testing is upon him.  A person cannot get the right kind of character or skill required for a task at hand unless he already possesses it. Our eternal welfare depends on our hearing, and many have trained themselves to not hear.  We will not be prepared to meet the Lord, face to face, when he calls us on the day of judgment, unless we listen to him today.  The Lord invites us to feast at his banquet table.  Are you ready to meet him when he calls?

   Lord, make me vigilant and attentive to your voice that I may heed your call at all times.  May I find joy in your presence and delight in doing your will." (Lightly Revised. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations Website [http://www.rc.net/wcc/readings/parables.htm.])

VII THE TEN VIRGINS – SOME DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

-Why were five called wise? What made them wise?

-Why were five called foolish? What were their expectations?
-Whom do each represent in today’s Christian community?
-What do the oil and lamps represent?
-How should we prepare ourselves for Christ's return?
-What attitudes should we maintain?
-What happens if we are not prepared?

      -What happens if we are prepared?

CLOSING PRAYER

   Behold the Bridegroom comes in the midst of the night; and blessed is the servant, whom He shall find vigilant; and unworthy is he, whom he shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, that you will not be overcome by sleep, lest you be given up to death, and be shut out from the Kingdom. Wherefore, rouse yourself, crying out: "Holy, Holy, Holy are You, our God, through the protection of the Heavenly Hosts save us.” Amen.

Next Week- Friday, November 17, Guest Speaker – 2  Fr. Michael Shuster, “The Carpathian Church”.

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