Friday, August 26, 2016 21st Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: 1 Cor 1: 17-25 Gospel: Mt 25:1-13
Jesus said to his disciples, “This story throws light on what will happen in the king dom of heaven. Ten bridesmaids went out with their lamps to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were careless while the others were sensible.
“The careless bridesmaids took their lamps as they were and did not bring extra oil. But those who were sensible brought with their lamps flasks of oil. As the bridegroom delayed, they all grew drowsy and fell asleep.
“But at midnight, a cry rang out: ‘The bridegroom is here, come out and meet him!’ All the maidens woke up at once and trimmed their lamps. Then the careless ones said to the sensible ones: ‘Give us some oil, for our lamps are going out.’ The sensible ones answered: ‘There may not be enough for both you and us. You had better go to those who sell and buy for yourselves.’
“They were out buying oil when the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him to the wed ding feast, and the doors were shut.
“Later the rest of the bridesmaids arrived and called out: ‘Lord, Lord, open to us.’ But he answered: ‘Truly, I do not know you.’
“So, stay awake, for you do not know the day nor the hour.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life Experience)
When I returned after watching a late night concert to the Institution I was serving as Chaplain years ago, I found the guard sound asleep. I made a lot of noise but he slept like dead. When I climbed the fence to get to my room I fell and almost broke a limb. The moral I got was: When we sleep on our baptismal promises someone suffers from our neglect. We will answer for all damages at the end of our sojourn on earth.
The problem with earthly sojourn is that we won’t know it is already ending. The advise of today’s Gospel is that we stay awake and keep our oil abundant. This way, no matter how long the appointed time comes we can still keep our lamps burning. Keeping our lamps shining is living in integrity (see Isaiah 62:1) by following the commandment of love (see Proverbs 6:23). The oil of love makes our light pastoral (Matthew 5:16 ff.) as we spend our waiting by taking care of others, not breaking their limbs!
The awakening of the stupid virgins as the gates opened was not the kind of vigilance that merits heaven. The moral strength of those who wake up at the last minute will be subdued by their guilt over the thousands of victims of their Christian neglect.
Waking up at the last minute is no vigilance at all. There is no way the unprepared can enter, not even by climbing the fence, for the guard of heaven never sleeps. –(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM., MMExM, MAPM, REB. Email:[email protected].
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