32nd Sunday in Ord. Time – 8th November 2020 — Gospel: Mt 25,1-13
Neglecting the Top-priority
For a wedding story, the parable of the bridesmaids does not have a very happy ending. Things may have turned out well for the bride and groom and for the five bridesmaids who had enough oil for their lamps and made it into the party. But the five bridesmaids who didn’t have enough oil are sharply rebuked by the bridegroom and shut out of the wedding banquet. The bridegroom’s refusal brings to mind Jesus’ earlier rejection, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven… ‘I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers’” (Mt 7,21-23). Further, the story presents some troubling aspects that don’t offer any grace to the event. The bridegroom, who was late in the first place, has no mercy on the foolish bridesmaids who are late for the party. The wise bridesmaids with extra oil show no mercy to their unwise friends. Haven’t we all been guilty of selfish ambitions or poor planning at times? Haven’t we all found ourselves on the wrong side of a locked door? Is the advice of the wise bridesmaids to find the vendor at the middle of the night right?
With the bridegroom’s tardiness, all ten of the bridesmaids became drowsy and fell asleep. So it is evident that the foolish bridesmaids are not to be blamed for falling asleep. Then, what could be the problem of the foolish bridesmaids? It is not even their poor planning to bring extra oil. Perhaps their problem is that at the critical moment when they were to welcome the bridegroom, they had abandoned their posts. They were foolish because they acted as if their primary job was to have oil in their lamps. However, having oil was only a means to an end. Their primary job was to welcome the bridegroom and accompany the bridal party with joy. These five bridesmaids were equally fortunate and chosen like the other wise bridesmaids. They got distracted with secondary concerns, and so they missed the bridegroom’s arrival and missed out the party. The parable of the bridesmaids calls for a self-examination. What are our priorities? Are our priorities aligned with God’s priorities? Are we so distracted with secondary concerns that we risk missing what is most important and essential, namely the presence of Jesus in our midst?
