Back in the 1980’s and early 90’s I was an active and avid runner, participating in everything from 10 Ks to marathons. I belonged to the local running club, and we would meet on a regular basis to go on long runs and train together. In 1991 I trained to run in the Columbus Marathon that would take place in November. Training for this one race took 6-8 months. There was a detailed schedule of short and long runs, a few races of medium length, and a pretty strict diet to follow. And since I had a job, scheduling the training was quite a challenge.
Going into this training and marathon, I had two goals. The first was just to finish. I didn’t care what it took; if I had to crawl on my hands and knees for the final 3 ½ miles, I was going to cross that finish line. The second goal I set for myself was to qualify for the Boston Marathon. I knew what the qualifying was, and so I trained specifically for that goal. I knew what my average mile time needed to be, and I worked hard to be able to maintain a steady pace for mile after mile; and I tried to prepare myself for weather conditions and the thousands of other people who would be running along with me that day.
In other words, I had to be diligent and disciplined for the whole time leading up to race day. Fortunately, I had plenty of support from my wife, fellow runners from the running club, and even co-workers at my job. Now imagine this. It’s race day, and I’m primed and ready to compete—not with the other runners who are there, but with myself. I don’t even feel the cold November air. I take my place at the start with thousands of other people, and there’s a man next to me who looks nervous and tense as we get ready to start. He turns to me and says, “I don’t think I trained well for this race today. You look like you have plenty of endurance to spare. Can I have some of yours?” Now, that didn’t really happen to me at the starting line. But if it did, it’s obviously not something I would be able to give or even share with someone else.
This is what Jesus is talking about in our Gospel passage for today. When we first look at or hear this passage, we can easily be misled into thinking that the five “wise” virgins were being selfish in not sharing their oil for the lamps with the five “foolish” virgins. But that’s not the case at all.
For some background, in first century Jewish culture, a young man and woman who were betrothed were considered legally married but did not live together. The bridegroom would prepare a home for them, and then after the betrothal period, which could be about one year, he would come to the home of his bride and there would be a celebratory procession to the place of the wedding, which would be a rather joyous and festive party that would last for seven days or more. The bridal party, which would consist of young maidens (or virgins) bearing torches, would wait for the bridegroom to escort him to the home of his bride in preparation for the wedding.
We have to keep in mind that Jesus is telling a parable to his disciples. And Jesus usually tells parables in response to a particular situation, or to clarify or give deeper meaning to something he was talking about. And the situations, places, and characters in the parable usually represent other situations, places, and people that point to a deeper spiritual reality. To put this parable in context, right before this passage in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus just finished talking with his disciples about the future destruction of Jerusalem, the coming tribulation, and the coming of the Son of Man at the end of time.
So in this parable the Bridegroom obviously represents Jesus, who is delayed in coming. The five wise and five foolish virgins are not five Christians versus five non-believers; rather, they are all Christians, some who persevere until the end, and some who do not. Jesus says that no one knows the day of his return. We know that His Second Coming is certain, even if we can’t mark it on the calendar. That should be enough for us. So instead of trying to predict the future, Jesus wants us to prepare for it. It’s a waste of time to try to predict when Jesus will come again. If Jesus revealed to us when he would come again, then we would probably become complacent in our serving God and others, but also in repentance for our sins.
I remember a number of years ago when there was a tsunami warning for the state of Hawaii, and it didn’t look good. All of the sudden there were huge lines of people at Catholic churches asking for confession. At least this tells us that people desired the sacrament, and needed it, even though it was put off. But we shouldn’t have to wait until the last minute. We are all called to be in a state of readiness. The last line of the Gospel passage Jesus says, “Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” So be prepared. Be ready now.
But what about the lamps and the oil? The Fathers of the Church have suggested that the lamps could represent our Christian faith, and the oil our charity or good works. This tells us that faith without good works is useless, or as Saint James says in his Scriptural Letter, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so faith apart from works is dead” (James 2:26). Just as I wouldn’t be able to give my endurance to another runner at the marathon, we aren’t able to give our good works away so another person can use them. And other people can’t give theirs to us if we find ourselves lacking. This is why we need to be diligent and disciplined in our spiritual journey.
The wise disciple, like the wise virgins in the parable, must not only practice temperance and good works, but must also be prepared for this type of lifestyle for as long as it takes to meet the Lord when he comes. The foolish person doesn’t plan for the long haul. Like the foolish virgins, they don’t expect to have to wait and endure to the end.
So how do we keep our lamps filled with the oil necessary to endure until the coming of the Lord? Through prayer, faith, and the sacraments. And it has to be all three without missing one of them. Prayer and faith without sacraments is ineffective; faith and sacraments without prayer is futile; and sacraments and prayer without faith is pointless.
Jesus comes to meet us and is present whenever we celebrate the sacraments—especially in Reconciliation and the Eucharist. And this presence is real. But this is only a foretaste for his second and final coming at the end of time. And just as we are to be properly prepared and disposed to receive Him in Holy Communion, so we are to be prepared and ready for His final coming. We don’t want to be left outside with the door locked only to hear Him say “I do not know you.” I don’t know about you, but to me that has to be one of the scariest phrases of the Bible!
We are called to be like these “wise virgins” in today’s Gospel. Living a disciplined life in the Sprit of Christ prepares us to endure to the end. Then we can receive the grace of God that flows into us continually through prayer, faith and the sacraments.