BEING WISE AND PRUDENT (To be part of the Kingdom of God)
First Reading : Wisdom 6: 12-16
Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18
Gospel Reading: Matthew 25: 1-19
*First reading is from the book of Wisdom. Wisdom is personified and praised. The Lord God instructs us that Wisdom can be found by all those who seek her sincerely. And she is discerned by those who love her. Further, those who are worthy of Wisdom will find her.
*Second reading is from the first letter of St. Paul to Thessalonians. Paul consoles the Christian community at Thessalonica who were worried about the fate of their loved ones who died. He assures them and us that God will raise them up as He raised up Jesus Christ. Paul speaks about the second coming of the Lord which will be sudden and unexpected. Only those who have been eagerly waiting for Him and are preparing themselves to meet Him will have the joy of His presence.
The parable of the ten virgins Today's Gospel reading is from St. Matthew. The parable of the ten virgins is narrated and explained to us by Jesus for our reflection and action. A wedding celebration takes place where ten virgins(brides-maids) go to meet the bridegroom with their lamps (as was the custom of the Palestine at that time because the wedding takes place after sunset). Out of the ten, five are foolish who do not take extra oil for their lamps. However, the other five are wise and they take extra oil for their lamps. The bridegroom and party arrive late at night. When the bridegroom arrives, the foolish virgins could not light their lamps because they have no oil with them. As result, they are unable to join the wedding. On the other hand, the wise virgins light up the lamps with the oil they have carried along and they join the celebrations. 1.The parable warns us that there are certain things in the world which cannot be obtained at the last minute as it happened in the case of the foolish virgins. 2. It tells us that we should keep awake and be ready when the Lord comes into our lives - it may be at an unexpected hour. 3. The parable reminds us that there are certain things in life that we cannot borrow. The foolish virgins found it impossible to borrow oil when they needed it most. A person cannot borrow a relationship with God. A person cannot borrow a character. He or she must be clothed with it. Hence, the oil for our heavenly journey has to be acquired by each one.
"A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool." - William Shakespeare
"Many receive advice, only the wise profit from it." - Harper Lee
"Do not be wise in words, be wise in deeds." - A Jewish Proverb
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