Of Things Divine and Orange

By: Fr. Bryan Timby

The Gospel today, my friends, is very clear in its lesson. Stay awake! Pay attention! Be prepared!

In our western culture we don’t see wedding celebrations of the sort described in the parable of the ten virgins waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom, but they are still common place in the Middle East even two thousand years after Jesus spoke to the people of their need to be prepared for the Messiah. People are invited to the wedding feast on the appointed day but there is no specific time, so they come early and then wait for the groom to arrive with his friends. It could be at noon, the ninth hour, or the 12th. It could be well into the night, so everyone just waits and parties. And the bride's family provides everything, even the open bar.

We are so programmed to running our lives by the clock that the concept of just waiting for the groom to arrive is foreign to us. We’d be making ourselves crazy asking questions like “Will there be any food leftover when the groom gets here?” or “They’re drinking all the good wine while they wait” or “The photographer is taking too many picture. How much is this going to cost me?” or “The band charges by the hour; and they’re not cheap!” I suspect the folks in Cana ran out of wine because the groom and his friends stopped for a little celebration of their own on the way to the village – an ancient Bachelor Party, if you will.

When the groom didn’t arrive in a timely fashion and day slipped into night, the bridesmaids, whose job it was to led the groom to his betrothed, were expected to be extra observant. But the day had been long and five of the maidens had not anticipated such a long wait so they were short of oil for their lamps. When the groom finally arrived, only the lamps of those who had prepared for the unexpected were ready to meet him, and it is these that Jesus says we should emulate because it is those who are ready and waiting for him that he will recognize and know.

We all have been given the graces of salvation. Some of us safeguard them in every way imaginable. We go to Mass as often as we possibly can. We stop and pray throughout the day. We read holy literature such as the lives of the saints, scriptural commentaries, and the inspirational writings of the ages. Our Bibles don’t have time to collect dust on the end table. We avail ourselves of the sacramental graces of Confession whenever the opportunity arises. We truly thirst for the Lord and want to be prepared for the moment our Bridegroom arrives to greet us.

It is not just priests and women and men religious that make these practices a part of their daily lives. Ordinary men and women, boys and girls can be found waiting anxiously for the Groom. Evidence of this is reflected in the numbers of people at Holy Rosary who have made Confession and daily Mass a part of their everyday lives. And I’m not talking just old folks, but young men and women, struggling mothers and fathers, college students. It is an answer to my prayers to see these numbers growing and so edifying to know that there are people who thirst for a deeper knowledge of God.

Some people, on the other hand, can’t be bothered. They ignore the road signs the Church has posted as aids to being prepared. They don’t give a second thought to ignoring holy days of obligation or skipping Sunday Mass if something more enticing or relaxing comes along. They haven’t been to Confession in years, maybe not since they went the first time. Sometimes it is because they are frightened of confessing their sins to a priest. Or, it might be that they presume they are forgiven all their sins, forgetting that it is the Church to whom Jesus gave the power of the keys to bind and loosen sin both on earth and in heaven. Sometimes they just refuse to practice acts of penance because they have convinced themselves that it is medieval to punish themselves or deny themselves any pleasures the world has to offer.

Now, most people, and that’s us, just find that they are too busy to engage in a meaningful relationship with Jesus. They are good people. They go to Mass on Sunday. They honor the holy days. They make sure their children are educated in the Faith. But!, they have to get the kids to school and then get themselves to work. They don’t get home from work before they are picking up kids and taking them to practice of some kind or to scouts or to a game. Then there are their social functions, clubs and Bonko parties. And heaven forbid they miss their favorite television shows. It’s amazing how many people these days won’t leave their homes out of fear of missing out on the latest scandal from Wisteria Lane. Even on the busiest of days there seems to be enough time for Desperate Housewives and Survival. Of course, they’re too tired at the end of the day to pray.

Jesus asks us to be like the five virgins who brought extra oil. If we prepare for the unexpected, it is easy to deal with the expected.

Many workplaces nowadays have groups that get together to pray or for Bible Study. Check them out or start one. Don’t be afraid if the others are Baptist or Presbyterian. I’ll guarantee that you know a lot more about the Bible that you think you do.

Instead of reading the most recent bestselling book by John Grisham or John Patterson, read a biography of a Church Hero every now and again. You don’t have to give up what you like. Just add the lives of the saints to your library so you can learn how ordinary people hungered and thirsted for the Lord even as they tended to their responsibilities as parents, spouses and grandparents and were able to grow in extraordinary ways.

Schedule time to pray every day, and keep the appointment. Yes, God will always be there for us, but it is our faithfulness to the relationship that reveals what is most valuable in our lives.

Recommit to participation in all Sunday and Holy Day liturgies and other special church celebrations through the year, like the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Prayer Service. Put them on a calendar and when a “better” offer comes along simply say that there is a previous commitment that must be kept. Or, better yet, invite your friends to join you.

Get involved in some ministry to the poor, the sick or disadvantaged. There is no lack of opportunity to get involved in Memphis. Remember, the poor and the hungry are poor and hungry all year long, not just at Thanksgiving and Christmas. The St. Vincent DePaul Society would welcome you and your willingness to help.

All the saints were ordinary people just like us who thirsted for the Lord and had the wisdom to prepare for his arrival through prayer and involvement in the needs of others. Remember, before anything else, our vocation, our call form God, is to be saints. That is, we are to be the light that leads others to Christ the Lord, their Bridegroom.

None of us knows the hours of the Lord’s return. For some, it will be soon, even tonight. For others, it may be many years from now. For all of us, it could be in an instant just moments from now. So we ask ourselves, “Am I ready? Will I be prepared? Am I paying attention and stocking up on the things that are considered treasure in heaven or do I tend to be complacent and nod off to sleep or get distracted by the things of this world?”

It is not easy to stay vigilant. It’s not easy to wait. But wait we must.

Are you prepared? There is no excuse not to be. God supplies what we need every day. And it doesn’t cost even a penny. It is freely given.

So, if today Jesus is telling us to be prepared and asking if we are ready, I have just one question for you:

Got oil?