32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Sunday 12th November 2017)
Keep the flame lit – (Matthew 25:1-13)
Keeping it lit or keep the flame lit: that’s a phrase we might hear nowadays about keeping something going. These ladies in the gospel who are waiting for the bridegroom to come might even have been saying it to each other!
There seems to be a strong metaphor at work in this Gospel. It relates to keeping flames lit. Everyone one of us that has been baptised has been given care of a little flame. It is the flame of hope in the heavenly Kingdom to come. Of course for so many people, when one is a tiny baby, care of this flame falls to their parents or other grown ups. But regardless of this, the flame belongs to each of us and sooner or later if we don’t keep it lit, it will go out.
The story in today’s gospel can help us to understand the responsibility we have in taking care of what was promised to us in baptism. And it does so in a slightly surprising way. It seems a little shocking: the foolish virgins go to the wise ones to ask for oil and the wise ones refuse to give them any! Surely the foolish ones should get a chance to go into the wedding feast? Even at the 11th hour when the time is running out and the bridegroom is about to arrive. But words of the gospel story are clear… “there may not be enough for us and for you”. The foolish virgins are going to miss out, their flame will not survive without oil so they go looking for some. And when the bridegroom arrives they aren’t ready. It’s too late.
Next Sunday is number 50 of the 52 Sundays in the Church year. In a few weeks the 1st Sunday of Advent will start off a new Church year, a new liturgical cycle will begin. And it will begin (as it always does) with the lead up to a birth. So as we come to the end of the Church year the readings start to turn towards the idea of endings, the end of the year, the end of the man’s natural life cycle and to thoughts of what happens afterwards. It’s a mysterious topic. Something we can shy away from. We might prefer to think we will be young forever or we will live forever. But it can and should also be a hopeful topic. With thoughts that when the final moments of our lives come we will be ready to pass over into the eternal wedding feast of heaven.
And so in this Sunday’s gospel we get this reminder of how to prepare for the coming Kingdom of God. The metaphor of taking care of the flame is a lesson for us. You will probably not remember it but on the day of our baptisms a candle was lit from the Pascal candle and handed to our godparents with the words “receive the light of Christ”. As adults, we should open our hearts truly and consciously to receive this light that has been held on trust for us. We should accept this flame as our own to take care of.
This Sunday, if we need it, we get a little reminder, to stock up on oil, to keep the wick trimmed and to keep the flame lit!
Fr. Declan Lohan