I love it when I hear an interpretation of a biblical passage that I've never heard before or that I've never considered. Even though I may have read or heard that particular passage many times before, when I discover a new understanding of it, I stop and think it over. Do I agree? Why or why not? How does this differ from my previous understanding of it? Biblical exegesis is a lot of fun and very satisfying. It's like solving a mystery... but even better because you'll never have all the answers and even the answers you thought you knew can often change. This is not to say that the fundamentals of the bible change. They don't: God is love, God loves humanity, God has had a long-standing relationship with humanity, God loves you, you are God's child, the list goes on. But Scripture also grows with you as you mature. This is one of the reasons why faith is never static. It is constantly shifting, developing, changing.
Yesterday at church the Gospel was about one of Jesus' parables.
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. (Mt. 25:1-13)
Jesus is saying that you don't know when your time is up. Suddenly, you will meet God at the pearly gates and you may not be ready. You won't be invited into the banquet hall (Heaven). So be prepared. Don't be foolish with the time God has given you.
This was my initial understanding of this passage. Yesterday during the homily, our priest offered more food for thought. During Jesus' time, light was very important. Once the sun went down, activity ceased for the day. Oil lamps, therefore, were precious. They offered light in the darkness. But a lamp is worthless without the oil inside it. How do we give light? What is our "oil"? Love. We give light by loving those we come into contact with. By being patient, kind, considerate. We need to replenish this "oil" throughout our lives. When the time comes to meet Jesus, we need to be filled up with love. If we're running on "empty", our light will die and we will be left in the dark. And ultimately, we'll miss out on the wedding banquet.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I'm all ears!