A Homily for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
I read somewhere that the most common image of God’s relationship with us is that of marriage. One only needs to read the book of the Prophet Hosea to see one beautiful reflection on how YHWH looked upon Israel as His bride – although a frequently unfaithful one. This use of marital imagery continues in the New Testament with Jesus’ parable of the ten virgins that we heard today. In fact, Pope John Paul II, in his work that has become known as the Theology of the Body, teaches that this marital imagery must not be looked at as a mere metaphor, rather it describes the essential quality of the relationship between the Church and God. Christ is the Bridegroom and the Church is the Bride. With this being the case, it is helpful to have an understanding of the marriage customs of Jesus’ day.
During Jesus’ time, a bride was first “betrothed,” often at a very young age, to her husband but continued to live with her family. Then at some appointed time, often months later, the bridegroom would come to “claim” her. Then the bridegroom would lead his bride, her family and the bridal party to the wedding feast that would inaugurate and celebrate the bridegroom’s and bride’s new life together. To properly understand the parable we must keep this background in mind.
As I have already mentioned, Jesus is the Bridegroom and the Church is His Bride. It is in such a manner that Jesus fulfills the promise that God made to join Himself to His people as a husband cleaves to his bride. As members of the Church, we are the bridal party – in this parable represented by the ten virgins.
At our baptism the priest, acting in the Person of Christ, claimed us for Christ with the Sign of the Cross. This was our betrothal to Christ, our first commitment to a permanent, faithful, fruitful and holy life with Jesus our Lord and Savior. However we are still in our parents’ home, awaiting our Bridegroom to come and claim us, and then to take us to His home to celebrate our new life together. It is not surprising that in the Book of Revelation heaven is described as an everlasting wedding feast.
However we are not there yet. While the Kingdom of God has been initiated by the life, passion, death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, there is still a “not-yet” aspect to it. While this home, our earthly life is important and good, we should be awaiting our eternal home in heaven. Sacred Scripture says that in this life we are foreign pilgrims. The Greek word used in the New Testament for the word “pilgrim” is “paroikos,” which comes from the word for “next” (para) and “house” (oikias). Thus the Greek word “paroikias,” which we translate as “parish,” and indicates that we are living in a provisional house. Our next house will be our permanent home.
The life of Christians is a life of pilgrimage and exile. Christians are “in” the world, but not “of” the world (cf. John 17:11,16). Their true homeland is in heaven, and they await Jesus Christ the savior to come (cf. Philippians 3:20). They do not have a stable dwelling, but are on the way to their future one (cf. Hebrews 13:14). The whole Church is no more than a great “parish.” The second-century letter to Diogenes defines Christians as men who “inhabit their own homelands, but as foreigners; they participate in everything as citizens, but endure everything as foreigners; every foreign land is their homeland, and every homeland is foreign to them.” (This paragraph is taken from commentary on the parable of the ten virgins given by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher of the Pontifical Household.)
The parable in today’s Gospel asks us what type of “virgin” are we? Are we members of the bridal party who are prepared for the coming of our Bridegroom? Do our souls thirst for God as today’s psalm says we should? Are we ready to welcome the Lord, whenever He comes?
Or are we one of the “virgins” who act with the foolishness of indifference? The foolish virgins in the parable failed to appreciate the seriousness of the occasion, for if they had they would have brought what was needed. In the spiritual life we too often see this same indifference to God. People only come to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation when they can conveniently “fit it into their schedule.” There is no quest for the Holy Spirit; whatever faith is present becomes less active. Life continues with God’s concerns put on the “back burner,” until the end is near. However, in truth, we never really know when the end is near.
We must not be indifferent! We must recognize the seriousness of the occasion, the joy of the Kingdom of God. We must be prepared. When we see a person making their way to church on a snowy morning, we see that they have oil in the lamp. When we help a person carry a heavy bag, whether of groceries or of psychological baggage, or we visit a shut-in, bring the Good News to the sick and lonely, it is clear that the bridegroom is expected.
“It is important to stop and think about the consuming interests of our life. Yet there is really nothing more important than our life with God” (The Paulist Liturgy Planning Guide: Year A, edited by Lawrence Boadt, CSP and Celine Allen, p. 252). We should cry out to God with today’s psalmist, “I will remember you upon my couch, and through the nightwatches I will meditate on you.”
