Jesus told his disciples this parable: "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, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry, 'Behold, the bridegroom. Come out to meet him!" Then all
Those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.' But the wise ones replied, 'No, for there may not be enough for us and for you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.' While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards the other virgins came and said, 'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!' but he said in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.' Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour."
The Gospel of the Lord.
The Parable
1. Matthew 25:1-13
2. The “virgins” represent those in the kingdom, or the church
3. The coming of the bridegroom represents the Second Coming of Christ
4. The “lamps” represent the faith of Christians
5. The “extra oil” symbolizes good works that accompany our faith
6. Jesus proclaims this parable to teach us the urgent need to always be prepared for His Second Coming.
Conclusion: there will come a time when Christians no longer have time to repent. Up to that time, if not prepared, one can put one's affairs in order. But at that time, if you are still not prepared, the door will be locked against you. What is that time - death or the end of the world. At death, if one complies with the First Fridays, God has promised a priest at your death (one of the twelve promises of the Sacred Heart of Jesus - St. Margaret Mary Alcoque). But the end of time will come with no warning and no opportunity to prepare further. The door will be locked. That is a reason to fear the Lord.
Now, it's often said that the God of fear is the Old Testament God, and the New Testament God is the God of love, isn't it?
For example, it's clear from reading the Old Testament that fear of the Lord is closely bound up with obedience to the Lord. We saw that in the first verse of our Psalm 112, Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands. Fearing the Lord and obeying the Lord are often used almost interchangeably.
In the New Testament, specifically, three times in John chapters 14 and 15 Jesus says if anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. So the New Testament motivation for obedience is love, just as the Old Testament motivation was fear. It's neat, isn't it?
Is that it? No. C.S. Lewis in his Tales of Narnia, has the Christ-figure Aslan be a lion. To the question, "Is he tame?", C.S.Lewis answers, "Of course not. He is a lion. But he is good." God is more than loving, he is also fearsome. He is fearsome for our own good, he is fearsome so that we might obey his laws. And God's laws are given to us for our own good. And that is the point of the parable of the ten bridesmaids. The bridesmaids will be there to guide us at the final day. That is the purpose of their lamps but if their lamps have no oil they cannot guide us and if the final day comes when they are unprepared, the gates to the kingdom will be locked against us.
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