Dear Folks,

This Sunday we hear of bridesmaids with their lamps.

Matthew does something interesting. He bookends Jesus’ public teaching with the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) in the beginning and three parables about the Last Judgment (Matthew 25) at the end. It says that He taught in synagogues before this but doesn’t give us content. Now we get serious.

The Sermon on the Mount gives a summary of how to live as a Christian, more about what we are to become rather that do’s and don’t’s. I have talked before how this is presented as a new Torah, but we would not consider the sermon to be the new Torah, but Jesus Himself is the new Torah. It ends with a story of building a house. Jesus contrasts wise men (phronimos: wise, shrewd, prudent, clever, cunning crafty) and foolish men (moros, from with we get the word “moron”). It is not enough to hear it. We must decide that it is the way to live and seek to live it.

The three parables, which are our Gospel readings for the next three weeks, finishing off the liturgical year, form the end. The first is this Sunday’s Gospel and contrasts wise bridesmaids who bring extra oil for their oil lamps (though now they would bring extra batteries for their smart phones) and foolish ones who do not, and are not prepared for a long wait. It is not enough to begin. We must be prepared to endure.

It is good to look in between for development of those ideas. See when Jesus says that he who holds out to the end will be saved (Matthew 10:22; 24:14). We don’t know if we will die today or live for many years. Jesus calls us to be ready in either case. If we died today, are we ready? What would we wish we had done? If we live for several more years, how will we live? C. S. Lewis, in his book “The Screwtape Letters,” Screwtape (senior devil) says to his nephew Wormwood, “You see, it is so hard for these creatures to persevere (see letter 28).” Being serious about a sprint is one thing. Being serious for a marathon is another. Are we prepared?

One of the things we can think about is what kind of habits are we developing? Whatever we do repeatedly is forming a habit. Emerson said, “Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.” Whetever our age, we are called to have our lamp burning.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim