Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour

 

Scripture readings for this reflection can be found at Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time | USCCB

In our readings for today’s mass, from 1^st Corinthians and the Gospel of Matthew, we are learning that we are called to live out our lives sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others, and to be ready for the time when we meet our Lord at the end of our lives, whenever that may be.

St. Paul tells us in the first reading from 1^st Corinthians that he came to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. To most people the message of the gospel is foolishness. But it is faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved by the power of God. We have those in our lives that may think it’s foolish for us to follow Jesus Christ. They, like the Jews mentioned in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, demand signs as proof that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Or, like the Greeks, demand that we use the wisdom of this world to explain why God would allow Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. They fail to understand and to accept that Jesus Christ came into this world to suffer death on the cross and to rise on the third day for the forgiveness of our sins. That is how God chose to bring about our redemption. This is the wisdom of God. To people without faith, this doesn’t make sense and lacks wisdom. But it is faith in Jesus Christ that brings us the forgiveness of our sins and salvation.

In the parable about the 10 virgins, we learn that we are to be ready always for the time of the Lord’s return, whether it’s through our own earthly death, or in the final coming of Jesus at the end of time. To gain heaven, we, like the wise virgins need to be ever ready for the time when we meet Jesus face to face. We do this by the regular use of the Sacraments. Frequent use of the Sacrament of Confession when we fall short of loving God and our neighbor, and the frequent reception of the Holy Eucharist. This helps us to be God centered and ready for the Lord’s final coming into our lives, whether through our own death, or at the end of time. Further, we are to live our lives as our Lord has taught us: Love God with our whole mind, heart, and soul, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This, in imitation of the wise virgins, is how we are to be prepared for the eventual coming of the Lord, and to be able to enter the wedding feast known as heaven.

By doing these things, we will be ready for the Lord in whatever time he calls us to himself. We are, like St. Paul, to preach the Gospel to all in our lives, whether by word or by action. Then we will be ready for the bridegroom, Jesus Christ, when we enter the wedding feast of heaven.