Matthew 25:1-13

21st Week in Ordinary Time Year 2
1 Corinthians 1:17-25
Matthew 25:1-13

A. Text/Context

• The parable of the 10 virgins is only peculiar to Matthew. It is not found in any other gospels
• In a Jewish culture, a virgin means a young woman or a teenager. That is why the Blessed Virgin Mary is described as a young maiden or a virgin when she bears her Son Jesus
• The parable of the 10 virgins tells us a part of a wedding ceremony in the Jewish culture wherein the 10 teenagers will wait for the groom to fetch his wife and bring her to their new home where they will begin a new life as husband and wife together
• The 10 virgins or young women actually are the relatives of the groom. They are actually grooms maids, contrary to the brides maids that we have in our own wedding ceremony
• And the parable teaches us about the KOH which will come after the Parousia or the last judgment
• Those who will be prepared for the final judgment are like the wise virgins, and those who are not prepared are like the foolish virgins whose lamps ran out of oil when the groom arrives
• And as if to add more injury to the victim, for those unprepared, the door of heaven is closed to them forever where they will knock but they will never be recognized
• Jesus uses this very simple parable to make us understand what the Parousia or the last judgment is all about
• It gives us a very strong message that we must always be prepared in the event that such designated time will soon come

B. Human Situation

• We focus ourselves with the spiritual preparation everyday. What kind of preparation for example?
• If you hurt somebody ask for forgiveness. And if somebody ask for forgiveness grant the forgiveness that is asked for
• Our biggest enemy when it comes to forgiveness is really pride. Sometimes we hear people saying: why do I have to that when I am right? Where did I commit my mistake?
• You might be correct but the fact is that you hurt a person. And those you hurt will also say even if he kneels before me I cannot forgive him
• It becomes very controlling and demanding so that the person who hurt you keeps on following you and demand from him. We want to control the person and it is not charity at all
• So, not one is better between the two. Pride is our greatest enemy. In fact the sin of pride is the reason why humanity has fallen from grace
• Let it be that forgiveness is given while it is not yet too late. When we are so arrogant how can we ask for forgiveness when the one you hurt so much is already dead
• He or she can no longer hear no matter how much you cry because everything is too late
• It can always happen that the person you hurt brings the grief to his grave waiting for you to ask for forgiveness
• And the other way around the person brings his grief to his grave waiting for you to grant forgiveness. Is that charity? Is that love?
• Even if we did our crimes cleanly and no one will prosecute us went to away far from home to escape we will still pay the consequences of our sins because our conscience haunts us
• On the other hand also, how can we grant forgiveness to the ones who ask for it for a long time when our body is already paralyzed
• You can no longer ask for forgiveness when you cannot talk anymore and you can only cry in front of the person you have wronged
• But even with that, it is still possible that the person you have wronged cannot even read your tears asking for forgiveness
• In both cases, the person are all grieving for not asking for forgiveness, and for not granting forgiveness
• I have read that people who have so much hatred and anger in themselves, and people who have so much fear and anxieties are the ones who are very susceptible to be stricken with debilitating diseases
• A very angry heart, a heart full of rancor, a heart full of pride, hateful, and a heart who refuses to let go of the pains of the past will have external manifestations in our physical bodies
• You are happy if you grant forgiveness, and the other side will be even happier if forgiveness is granted. And when you are happy all the body organs will work properly
• So we see the painful effects when the request for forgiveness and the giving of forgiveness is already long delayed. At that moment everything will be futile
• Of course for sure, God knows that you are already repentant, or that you are already prepared to forgive. There is no problem with God
• But the problem is the healing and the reconciliation in order to restore broken relationships
• The offended person and the offending person will no longer appreciate forgiveness
• In that case we are not really prepared for the coming of the KOH

C. Challenge

• The message of the gospel today is for us to be always prepared all the time so that in the event that the final judgment will come, in the event that death will be at our doorstep, or in the event that a horrible and debilitating disease will strike us that will render as invalid we will all be prepared
• There is pain in asking forgiveness because we humble ourselves before God
• There is pain in granting forgiveness because we recall the pains inflicted in us
• But there is greater joy when in the last judgment we all share the glory of God because we have forgiven one another
• If we already have a forgiving heart, then we continue with that, God is pleased
• If not yet, we have to start at this very moment before it’s too late