Gospel Reflection For Sunday 12th November 2023

by Fr Brian Maher OMI

Gospel Reflection for Sunday November 12th 2023 | 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Imagine, if you can, that you are living in a time of great suffering and anxiety. You are part of a small group of Jews who followed Jesus of Nazareth and came to see him as the Messiah – the chosen one of God – who would free his people and usher in the Kingdom of God.

When he died on the cross all seemed lost, but then his resurrection from the dead changed everything. It proved that he was truly the Messiah and that the Kingdom of God had come into the world. Jesus would return  very soon, at the head of the armies of God, to vindicate his people, Israel, and to judge its enemies.

However there is a problem for your small group of believers. Almost fifty years have passed and he has not yet appeared.  What’s more, a failed revolt against Roman occupation has brough death and terrible destruction to Jerusalem and the Temple. The Jewish leaders are looking for someone to blame for what has happened and our small, defenceless group is an easy target!  Within the group there are concerns, fears and even doubts.

If you can imagine the situation described above, then you have placed yourself fairly accurately into the shoes of that small group of Jesus-followers (just beginning to be called ‘Christians’) who lived as Matthew was writing his Gospel.

Now take another step and imagine that when your group gathers in secret a week later the leader has with him an account of Jesus’ life written by the great researcher and writer, Matthew. Now you have an opportunity to hear, not just stories about Jesus, but first-hand accounts of the things he said and did, told by eye-witnesses who were there with him.

When the leader opens the document you are all ears. “Surely…”, you say to yourself, “Jesus will have something to say to us about our present suffering?” And then you hear these words: “…At that time 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 took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.  The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.  The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.”

As you listen it is as if scales are falling from your eyes. “This is our story Jesus is talking about…Jesus is telling us this story because he knows and understands our situation. He is coming….he is on his way even now… and we who are his followers must hold firm and continue to share with others the love he showed us. If we lose heart and give up, then his light goes out forever and our world remains always in a place of fear, doubt, confusion and suffering. But if we have courage and carry on spreading his message of Love, then when he comes we will be ready to join him and enter his Kingdom of God.”

Later that evening, as you return home, fleeing from shadow to shadow as you watch for Roman patrols, your heart is lighter than it was earlier. There is within you a new confidence and a new hope. Jesus is on his way to fulfil his promises and he has called us to prepare that way for him.

You see, the Gospels were not written either in a vacuum or in a perfect, peaceful, prayerful place. They were written for real people, living real lives, dealing with the struggles, fears and doubts all of us have.

The entire life of Jesus – his words and actions, his death and resurrection, his miracles and parables, his promise of the coming Kingdom of God – were all spoken to real people and are intended to bring hope and certainty into places of despair and fear.

Today’s parable – the ‘Wise and Foolish Virgins’ – was told by Jesus because he understood what fear was, what doubt was, what anxiety was, and he wanted to bring hope and certainty to those he would leave behind. Just as the bridegroom comes to his wedding, even if he is delayed, so Jesus will come again to be with his people. We must not foolishly lose hope or give up. We must continue to share his message of love to all we meet. Our good works, our willingness to forgive, our compassion, our acceptance of difference, will all be the light that prepares the way for Jesus’ return.

Matthew, when he wrote his Gospel, was aware of the destruction of Jerusalem and the persecution faced by  the small communities of Christians. He knew that by including this parable, told by Jesus many years earlier, he would give renewed hope and life to those who heard it.

When Jesus first told this story he was talking to a people occupied by Rome, to a people who had lost their pride and dignity, to a people crippled by unfair taxes and governed by tyrants. He was telling his disciples that the Kingdom of God was coming and that they would be free again.

When Matthew included this story in his Gospel he was talking to a persecuted people, whose city and Temple were gone and who now lived in fear of their very lives. He was telling them that in Jesus the Kingdom of God had dawned in our world, and that Jesus, like the bridegroom, was already on his way back to them. Just as God had never abandoned his people and had always fulfilled his promises, so he would fulfil his promise to return in glory.

When the Gospel today is proclaimed to us, or read by us, it is God once again saying to us, “Do not lose hope or give in to despair. I am already with you and the time is coming when I will return in glory to reveal the fullness of my Kingdom. Until then you are the people I have chosen to keep my word and my love alive in the world.”

When Jesus spoke, and when Matthew wrote his Gospel we can be certain that those listening understood what was being said and believed it. They did stay strong and they did keep the life and message of Jesus alive through their words, actions, and lifestyles. Many suffered, some died but together they struggled on, never losing hope that Jesus was returning to them.

How can we be sure of this? Because we are here today, listening to these words. If those first Christians did not believe or if they lost hope and gave up, the message of God’s love for us would have faded and died.

Now for the difficult question!

What about me? How do I respond to the same words spoken by Jesus and written by Matthew? Do I feel a return of hope to my life? Does my world look just a bit brighter after hearing them? Or do I hear and then forget? Has apathy or despondency dulled my hearing? Has suffering left me doubting or not believing what Jesus says?

If the latter is true, then be sure God does not judge or condemn. Jesus spoke the words of today’s Gospel to reassure and bring light to a troubled world and a suffering people. That’s what Jesus always wants to do…not judge and condemn…but forgive, reassure and restore hope.

Yes, our world today is troubled and suffering. All around us there is confusion, doubt, fear, anxiety … and into this world Jesus comes again to us. He says: “I need you now just as I needed my first disciples and needed my followers in Jerusalem after the Temple was destroyed. I will return as I promised I would. Until that time I need you to be strong and courageous. Keep my love and forgiveness, my gentleness and tolerance alive in your life, in your family, in your community. When I return I look forward to saying to you, ‘Well done, good and faithful friend. You have trusted in me and kept my word alive and visible. Welcome to the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom I have prepared and kept for you.”

Many thanks,

Brian.

If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection, please feel welcome to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie

The wise and foolish virgins