32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)
Wis 6:12-16; 1 Thes 4:13-18; Mt 25:1-13
November 12, 2023
'Meet HIM in HIS Unexpected Time'
On seeing certain boys playing foot-Ball, St Don Bosco called out a boy and asked, “what do you do if Jesus comes right now?”, The boy answered, “I will go to confession”. And he called out another boy giving the same question, he said, “I continue to play foot-Ball. What would be the great answer – playing foot-Ball or going to confession? The parable of the wise and foolish virgins presents the custom of a wedding bridegroom going to bring his bride to her new home in Palestine. Each element in the parable reflects a different theme in the life of a Christian with Jesus. On the whole, the parable calls for Being watchful for the Second coming of Christ. His delay challenges our faith.
The second coming of Christ demands for the renewal of our mind and discerns the will of God (Rom 12:1-2). We need to be transformed by renewal of mind. In the language of St Paul the renewed mind is completely different from the attitude of the world. It emphasizes the need of an inner transformation. Jesus’ complaint against the Pharisees was that they behaved one way and lived another way. He called them whiten sepulchers. Zacchaeus and Magdalene turned to Jesus with transformed mind. His coming should find us being watchful and as trust worthy servants for the judgment.
How do we form and nourish the Christian attitude of life? We live in a materialistic society. To the vast majority of society, success is counted in the amount of possessions a person accumulates. Pleasure, is the goal of life. We have to fight against the forces outside of us and, particularly, forces within us that are drawing us into materialism taking away from the Christian life of values. Meeting Jesus our groom requires renewed purity in the heart and a transformed mind.
We can form and nourish our disposition by continually communicating with Jesus. We need to feel his presence and listen to his voice in the noisy fish market. We need to get attracted to his word and friendship in the distractions of life. Today’s first reading speaks about wisdom. The wise are always ready for the Lord because they are always united to him in the distractions as well as noisy markets. We shall be like the wise virgins being watchful and ready to go with the groom, our Savior. Any delay would bring a great tragedy.
The parable teaches us to be Watchful. Our great duty is to attend to the business of our souls with the utmost diligence and circumspection. It warns us that there are certain things which cannot be obtained at the last minute. It is too late for a student to prepare when the day of the examination comes. The time of our Lord's coming is very uncertain. We know neither the day nor the hour. Therefore, every day and every hour we must be ready. One who continued playing the food-Ball was always ready to receive Jesus by practicing Christian virtues.
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