When I think of this parable of the 10 virgins, I always think of flash light tag.
You played it at night and
everyone had a cheap flashlight. If your batteries went dead and you didn’t
have spares, you were at the mercy of the dark. We were kids. We didn’t have spare batteries.
So we would try to share. If
one flashlight went dead, we would take one good battery out of a flashlight
and one dead battery so hopefully both could have light.
If that didn’t work you ran
around in the dark running into trees, tripping over roots, stepping in holes,
and all the dangers darkness brings.
I told this story in another
homily several years ago. After mass, I overheard as an older gentleman looked
at his wife of over 60 years and said, “I am so happy God let me find you.”
They had a special light in
their relationship, the light of Christ.
That’s like the story of the
10 virgins.
This was a custom of that
time, to wait on the wedding party to arrive. Then go out to greet them with
shouts of job and jubilation. If you were lucky you were invited to the wedding
feast.
But, you never knew exactly
when the wedding party would show up. I could be in the middle of the day or
the middle of the night. If it was the middle of the night, the dark was
dangerous. It was actually a law that you couldn’t go outside without a lamp.
We are all called to have the
light in us. It is the light of Christ.
It is a light fueled by faith,
hope, and love. Without those our light will dim.
It is a light fueled by
faith. Wisdom tells us faith is for those who believe. Faith is found by those
who seek. Because of faith, our souls thirst for God.
The light of Christ is
fueled by Hope. St. Paul writes, Hope is more than mere optimism. It is the
knowledge of truth that God has something great in store for us.
The light of Christ is
fueled by love. If Christ is the light
of love in your relationship it will not go out.
Without faith, hope, and
love, it is easy to be left darkness.
Those in the darkness call out: Lord, Lord, open the door for us. We always want to be in the light that is on
God’s side of the door.
Life is complicated by the darkness
all about us. It is easy to fall asleep and become complaisant with darkness. When the bridegroom comes we begin to scramble
to relight our light.
Keep the light of Christ in
you. Never let the light go out. For some that may mean they will have to rethink
their spiritual life.
Lord Jesus, I am so glad God
let me find you those many years ago.
In the next year, there will be two weddings at St. Lawrence. May the light of Christ be in their
marriage. We pray in 60 years those two young couples will look at each other
and say, I so glad “God let me find you.”
We never know the hour when
the bridegroom will come. Be good, be holy, and live the gospel every day.
Amen.
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