26 August 2022
Friday of the Twenty-First Week in Ordinary Time
The parable of the ten wise and ten foolish virgins that we hear in today’s gospel is not meant to be a lesson in fending for ourselves in a selfish world ruled by a merciless and uncertain God. Neither one of those interpretations is Christian. Rather, what the parable means to highlight is the gift of our lives and the gift of our free will. Like the virgins, we do not know when the bridegroom is coming. We do not know when we will meet our Lord or when our lives on this earth will come to an end. What we can say, however, is that we have free will, and we can engage it in order to be prepared to meet him like the ten virgins who came prepared with oil. Though we are formed, taught, and supported by others around us, engaging our free will is always a personal effort. We cannot borrow their oil.
It is true that the world is uncertain. Life can be uncertain as well. This can leave us scared, restless, and even paralyzed. But, as the psalm today reminds us, “the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.” This goodness is found without, but also within our very hearts. To this, I would add, “healing.” The earth is full of God’s healing. This is certain, this is true. Let us then live this life fully and gratefully trusting in the goodness and healing that comes from God and engaging our will always to meet him in this life and the next.