The Parable Against Sharing

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
    This is the sort of Gospel that a young kid wants to hear: the ladies who had enough oil didn’t have to share with the ladies who used up all of theirs.  Where was this Gospel when someone wanted me to share my Halloween candy with other kids?

    Of course, sharing is generally a good thing.  We have a responsibility to care for others, especially those who do not have enough.  But what are we to make of this parable?  Because the five wise virgins didn’t share their oil with the five foolish virgins who burnt theirs all up, and Jesus commends the wisdom of the five.  And Jesus commends them because there was a chance that, if the five wise virgins shared, they would have run out of oil, and you would have had ten foolish virgins, rather than just five.
    The main point of the parable is that, when it comes to welcoming Christ, one ought to be ready at all times, and nothing should stand in the way of making sure that we are ready.  The five wise virgins are praised because they focused on welcoming the bridegroom above everything else.  While those who were not ready for the bridegroom’s return were left outside, and though they were invited to the wedding, because of their foolishness, the bridegroom says, “‘I do not know you.’” 
    St. Paul describes the day of Christ the Bridegroom’s return as a day that will come “with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God.”  On that day, as we will hear on the Feast of Christ the King, God will separate the just from the unjust, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  For the sheep it will be a day of great rejoicing as they are led into heaven.  For the goats it will be a dies irae, a day of wrath, as God respects their rejection of Him and they are locked outside in the fires of Hell.
    The sequence, Dies Irae, used to be said or sung at every funeral before the liturgical reforms of Vatican II.  And if you only pay attention to the first two stanzas, it does seem quite harsh:
 

Day of wrath and doom impending!
David’s word with Sibyl’s blending,
Heaven and earth in ashes ending!

Oh, what fear man’s bosom renders,
When from heaven the Judge descendeth,
On whose sentence all dependeth.

Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;
Through the earth’s sepulchers it ringeth;
All before the throne it bringeth.

But the later verses display great faith and confidence in Christ’s salvation:

Faint and weary, Thou has sought me,
On the Cross of suffering bought me.
Shall such grace be vainly brought me?…

Through the sinful woman shriven,
Through the dying thief forgiven,
Thou to me a hope hast given….

With Thy sheep a place provide me,
From the goats afar divide me,
To Thy right hand do Thou guide me.

And this is the point of being ready: that when we are prepared for Christ to return at any time, the surprise of when it actually happens will be a joyful one, rather than the fearful surprise of Christ’s return if we live in a way that shows that we do not want to be with Him eternally.  It’s like the difference between being a kid left home alone, but doing all the chores that mom and dad asked you to do, and they get home earlier than expected and being a kid left home alone, figuring you have plenty of time to do those chores, so you’re going to leave it to the end, but then you’re having so much fun you don’t realize how quickly time is passing, and then mom and dad come home early.  The return is the same; your reaction can be quite different.
    How do we live like the wise virgins, then?  How do we keep our lamps trimmed so that our oil does not run out, and when the Bridegroom does return, we can still have lit lamps?  Part of the best advice is to keep Christ at the front of your mind throughout the day.  How often do you think about Jesus throughout the day?  How often do you make a short prayer, or even just the sign of the cross as you progress through the daily grind?  When we remember Christ, we tend to remember better how He taught us to live, and we are more likely to follow through than if we don’t keep our Lord in mind.
    Do we keep death in front of us?  No one hopes for an early death, but no one plans for an unexpected death, either.  That’s why they call it unexpected.  If we are doing our best to avoid sin, and making regular confessions, then we’ll be ready, either for death or for Christ’s return, which is closer today than it was yesterday.  One mortal sin on our soul at the time of death could erase the years of grace that we have lived.  So avoid those sins at all costs, or if you do fall, make sure you’re going to confession and working on eradicating those sins from your life, which is only possible with God’s grace anyway.
    Today’s Gospel does not tell us that we shouldn’t share.  But it does tell us to make sure that we spare no attention in preparing ourselves for the return of the Bridegroom and welcoming Him.  May the day of the Bridegroom’s return not catch us off guard, and so become a dies irae, but may it rather fulfill our lifelong hopes and joy of waiting for Christ, and so, as the Dies Irae chants, “Call [us] with Thy saints surrounded.”

Preparation

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Most of you probably know that I spent a lot of time with the Powers Catholic Boys Soccer team, including being at the State Championship game, which they won, on Saturday, 4 November.  During the summer I was going to attend their conditioning workouts, both to be involved with the team (which is part of my outreach to the youth), as well as to get back in shape.  I only made one conditioning workout, which proved how out of shape I am!  But it was amazing to me to see all the hard work they put in during the summer, and then, once practices could begin, knowing all the drills they would to prepare for the games.  That preparation paid off, as they won the vast majority of their games, won all of the games in the post season, and only allowed two goals in the post season.  Their goal from the beginning of the season was to win a State Championship, and their preparation helped them to achieve that goal. 

In the Gospel today, and in the next few weeks, even in Advent, Jesus will talk about being prepared for the end of time, when Jesus, the Bridegroom, will return.  And in today’s parable, He talks about those who are wise virgins, prepared for the Bridegroom at any time, and those who are foolish virgins, those who are only ready if the Bridegroom returns quickly.  What may astound us in this parable is that Jesus does not talk about the wise virgins sharing their oil.  In fact, the wise virgins worry that there won’t be enough oil for both, so they keep their provisions to themselves.  Shouldn’t the wise virgins have shared what little they had?

But the point of this parable is that when it comes to Jesus’ return, we have to be prepared, and nothing should distract us from that goal.  If we take our eye off the prize, if we let our preparation slip, then there’s a chance that we will be left outside, and will hear the very sad words, “‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’”  

Think of all the things you prepare for.  I’m a planner, so I love preparing; I hate having things left to the last minute.  I prepare for homilies (as much as I can), I prepare for vacations, I prepare for retirement, I’m even prepared for my funeral (the Diocese of Lansing encourages us to have plans made, since we never know when an angry parishioner might do us in!).  But can I honestly say that I’m ready for Jesus to return?  Some days are better than others.

We can put so much energy into things that will fade away.  Right now, probably the thing that so many people put time and energy into is sports.  Sports are great; they teach valuable lessons and help develop the body and mind.  But in these days, sports is like a God.  Everything else goes to the wayside, including many times people’s relationship with God, especially in Mass, because of sports.  And to miss a game or a practice can have a detrimental on the athlete him or herself or even on the entire team.  But when the Bridegroom returns, when Jesus comes back, would we be more ashamed that we let our team down, or that we didn’t make time for Jesus?  

The Dodgers just lost the World Series to the Houston Astros.  In 1965 the Dodgers were also in the World Series.  And one of their best pitchers, Sandy Koufax, refused to pitch in Game One because it fell on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, one of the Jewish holydays.  The Dodgers lost that game, 8-2, but won the World Series, 4 games to 3.  Koufax was probably seen as letting his team down in that first game.  But I would guess he felt that his relationship with God was more important even than the World Series.

There are other things that we can put ahead of our relationship with God than sports.  But as Catholics, we are called to put God and our practice of the faith, including going to Mass and attending CCD, at the first place in our lives.

It can be hard to live always waiting for Jesus’ return.  That’s why in this month of November, we especially remember the four last things: death, judgement, Heaven, and Hell.  We put those things at the front of our mind as a way of saying, “Life is short; I need to have my priorities straight.”  It’s not morbid, and it’s not scrupulous.  Living as if we could die any day is both realistic (we never know what could happen), as well as a good way of making sure that we are ready for the Bridegroom’s return.  It doesn’t mean we can’t plan for retirement or plan for the future in general, but it does mean that even those plans are put in their proper order, and that we’re not making decisions that make us set for this life, but in danger in the life to come.  Not everybody goes to heaven.  Jesus Himself refers to the path to heaven as a narrow way.  But by living with the mindset that the Bridegroom could return any day, we are more likely to stay on that path.  

The prize of heaven is even more important than a State Championship or a World Series or a Super Bowl.  State Championships and World Series and Super Bowls will eventually end.  Heaven and hell are forever.  “‘Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.’”

Marathon Mindset

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

            Before the beginning of the school year, all the Catholic School teachers from the Diocese of Lansing met at Lansing Catholic for an in-service.  One of the teachers from Queen of the Miraculous Medal parish in Jackson texted me in the middle of the in-service and wrote, “We were just in the gym at Lansing Catholic, and I saw school records in track held by Strouse.  Are those yours?”  I had to reply, “No.  While I did run track, I never broke any school records.  Those are my sisters.” 

            Allison, my youngest sister, graduated from Lansing Catholic in 2006 and holds records in the 200 and 400m dash, and the 400, 800, and 1600m relay.  Amanda, my other sister, also ran track, but really excelled in cross-country.  In fact, one of the awards at Aquinas College is named after her, based upon her skills on the course and in the classroom.  Amanda was always a really good long distance runner, and she just completed her first marathon a few weeks ago in Grand Rapids.  I think she get it from my parents, both of whom ran cross country, and both of whom have run marathons, including Boston.

            Marathon runners have a different way of thinking about things.  They’re in it for the long haul.  They don’t have to accomplish everything in a short period of time.  They have a long ways to run, and they know that if they just keep a good, steady pace, they’ll make it to the end.

            There’s no evidence that the wise virgins were marathon runners, but they certainly had that way of looking at life.  They were most concerned about being ready when the bridegroom was coming.  They knew it wasn’t simply about getting their first.  They had to make sure that they had enough oil to make it to the end.  The foolish virgins, on the other hand, were not thinking about the end, but expected the bridegroom to come shortly. 

            It doesn’t take a Scripture scholar to recognize that this parable is about the return of Jesus at the end of time.  In these last weeks of Ordinary Time we pay particular attention to the end of the world as a reminder that what we have now is not always going to be here.  The world will not continue forever.  Jesus will return to usher in a new heaven and a new earth, where the sinful will go to their eternal punishment of separation from God, as their actions while on earth showed they wanted, while the just will go to their eternal reward of perfect happiness with God in heaven, as their actions while on earth showed their wanted. 

            Recently, there has been no small number of people claiming the world is going to end soon.  It’s as if they forgot to read our second reading today, where St. Paul has to calm the Thessalonians down because they’re worried about the short term: some of their friends and family members have died before Jesus came again, so what’s going to happen to them?  St. Paul takes the “marathon” approach, reminding the people that, although Christ hasn’t yet returned, he will, and those who have fallen asleep in death will be raised first, then we who remain will be caught up with the dead “in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.”  In other words, St. Paul is telling them to be the wise virgins who are keeping oil for their lamps so that, whenever the Divine Bridegroom comes, they will be ready.

            Our Divine Bridegroom, Jesus, is Wisdom incarnate, the Wisdom we heard about in the first reading.  If we love the Lord, then we will receive Him; if we seek Him, then we will find Him.  If we wait for Him at the dawn, then we shall not be disappointed.  Our entire life: marriage, family, work, school, recreation: all of it has to be entered into with the mindset of the wise virgins or the marathon runners.  If we are living life each day in a Christ-centered way, waiting for the return of our Lord and Savior, then the coming of Christ will not shock us, or confuse us, but will be the finish line to the steady pace we’ve been keeping.  It means that we strive, to the best of our ability, to be ready at any moment for the Lord to return and welcome His faithful disciples into his Heavenly Kingdom.

            Otherwise we are like the foolish virgins, the ones who figure, “I’ve got time; I’ll have my fun today, doing whatever I want, and then, when I’m older, I’ll be sorry and change my ways.”  What happens to those people is that the coming of Christ, whether in death or at the second coming, catches them off guard; they are not prepared.  And then they have to go and get more oil for their lamps, and while they are gone, the doors are locked, and, no matter how much we cry to be let in, the Bridegroom will say, “‘Amen I say to you, I do not know you.’”

            Keeping that steady pace means keeping a daily habit of prayer, communication with the Lord Jesus, of brining our faith into all that we do, rather than compartmentalizing our lives into different segments, some of which we use our faith, but others of which are purely secular, where we feel Jesus has no place.  Keeping extra oil means that we live a life of regular repentance through personal acts of penance like giving up certain foods or certain good things, not just in Lent, but each month and each week, to train ourselves to be focused mainly on Jesus.  Being ready for the Bridegroom to come means that we prepare our hearts and souls through the Sacraments to welcome Him who is communicated though the Sacraments.  For, “whoever for [Wisdom’s] sake keeps vigil shall quickly be free from care.”