November 8th, 2020. 32ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. Mt 25, 1-13
In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus tells us the parable of the ten girls who go to a wedding banquet, and some are foolish and others are wise.
When a few months had passed since the betrothal, the bridegroom and his friends brought the bride to the house of the bridegroom’s family, and there the banquet was held. The bride came in procession with her friends. It was a non-religious ritual and was held in the evening, hence the need for the lamps.
Analysing the parable, what is important is not the people, but the light. Without a lit lamp, nothing was shown in the procession. It was necessary to take the oil that feeds the lamp, which gives light at the cost of consuming the oil. The important thing is to give light, but for it to shine you need the oil.
Jesus had told us: “you are the light of the world”. And we are light if our life illuminates our surroundings. And for that our life must be full of meaning, having found “the true wisdom” that the first reading speaks of. And it will illuminate if the oil it feeds on is love.
Five of the bride’s friends were fools who did not provide themselves with oil, and asked the others, who could not give it to them. If oil is love, one cannot love in the name of another. We cannot neglect to live from love. Being vigilant is not a reference for the end of life, but a call for attention in case we are living without realizing that we may “lack the oil,” living in love.
Juan Ramón Gómez Pascual, cmf
