This coming Sunday is the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time. Our gospel is the parable of the Ten Virgins. At the center of the parable are the “ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise”  Matthew has already used this doublet in the Sermon on the Mount. At the opening of the Sermon, Matthew 5:13, “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” The expression loses its taste, literally “becomes foolish.”

And again at the closing of the Sermon in the parable of the two house-builders (Mt 7:24-27): “Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.” (Mt 5:24-27)

The wisdom/foolishness is centered on having gathered sufficient oil for the task at hand – being vigilant and prepared for the arrival of the bridegroom: The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. (Mt 25:3-4) The portable torches for outdoor use (the word is not the same as that used for a standing domestic lamp in 5:15 and 6:22) would be bundles of cloth mounted on a carrying stick and soaked with oil. The jars held the oil into which the torch was dipped before lighting. A torch without a jar of oil is comparable to a modern flashlight without a battery.

5 Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep.  6 At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. (Mt 25:5-7)

The parable gives the impression that the young women thought they knew when the bridegroom would arrive, and had not reckoned on the delay. A torchlight procession would of course be after dark, but might be expected to be before the middle of the night. The parable thus illustrates both the fact that the time of the parousia is unknown, and may not be as soon as people might expect, and also its sudden, unexpected nature when it does come, the middle of the night being the time when people are at their least alert. By the time Matthew wrote his gospel both these factors might be expected to be in play, with some Christians anxious over the delay of the “imminent” parousia, and others complacent after years of unfulfilled prediction. But the story does not develop as the call to vigilance in the earlier Matthean parables might have led us to expect: the wise ones did not stay awake while their companions slept. All were equally disappointed by the delay, all fell asleep, and all were equally taken by surprise by the eventual shout.

7 Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ 

We do not know whether the torches had been lit when the girls first set out, but if so they would not have stayed burning while they slept; even a well-soaked torch would not burn for much more than a quarter of an hour. So the wise ones would resoak and light their torches, while the attempts of the foolish ones were of course futile: “for our lamps are going out” suggests that as they lighted the torches they immediately went out again, having no more oil to keep them burning. The response of the wise ones to their natural request for a share of the oil may sound selfish, and perhaps in a real life situation they might have been willing to share—though if their supply too was limited, to keep it for themselves ensured that at least some torches would stay alight. But in a parable things do not always happen according to real life, and the hard-nosed realism of the wise girls invites the reader to reflect that spiritual preparedness is not something that others can provide for you: each needs their own oil.

One might note that the idea a merchant would be open in the middle of the night is not realistic, but it is a parable, and such an idea serves a rich irony to the reader in the vain attempt to prepare when it is already too late.

10 While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. 

When the bridegroom arrives, the feast begins. As in other celebrations depicting the blessings of the kingdom of heaven (8:11–12 and 22:1–13). Only those who are prepared will enjoy the celebration.

One odd element, at least for real life, is the closing of the door, which seems out of place in the open hospitality and conviviality of a village wedding; late arrival is not normally an issue in oriental society, certainly not penalized in such a dramatic fashion. But then this is a parable which like so many of the other parables, a story of insiders and outsiders, of the saved and the lost, and the closing of the door symbolizes that final division at the last judgment – which is clearly a theme as one moves through Mt 25.

Image credit: Greek Fresco, “Bridal Chamber”, iconreader.wordpress.com, CC-BY