This coming Sunday is the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time. Our gospel is the parable of the Ten Virgins. 11 Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ 12 But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’

Such is the plaintive cry of those who thought they ought to be included. With the emphatic formula, “Amen, Amen” the following words have the force of a judicial verdict. “”I do not know you.” This dramatic verse carries a profound and symbolic meaning within the context of the parable and possibly underscores several important spiritual concepts:

Spiritual Preparedness: The parable of the ten virgins is a story of readiness for the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven. The five wise virgins represent those who are spiritually prepared and vigilant, while the five foolish virgins represent those who are unprepared and lack spiritual readiness. The statement by the bridegroom highlights the consequences of being unprepared. In the spiritual context, not being “known” by the bridegroom means that one is not recognized as part of the prepared and faithful community.

Personal Relationship: The phrase “I do not know you” also reflects the idea of a personal relationship with God. In the Christian tradition, knowing God is often associated with having a close and intimate relationship with Him through faith and obedience. The unprepared virgins are symbolically shown as lacking this personal relationship with the bridegroom be it through faith or obedience to the Word of God.

Exclusivity of the Kingdom: The statement conveys the exclusivity of the Kingdom of Heaven. In other words, only those who are spiritually prepared, who have a genuine relationship with God, and who have lived in accordance with His teachings will be welcomed into the Kingdom.

Finality: The statement carries a sense of finality and judgment. In the context of the parable, once the door to the wedding feast is shut, it is too late for the foolish virgins to gain entry. This emphasizes the idea that there will be a point of no return in the eschatological events, and individuals must be prepared beforehand.

It is striking that the comparatively trivial lapse of a failure to be provided with oil has come to symbolize an ultimately false relationship; they are not part of Jesus’ true family (12:50).

A Final Thought  Eugene Boring [1994, 451] offers:

Right at the beginning of the parable of the ten bridesmaids, Jesus tells us that five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The reason why he tells us this from the onset is that we cannot tell this just by looking at them. All ten have come to the wedding; all ten have their lamps aglow with expectation, all ten, presumably, have on their bridesmaid gowns. We would never guess from appearances that half were wise and half foolish.

No, it is not the looks, the lamps, or the long dresses that sets the wise apart from the foolish – it’s the readiness. Five of the bridesmaids are ready for the groom to be delayed, but the other five are not. The wise have enough oil for the wedding to start whenever the groom arrives; the foolish only have enough oil for their own timetable. Five are prepared and ready, even for a delay; five are not.

Readiness in Matthew is, of course, living the life of the kingdom, living the quality of life described in the Sermon on the Mount. Many can do this for a short while; but when the kingdom is delayed, the problems arise. Being a peacemaker for a day is not as demanding as being a peacemaker year after year when hostility breaks out again and again, and the bridegroom is delayed. Being merciful for an evening can be pleasant; being merciful for a lifetime, when the groom is delayed, requires preparedness.

At the beginning of the life of faith, you cannot really tell the followers of Jesus apart. They all have lamps; they are all excited about the wedding; they all know who to sing, “Lord, Lord.” Deep into the night, when we spot some persons attempting in vain to fan a dying flame to life, we begin to distinguish wisdom from foolishness.

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