MATTHEW 25: 1-13
25: 1 Then the kingdom of heaven will be or is compared to the parable of the ten virgins who went with their lamps to meet the bridegroom. 25: 2 Five of them were wise and the other five virgins were foolish. 25: 3 The foolish foolish virgins who took their lamps did not take any oil with them; 25: 4 But the wise men took oil in their vessels and in their lamps. 25: 5 And after the husband was very late, all of them nodded with sleep and fell asleep. 25: 6 And just at midnight a cry was heard: Here comes the bridegroom; Come out to greet him! 25: 7 Then all these virgins arose and cleaned their lamps. 25: 8 And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil; Because our lights are going to go out 25: 9 But the wise wise virgins answered and said: So that they may not fail, go to those who sell oil and buy for yourself. 25:10 But when they were about to buy, the man came; and those who were prepared went with him to the wedding; and the door closed. 25:11 Then the other foolish virgins came and exclaimed, Lord, Lord, open to us. 25:12 But he answered and said, Truly I say to you, I do not know you. 25:13 Watch now, for you do not know the day or the hour when the Son of Man will come.
Reflection:
The main theme of this parable is the need to always be prepared as children of God for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ from heaven, to take them to the nations and the entry of the climate into the eternal kingdom. Identifying the ten virgins, five of whom are wise and five foolish, is the key to clarifying the purpose of the parable. The five wise men represent those who do the will of God while waiting for the bridegroom, according to the commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the five fools are those who are not prepared for the coming of the Lord, because they remain firm. by not doing the will of God.
According to the Gospel of Matthew, this parable comes after the message of the Lord Jesus Christ about the end of time, hence the importance of being prepared in prayer and devotion for his work in anticipation of his arrival. This is how he puts it in Luke 21: 34-36 “But be careful that your heart is not overwhelmed by gluttony and drunkenness or by the anguish of life, so that day does not come suddenly. Because it will fall like a trap on all the inhabitants of the face of the earth. Therefore, always be alert and pray that you are considered worthy to escape everything that will happen and present yourself before the Son of Man ”; For this reason, God calls us to be attentive, to always ask to do his will, because he will fall like a trap on those who inhabit the face of the earth.
Many people in the Church are not very aware of the teachings of Titus 2: 12-13 ”and they teach that we, renouncing infidelity and worldly desires, live in this age sober, just and divine, waiting for the blessed hope and the glorious manifestation. . of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ ”who urges us to hope for the blessed hope; This is produced by the Holy Spirit, with wisdom and revelation, it is given by grace, we cannot lose sight of the fact that we do not have a permanent city without the one who comes.
The details of the wedding, the wedding procession, the lamps, are arranged according to the customs of Jewish weddings in the time of Jesus, for the West the celebration of weddings in this way is not so familiar. But let’s take other details of the parable, the foolish women did not get enough oil for their lamps, they were careless, but as the man was late, they nodded and fell asleep; They trusted themselves and thought that they had organized everything, they were not careful with the instructions for the preparations for the groom.
The Lord Jesus Christ in the section of temptation who dwelt in the desert teaches us that spiritual strength comes through the daily bread, the word of God, but if we believe that we went to church on Sunday, and what we receive will sustain us until the next day. time does not prepare our minds and hearts for the days of the week, and we cannot bear the temptation; although all the virgins fell asleep in the parable, which is emphasized in their preparation for the wedding; This is exactly what our Savior calls us to daily eat the bread of life, to be able to resist, endure, wait patiently until our Lord and Savior comes from heaven, with his angels on fire.
When the fools asked the wise men about the oil, and they told them to go shopping, it is not that they were selfish, it was that they were thinking about sustenance, it teaches us that salvation is individual, not in a group; Every Christian is responsible for his actions, and if he has received the word of God by grace, he cannot underestimate the gift of salvation, but he will have the consequences of rejecting this great salvation.
When our Savior comes, many will say open to us, open the door for us, the Lord answers that I do not know them. If we believe that, because we go to church several times a week, or if we are even servants of the local church, we will have guaranteed entry to the eternal kingdom, we are wrong, what God wants is for us to do his will. , in body and spirit, as the text clearly says in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7: 21-23 “Not everyone who says to me: Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven; the will of my Father in heaven. On that day many will say to me: ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name we cast out demons, and in your name we performed many miracles?’ But I say clearly: “I never knew you. Get away from me, you wicked!
Doing the will of God is that many do not want to give the arm to turn, because the enemy has deceived their hearts at a certain point in the Christian life and has made them believe that what God wants is for us to do what our stubborn heart wants. . all the time, but God, our Heavenly Father, knows that this is the only thing that really suits us, because he always wants to do us good. We must go through Gethsemane, cry out in agony, so that the stubbornness of the heart is replaced by obedience, which will bring us joy in God. Doing God’s will is a lifelong process as Christians, but surely God will fulfill all the beautiful promises he has made to those who love him.
Quotes for meditation:
Matthew 26: 40-41
26:40 When he came to his disciples, he found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, Why couldn’t you watch with me one hour?
26:41 Awake and pray that you will not enter into temptation. The spirit is really willing, but the flesh is weak.
Mark 14:36
And he said: Abba, Father, all things are possible for you; take this cup away from me; but not what I want, but what you.
1 Peter 4: 7
But the end of everything is near; therefore be sober and watch in prayer.
1 Peter 5: 8
Be sober and be careful; because your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, walks around looking for someone to devour;
Luke 18: 1
Jesus also told a parable about the need to always pray and not be discouraged.
Good advice: read Matthew 24 and 25