OIL FOR THE WISE
“While they went to buy oil, the bridegroom came.” These are
serious, chilling words. Do we find ourselves in this story? In
Verse 13, Jesus says, “Keep awake for you know neither the day nor
the hour.”
To remain awake, alert and ready is about staying in touch with
God. “By faith we understand,” St. Paul writes. By faith, Abraham
obeyed; he received power and he did what God asked. Faith in God
allows us, even forces us, to see our own lives from a new
perspective. Some of the things we have been so concerned about may
not be really important at all. The coming of Jesus will be a
surprise, unexpected, disruptive to our lives.
The foolish bridesmaids took no oil. They did not plan ahead.
They were asleep and unprepared for the bridegroom’s coming. A lamp
without oil is useless and cannot produce light. “Give us some of
your oil.” But the wise said, “No! Go get your own.” You
and I can share many things, but we cannot give our own faith, trust
or hope to someone else. Each person must get it for himself or
herself. And so the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went
in with him and the door was shut. The foolish found themselves left
outside.
We can make a very foolish mistake, too, if we don’t take Jesus’
message seriously. Time and opportunities can slide by. We may
slough it off and say, “Next year I’ll worship more, I’ll pray more,
I’ll give more. What’s the hurry? I’m too busy right now.” And life
goes on.
And so even today we are invited once again to come to the Light,
to share the Light, to testify of Jesus the true Light, the Light in
the world that can destroy all darkness.
Oh God, help us to make Jesus the Light of our lives. Make us
shining examples of faith in our world today. Amen
Larry Frank
