Sunday, November 12, 2023

THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

(Wisdom 6:12-16; I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13)

The liturgical year does not correspond perfectly with the calendar year. Now we are approaching the end of the liturgical year 2023. In just three Sundays on the first Sunday of Advent we will begin the new church year. There are different indications that we are near the end. The second reading deals with death while in the gospel parable Jesus speaks of the end of times.

The parable is taken from the second part of Jesus' final discourse in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus has arrived in Jerusalem where he is going to be betrayed and crucified. For now he goes back to the nearby Mount of Olives where he is met sitting ready to teach. His disciples approach him asking about the end of time. Jesus responds first with a description of the desolation the world will experience. But he tells them that the day of desolation is not known. For this reason, he says, the disciples must watch. Then in the second part he explains with three parables what it means to “watch.”

Watching is much more than keeping your eyes open. In fact, all the ten virgins in the parable go to sleep. Watching is rather preparing yourself with good works. It is helping others so that when the Lord arrives, you can show him meritorious achievements. The wise virgins have brought a lot of oil which represents abundant charity. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ first discourse in of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus called the disciples themselves “the light of the world.” He said that they had to shine “their light before men so that they may see their good works and glorify God the Father…” The wise virgins prove themselves to be fulfillers of this command by the substantial supply of oil they carry.

Of course, good works include the small sacrifices we make to please our loved ones. In one movie a girl reaches out to open the door lock for her boyfriend after he seats her in her car. It's a nice gesture. More characteristic of good works, however, is service to those in need. Jesus himself instructs us what this service looks like in his famous declaration at the end of the discourse. He says that those elected by God feed the hungry and visit the sick.

Nowadays few say that it is necessary to go to church. In contrast, almost everyone agrees that it is important to help others. However, not many do it, at least systematically. In times past, organizations such as the Legion of Mary and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul served many poor and sick people. The members of such organizations developed a spirituality of service so that they could be more accomplished in their works and more devoted to the Lord. In the parable there are five virgins who have done good deeds, a number that implies such cooperation with a wide effect.

People today do not participate in organizations of this type. Rather, they group themselves according to personal interests through their phones. With the Internet they exchange ideas more than personal experiences. The effect is loneliness on both sides. Relatively few receive Christian charity while Christians are left alone at home pecking at their phones. Christ expects more from his disciples.

The Lord is coming soon, spiritually if not physically. If we want to recognize him, we will have to put down our phones for a while to study the faces of those in need. He will appear much like the hungry and the sick.