November 8, 2026; Matthew 25:1-13; 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
I have one question concerning the parable in today’s gospel. The parable speaks of ten virgins who are all awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom as part of a Jewish wedding ceremony. Five of the virgins bring extra oil with them. When the bridegroom is delayed, all the oil in the lamps burns out. But when the bridegroom finally arrives at midnight, those who had brought extra oil trim their lamps and can fulfill their responsibilities. The other virgins cannot. In this parable, Jesus certainly represents the bridegroom. This makes the parable an example of how we are expected to welcome him into our lives.
But here is my question. When the virgins who have no oil ask the other virgins to share some of their oil with them, those virgins refuse. Isn’t that selfish? Are not Christians expected to share what they have with others? So why do the virgins refuse to share their oil? There are many ways to explain their action, but I’m going to suggest that the virgins refuse to share their oil because there are some things in life that cannot be shared. There are some things that we cannot give to another person.
There are many things that we can give to a person in need. We can share our food, our time, our shelter, our money. But there are some things that no one can hand us at midnight. No one can give us a 20-year friendship which we can hold onto when our life swings out of control. That kind of a friendship we must build over many years. No one can restore to us past opportunities for love and kindness which at the time we so easily brushed away. No one can instill in us a sense of mercy, when we have spent years nurturing resentment.
When the bridegroom comes, he expects us to be ready. But we cannot become ready in a moment. We cannot welcome Christ with a sudden flash of generosity or by seizing some oil passed to us under the table. We become ready by accumulating readiness over years of fidelity—by all the prayers that we say even though we ourselves are not in need, by the love that we give even though no one notices it, by the truth we tell even though it is so much easier to lie, by the choice we make to forgive even when our hurt calls out for vengeance.
Day by day, our practice becomes our character. It takes time for our faith to become not only what we believe but who we are. There are some things that cannot be shared at midnight. Because when Christ our bridegroom comes, he will not be looking for this or that commodity. He will be looking for the person we have become. That is why it is wise for us to begin becoming that person today.