is There Oil In Your Lamp?

 

Deacon Dave · Is There Oil in Your Lamp?

Homily for the 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Nov. 8, 2020. Gospel of St. Matthew 25:1-13. Theme: Is There Oil in Your Lamp? 

 At this time of year as nature seems to become more quiet and a bit lifeless, the liturgy turns our attention to the fact that we are each moving closer to the end of our time on planet Earth. Catholic spirituality reinforces this theme by setting aside the month of November as a special time of prayer for the faithful departed. We all know that death is an inescapable fact for each one of us and that we need to be better prepared for our ultimate meeting with the Lord. And so through today’s parable of the wise and foolish bridesmaids, Jesus is asking each one of us: Are you prepared? Are you ready to meet Me when I arrive? 

 Ancient Christian writers tell us that the lamps and oil in this Sunday’s parable can be interpreted as symbols for the body and the soul. The foolish bridesmaids had beautiful ornate bridal lamps but they were running on empty and fundamentally useless because they did not have the one thing necessary: a flask full of oil. In a similar way, we can have great lamps, that is, bodies that are in excellent physical condition. But inside ourselves we can be running on empty by lacking the one thing necessary to receive eternal life: a personal and vibrant relationship with God. 

 In both Scripture and in the Liturgy, oil is a symbol of the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. That’s why it’s used in the Sacraments to consecrate us to God, to anoint us as His holy people, and to bring His healing touch into our lives. It’s this oil of the Spirit that enables us to speak with God from the heart in prayer. It’s the supernatural fuel that enables us to keep moving forward in the Christian life even amidst ridicule or difficulty. It’s the spiritual energy we need to remain faithful to Christ by keeping the flame of faith burning brightly in our lives and guiding us along the way. 

 So, it’s important to always be checking our personal oil level on a regular basis. When we start running low on this fuel we need to fill up the flasks of our lives because there are some things that we just cannot borrow from others. I think this is what the parable means when it says that the 5 wise bridesmaids would not lend any of their oil to the foolish ones. It’s reminding us that we can’t borrow someone else’s faith. We can’t borrow someone else’s grace. We can’t borrow someone else’s relationship with God. But what we can do is make sure that we keep replenishing this oil of the Spirit by praying from the heart every day, by reading and applying the Word of God to our lives, by repenting of our sins and confessing them, by receiving Jesus in the Eucharist with mindfulness, and by doing our best to treat those with whom we live, work and socialize with kindness and mercy. 

 Some people take the risk of being like the 5 foolish bridesmaids who waited until it was too late to check their lamps and fill up with oil. Such people know they should focus more on God in their lives and get things in order, but they assume they have plenty of time to do so. They put it off for later, for tomorrow, for “another day”. But in doing so they risk sharing the bitter disappointment of those foolish bridesmaids who unexpectedly found the door to the feast shut and locked! This locked-door symbolizes for us the fact that it's too late to change once death comes knocking. 

 Our years here on planet Earth are just a tiny drop in the bucket of our whole existence. Now is the time to choose God. Now is the time to choose Christ. Now is the time to choose eternal life. Once the door to the heavenly wedding feast is shut tight and locked, our opportunity to make these choices comes to an end. And so we need to keep this parable in mind and listen to the voice of Jesus speaking deep inside us and asking: Are you prepared? Are you ready to meet Me when I arrive?