Day 44 Holy Tuesday
Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. Matthew 25:1-13 (Gospel from the Pre-Sanctified Liturgy on Holy Tuesday Morning)
In today’s Gospel passage, the final words of Jesus in verse 13 are “…when the Son of Man is coming.” Often we are told that, as Jesus says, to be watchful because of this. But as we read today’s passage, the 10 virgins slumbered waiting for the Bridegroom. They weren’t necessarily “watchful”. But the 5 wise virgins, even though they slumbered, they were prepared. In the parable, they had brought enough oil with them in the event that the wedding feast was delayed.
Fr. Stavros explains to us that The Bridegroom is Christ. The marriage feast is the inheriting of everlasting life. The ten maidens are us. The lamps are our souls. The hour of the feast is unknown and the oil represents our faith. If we look at the parable and understand that the oil represents our faith, then we can begin to understand what it means to “watch”, or in other words “be prepared”.
Faith is a very personal thing. As we have talked in these reflections, our faith is not the rituals we observe. Our faith is the combination of what we believe about God, how we put that belief into action and how we participate in God’s grace. Let’s take a moment to examine each of these:
- What we believe. The Nicean Creed we read at every Liturgy lays out for us what we are called to believe: I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. Light of Light, true God of true God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father by Whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and was made man. He was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate and suffered and was buried, And the third day He arose again, according to the Scriptures. And He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom shall have no end. And in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who together with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified, Who spoke through the prophets. In one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. I profess one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
- Action. Jesus calls us to take what we believe above and put it into action by loving Him and loving our neighbor. These are “works” as we hear about in James 2:17 “…so, faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” Our works are how we treat one another, our almsgiving and our commitment to Christ and His Church
- Grace. This is the final component in salvation. It is the final component of salvation. Fr. Stavros gives a wonderful example of a cup, rocks and water. The cup is our faith, the rocks are our works. When the rocks fill the cup there is still empty space in the cup, our salvation is not compete. The water if God’s grace. It fills all the empty spaces. A person may have a belief system and may do many good works, but without the grace of God, salvation is impossible.
Now, we receive God’s grace in a number of ways; certainly in the sacraments of the Church. This is why we are called to confession and the Eucharist. These things impart grace to us, as do anointing services. We also receive God’s grace through prayer, whether it be private prayer or corporate (people together) prayer.
We are in a unique position this Pascha as most of us are separated from the sacraments of the Church. We will all get back to them to be sure, but right now, they are not a part of our lives. But prayer, private and corporate, is still a part of our lives. And it is something that is desperately important for us right now.
Many people are trying to find ways to occupy our time as we are asked to stay home and separate. But let me offer this, no amount of social media, zoom meetings, instagram or facebook posts or TicTok videos will help us in our salvation as much as a few minutes of prayer. Seize this time to renew and reinvigorate your prayer life, through the streaming services and your own private prayer.
Be prepared and therefore watchful!
In Christ
Fr. David