Our readings grow more urgent near the end of the liturgical year. “Keep awake!” we hear, yet we cannot know how God’s time is measured. For the earliest Christians, waiting for Jesus to return was a real and present worry. They continued to live in conditions of persecution, and many loved ones died without any hint of Jesus’ return. Some had grown very… weary… of waiting. Against that historical backdrop we hear a strange parable about bridesmaids and oil and a long-delayed bridegroom. If we assume Jesus is the bridegroom, the bridesmaids represent different versions of being prepared—or unprepared—for his return. Many of us read the message to “keep awake” as keep busy, keep going, keep giving, keep doing more, keep burning the midnight oil. But is that really what Jesus intends or is he inviting us to something more counter-cultural? And what is that precious oil? Is it something we already have or something we buy or something poured into us? And is the light an external lamp or are we ourselves aflame?
