32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Are you prepared for Eternal Life?

Matthew 25:1-13

One thing noticeable in the parable of the ten bridesmaids is how the five foolish ones brought no oil to keep their lamps burning when the bridegroom comes. The bridegroom came late and they pleaded for oil from the sensible ones who brought flasks of oil for their lamps. There was not enough oil for all bridesmaids. The foolish ones had to buy oil and they found themselves late for the wedding and were not allowed to attend the wedding celebration. The oil is symbolic of our state of preparedness in order to enter God’s kingdom. How prepared are we?

The Boys Scouts’ motto is: “Be prepared!” Students study hard to prepare well for an exam. Athletes go through rigorous training to prepare themselves for an athletic competition. Seminarians undergo seminary formation as a preparation for the priesthood. Couples have their own marriage preparations for the wedding day. Even parents try to save money for their family to prepare for emergency situations. We all prepare for something, especially when we know that it is important for us. But do we seriously prepare for eternal life?

A preacher once shared a story of a conversation between Satan and three of his junior devils. He asked them: “What will be your strategy to assure me that Christians on earth will definitely go to hell?” The first devil eagerly said: “I will entice them with all the wealth the world can offer. They will be too profane that they will no longer focus on what is eternal.” Satan was not convinced. The second suggested: “I will seduce them with all the pleasures that will drown their senses to forget God.” Satan was still not convinced. Finally, the third gave this bright idea: “I will tell them that they have a lot of time to live in this world; there is no worry and hurry about things to come.” Satan clapped his hands and with jubilation praised his third junior devil: “Bravo! That is the best strategy. Let us create an illusion that they have all the time in the world to think and do all things for themselves. They will, then, have no time for God. Before they know it, they are dead and with us in my fiery kingdom.”

A number of us think that we have all the time in the world to do what we want for ourselves, unmindful of our time for, and with, God. We find ourselves blinded by the illusion that we will live forever on earth. Because of this, we suspend our spiritual preparation for the ultimate destiny for which we all aspire. Some no longer spend time for prayer and are just busy with their work. There are those who compromise their Sunday mass for a job or personal rest and recreation. Others don’t even give time for works of charity for the poor and the needy. Why do some people put God at the base of the list of their priorities? Why do they spend little, or no time, for God anymore?

During my early years in the priesthood, I had a chance to attend the funeral of a retired priest whom I knew. During the funeral liturgy, all the priests who concelebrated blessed and sprinkled holy water on his coffin. When it was my turn to bless and I looked at his corpse, I realized that one day I will also die and be in a coffin. Life is short. God has given us our entire lifetime to prepare for His kingdom. Let us waste no time in order to be with Him. Remember the warning of Jesus: “So stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour.” (Matthew 25:13)

- +MYLO HUBERT C. VERGARA, DD
Bishop of San Jose, Nueva Ecija

from the book A SHEPHERD'S VOICE Reflections on the Sunday Gospel (Cycle A) by MOST REV. MYLO HUBERT C. VERGARA, DD. Published by Petros Paulus Publication.

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