A Door Shut Forever




“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 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, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, ‘Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

 

A little before the events described in today’s passage took place, Jesus’ disciples asked him about how it would be towards the end of times. Jesus described some very horrific events. “The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky and the heavenly bodies will be shaken” (Matthew 24:29). He told them a few other things that must have really shaken the disciples! And then he went on to say something really scary: that no one, not even Jesus himself, knew when all this was gonna happen. We will look at why Jesus said this at another time.

 

Today we will look at this Parable about the Ten Virgins that Jesus told. He prefaced it by saying, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this...” Up, until this point, whenever Jesus spoke about the Kingdom of Heaven, he’d been saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like ...” And then he would go on to comparing it with a wonderful treasure, or a pearl of great price, or a mustard seed being sown, or leaven mixed with dough, or a landowner hiring laborers to work in his vineyard; all things of great value, potential and generosity. And all things that can be obtained by selling ones possessions, putting in a little bit of work, or simply saying “yes”. 

 

However, here he says, “then” — or as some translations would have it “at that time”  — “the kingdom of heaven will be like”, and we know he is no longer describing something that can be obtained, but something that has come to pass; it has happened. If, in Jesus’ earlier descriptions of the kingdom of heaven, there had been promise, hope and reward, here there is none, simply because now there is no time — it is the “end (of) times”, after all! Those who are ready get to enter the wedding banquet; those who are not get shut out, with the chilling words from Jesus inside: “Sorry, but I do not know you!” 

 

What does he mean by saying, “I don’t know you”? How can he not know us? We get a clue from another time that Jesus said these words. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ It seems like obedience is the key, doesn’t it? After all, if we call somebody Lord, then we have to do what he says, no?

 

Therefore, let us be obedient so that when we reach heaven’s doors, we will be given a warm welcome by Jesus. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?


Watch a video of this reflection by Aneel Aranha here: https://youtu.be/ZHStjV0JqXs


 

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