Practicing Love and Light - July 13
Today’s Readings: AM Psalm 25; PM Psalm 9, 15; Joshua 2:1-14; Rom. 11:1-12; Matt. 25:1-13
It’s summertime, 1984, and I’m all set to go to college in the fall. My parents have said I’ve been a pretty easy kid to raise and I have plenty of friends. I’ve made good grades, been active in church, and mostly stayed out of trouble my whole life through high school. I’m not perfect, but I’ve had a pretty easy time growing up thus far. As the time for moving to college gets closer, people frequently ask if I am ready, to which I reply with a hearty YES! This is the “before times” and my lamp is filled with oil. What I am not ready for, is how to keep my lamp filled. As I begin college, I’m pretty certain I have my life under control. I’m not mad at God, I just feel like I’m fine on my own. My selfish behaviors during the next few years determine that I am foolish. Thankfully, this isn’t my last chance to fill my lamp.
The gospel passage from this morning is a continuing conversation between the disciples and Jesus about the “end times”, aka, the second coming of Christ in the age to come. Jesus knows he will soon die and be resurrected, the temple will be destructed, and there will be much loss and suffering. He has been presenting himself to the disciples as a sign of the Kingdom of Heaven present both now and in the end times. He’s teaching them how to prepare by saying - watch me now and do as I do, and you will know the Kingdom of Heaven. He’s showing them how they will keep their lamps filled with oil. Jesus tells the disciples to “keep awake!”, for we do not know when the time will come. The point here is not that we have to know when, but to be ready.
Jesus has spent his whole ministry teaching his followers how to be ready. Most simply stated, being ready is the ongoing practice of decentering ourselves by loving God and loving our neighbors with our whole heart. Being generous with love is how the wise maidens keep the oil replenished in their lamps. Someone else cannot share our love for us – as the foolish maidens request – we each have to share our own Love and Light, and that’s often easier said than done. By loving others, especially those who are hardest for us to love, we are embodying the love of Christ in this world and hastening the Kingdom of Heaven.
Are we ready for the end times? That’s a super scary question! During the Eucharistic prayers, we proclaim the mystery of faith, saying “Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again!” The early church was expecting the return of Christ to be imminent, but we are still waiting for the time when Christ will come again. This is part of our Christian hope, a glorious time when God will be all in all. We are striving for this even now.
Being either a wise or foolish maiden is too dualistic for me. I’m both on any given day. We don’t know when the time will come, but if we’re accepting the teachings of Jesus, we know what to do. Though we mess up along the way, it’s ultimately HOW we live out our lives through faith in Christ that prepares us.
-- Susan Oakes, Seminarian
Susan Oakes is a rising senior at the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. This summer, she is serving as a seminarian intern at Saint Stephen's, her sponsoring parish for ordination.
Questions for Self Reflection
What if Jesus was talking to you today, preparing you for the Kingdom of Heaven…in what ways are you being wise and foolish?
Daily Challenge
Think about a favorite scripture passage that describes what it means to be Christ-like and connect how you embody that text through your life.