{"id":29192,"date":"2026-11-04T06:05:51","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T06:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lectiodivina.com.au\/?p=29192"},"modified":"2026-11-04T06:05:53","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T06:05:53","slug":"when-the-bridegroom-comes-the-faithfulness-of-being-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lectiodivina.com.au\/?p=29192","title":{"rendered":"When the Bridegroom Comes: The Faithfulness of Being Ready"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A Reflection on Matthew 25:1\u201313 – Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n


<\/strong>There is something unsettling about the conclusion of this Sunday’s Gospel. Ten bridesmaids set out to welcome the bridegroom, all apparently sharing the same purpose and anticipating the same celebration. Yet when the bridegroom finally arrives, only five enter the wedding feast. The others find themselves standing outside a closed door, asking to be admitted, only to hear the unexpected response: \u201cTruly I tell you, I do not know you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is a confronting conclusion to a story that begins with the joyful expectation of a wedding. We might naturally wonder why the five wise bridesmaids would not share their oil, or why the bridegroom appears so unwilling to accommodate those who arrive late. However, to understand what Jesus is teaching, we need to consider the parable within the larger context of Matthew’s Gospel and recognise what the wedding celebration represents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The central question is not whether the bridesmaids have behaved according to our expectations of generosity or hospitality. It concerns something much more fundamental: how we prepare ourselves for our encounter with the Lord, particularly when that encounter does not come at the time we expect.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Challenge of an Unexpected Delay<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Matthew places this parable within the final major discourse of Jesus, immediately before the events of his Passion. In these chapters, Jesus speaks about the future destruction of Jerusalem, the circumstances in which his disciples will live, and the eventual coming of the Son of Man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These teachings would have held particular significance for the early Christian communities. They lived with the conviction that Christ would return, yet they also experienced the passing of time, the difficulties of discipleship and the challenge of remaining faithful when the fulfilment of God’s promises seemed delayed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The delay of the bridegroom is therefore an essential feature of the parable. All ten bridesmaids initially respond to the invitation. All bring their lamps, all wait for the bridegroom, and all eventually become drowsy and fall asleep. Matthew is quite deliberate in emphasising what they share in common before revealing the difference between them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The distinction is not that five remain awake while the others sleep. All of them sleep. What distinguishes the wise from the foolish is that five have made provision for the possibility that the bridegroom will not arrive immediately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their wisdom consists in recognising that faithfulness may be required over a period much longer than they initially anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think this speaks directly to the experience of Christian discipleship. It is relatively easy to respond enthusiastically to something when the immediate experience is encouraging or uplifting. We may participate in a pilgrimage, a Eucharistic procession, World Youth Day or some other significant religious occasion and experience a genuine renewal of faith. Such experiences can be valuable moments of encounter with Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what happens when we return to ordinary life? What happens when the enthusiasm of the occasion begins to fade and we are once again confronted by our familiar responsibilities, difficulties and distractions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question is whether our relationship with Christ has developed sufficient depth to sustain us beyond the initial experience. The Christian life cannot depend entirely upon moments of religious enthusiasm. It must become something integrated into the ordinary pattern of our existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Wisdom of Those Who Were Prepared<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The contrast between the wise and foolish bridesmaids reminds me of another passage in Matthew’s Gospel. At the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks about two people who build houses. One builds upon rock and the other upon sand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both hear the teaching of Jesus, but only one puts that teaching into practice. When the storms come, the difference between their foundations becomes apparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same distinction lies beneath the parable of the bridesmaids. All have responded to the invitation, but not all have prepared themselves adequately for what lies ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oil in their lamps can be understood as representing the personal response of faith that must be sustained throughout life. It is not simply a matter of knowing what Jesus teaches or identifying ourselves as his followers. What matters is whether that teaching has become part of the way we actually live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I find the refusal of the wise bridesmaids to share their oil particularly interesting. Ordinarily, we might regard their response as ungenerous. But the parable is making a different point. There are dimensions of our relationship with God that cannot simply be transferred from one person to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others can help us towards Christ through their example, encouragement, teaching and prayer. The Church itself exists as a community in which we support one another on the journey of faith. Nevertheless, nobody else can undertake our personal response to God on our behalf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We cannot rely indefinitely upon the faith of our parents, the religious commitment of our community or the spiritual achievements of those around us. At some point, each of us must respond personally to Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that sense, we cannot borrow another person’s readiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI Do Not Know You\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most disturbing moment in the parable comes when the late bridesmaids arrive and find the door closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their appeal, \u201cLord, Lord, open to us\u201d, recalls another important teaching in Matthew’s Gospel. Earlier, Jesus warned that not everyone who says to him, \u201cLord, Lord\u201d, will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of his Father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The similarity is significant. In both passages, Jesus distinguishes between acknowledging him in words and responding to him through the reality of one’s life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the bridegroom says, \u201cI do not know you\u201d, I do not understand this as a statement that he has never heard of these people. Rather, within the meaning of the parable, it expresses the absence of the relationship and readiness that should have developed in anticipation of his coming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a finality about the closing of the door which we should not ignore. Matthew repeatedly reminds us that our present decisions have consequences extending beyond the immediate circumstances of our lives. The wedding feast represents the fulfilment of salvation, and the closed door confronts us with the seriousness of our response to God’s invitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is not intended to encourage fearful speculation about the precise moment of Christ’s return. Jesus explicitly tells us that we do not know the day or the hour. Rather, the uncertainty of that moment should encourage us to recognise the importance of the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The time in which we can respond to Christ is the time we are living now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faithfulness in Ordinary Life<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I returned to this Gospel for a second reading, I found myself drawn particularly to the question of readiness. I began to consider what it means for me, in the circumstances of my present life, to be prepared for my encounter with the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do not think readiness should be understood as a state of continual anxiety, as though we must spend every moment worrying that Christ might arrive unexpectedly. It is better understood as a way of living in which our relationship with him remains central to our decisions, priorities and responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The invitation to keep awake is therefore an invitation to spiritual attentiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Am I conscious of God’s presence in the ordinary events of my day? Am I continuing to develop my relationship with Christ through prayer, reflection upon the Scriptures and the way I relate to others? When difficulties arise, do I allow them to draw me towards a deeper trust in God, or do I gradually allow my faith to become something secondary to the rest of my life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These questions become particularly important when Christian living is difficult. We cannot expect every day to be spiritually rewarding or emotionally uplifting. There will be times of disappointment, uncertainty and fatigue. Yet faithfulness is often expressed precisely through our willingness to continue responding to God in these circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wise bridesmaids remind us that preparation is not achieved through a single impressive moment of commitment. It develops through the continuing practice of living in relationship with the Lord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping Our Lamps Burning<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One practical way of responding to this Gospel might be to develop a more deliberate awareness of God at the beginning and end of each day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the morning, we might ask what opportunities the coming day will provide to live more faithfully as disciples of Jesus. At its conclusion, we might examine how we have responded to those opportunities, recognising both the occasions when we have been faithful and those when we have fallen short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such an examination need not become an exercise in discouragement. Rather, it can become an opportunity for gratitude, repentance and renewed commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is also where Lectio Divina becomes especially valuable. We do not read the Scriptures merely to acquire information about Jesus or the early Christian communities. We read them because they are the inspired Word of God, through which Christ continues to address us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lectio begins with the text, but it must find its fulfilment in our lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I reflect upon the bridesmaids and their lamps, I am conscious that the commitment Jesus asks of us cannot be sustained through human determination alone. In John’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples, \u201cApart from me you can do nothing.\u201d We need the grace of God to remain faithful, particularly when responding to Christ requires perseverance and courage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The invitation of this Gospel is therefore both serious and hopeful. We are reminded that our lives are moving towards a definitive encounter with the Lord, but we are also given the opportunity, here and now, to prepare ourselves for that encounter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For me, the central question is whether I am allowing my relationship with Christ to deepen as the years pass, so that when the bridegroom comes, I will be ready to enter the feast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The waiting may be long, and the hour of his coming remains unknown. What matters is that, throughout that waiting, our lives continue to reflect the relationship we have been invited to share with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Bishop David Walker<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Reflection on Matthew 25:1\u201313 – Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A There is something unsettling about the conclusion of this Sunday’s Gospel. Ten bridesmaids set out to welcome the bridegroom, all apparently sharing the same purpose and anticipating the same celebration. Yet when the bridegroom finally arrives, only five enter the wedding feast. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":29193,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29192","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bishop-david-walker","category-newsletter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t