MY EXTRA OIL!

 HOMILY FOR THE 32^ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (YEAR A)

Rev. Fr. Peter Onyekachi Ezekoka

Wisdom 6:12-16        Thessalonians 4:13-18        Matthew 25:1-13

“When you fail to plan, you plan to fail!”, as the old saying has it. In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents us with the Parable of the wise and foolish virgins to teach us the need for preparedness and perpetual readiness in welcoming Him. The Parable concerns how we react to the invitation to take our place in the Kingdom of God.

The ‘foolish’ young women were so-called because they failed to plan ahead for the arrival of the Bridegroom, Who is Christ. Nobody knew what time He would arrive. No time of arrival had been announced. Each of the ‘foolish’ young women brought just enough oil with them to keep their torches burning for the time they presumed it would take for the Bridegroom to arrive, but it didn’t occur to them to bring extra oil with them to keep them burning if their presumption turned out to be wrong. God’s love, however, is not miserly. He doesn’t give us “just enough” love; rather, His love for each one of us is extravagant. Our love for Him ought to be extravagant too.

Now, the ‘wise’ young women were so-called because, unlike the ‘foolish’ ones, they planned ahead for the arrival of the Bridegroom. Not knowing the time of His arrival, they ensured that they had plenty of oil with them. How about us? Have we got resources of “extra oil”? We know we have when we plunge our efforts into going the extra mile for God and our neighbour, working extra time for Church and family, making an extra offering in some form or another for the good of the Church and society … all these ‘extras’ are important for people’s spiritual and material security. In doing so, we are called upon to exercise wisdom and discipline. The ‘extra oil’ that the wise and disciplined young women brought with them became their admission ticket into the Bridegroom’s wedding feast. Whenever we go the extra mile in exercising the virtues, our ‘extra oil’ not only demonstrates our preparedness and our vigilance for the coming of Christ: it also admits us to an ever-deepening and increasingly fulfilling relationship with Christ.   

There are certain things which cannot be borrowed. We miss the point of the Parable if we conclude that the wise young women acted selfishly by not sharing their oil with the foolish ones. Let’s take a closer look at the lesson Our Lord is teaching us. The lesson is that we have only ourselves to blame if we decide to treat God’s invitation casually by not always being prepared to meet Him. Discovering too late that they had run out of oil, the foolish young women hit a wall when they begged for supplies from others who came prepared with plenty of oil. How come? Because the oil of a relationship with God is not something that is transferable. It must be a loyal, personal relationship that is cultivated and nurtured over time. No-one can transfer to themselves the spiritual capital that someone else has built up. In life, there are things we have to acquire on our own, through our own efforts, including skills, qualifications and sacramental conferments.

There are certain things which cannot be obtained at the last minute. The message of the Parable is that Christ requires us to develop an attitude of constant readiness for Him. We are mistaken if we consider that the punishment of having the door of the wedding hall closed in the faces of the foolish girls was inappropriate. Think of it instead in these terms: a student who has failed an examination because he didn’t bother to do the work is not going to have the disappointing result overturned. That was the case with Bobby. Laid-back Bobby had been physically present in class throughout the course, but he had gained only a superficial understanding of the subject because he hadn’t attempted the assignments. He failed the final examination and was told he had to repeat the course if he hoped to pass. He was very uncomfortable because he knew how upset his parents were going to be when he went home and told them about the result. 

Bobby remembered how his dad had explained to him patiently and carefully how important it was for Bobby to do himself justice by concentrating in tutorials and doing his assignments, and how both his parents had warned him that he was in danger of failing the course if he didn’t get a grip and apply himself to his work. His mum had had a quiet word with him about the need to do his best, explaining that poor results would adversely affect the family finances if fees for resits and a second batch of course fees had to be paid. So Bobby went to his tutor and pleaded tearfully for his result to be upgraded to a pass. He put on quite a theatrical performance, telling his tutor how distraught his family was going to be if he went home having failed the course.

The tutor was not impressed. He pointed to one of the diligent students who had obtained a pass with distinction, and said: you could try asking that student over there to exchange his result for yours. Bobby realized that there was nothing that the tutor could do either morally or in practical terms to help him; it was over. Bobby had wasted everyone’s time, and now he had to face up to the repercussions arising from his laziness and lack of commitment. Bobby was gifted with a good brain, but he had failed to use it.

You’ll be all too familiar with the saying, “If you don’t use it, you lose it!” When we don’t prepare properly for something, things just don’t come together at the last minute, do they? How many of us will admit that we are guilty of putting-off the practice of the virtues in everyday life? Well, that’s a question for you to answer privately! (What are the virtues, I hear you ask? They are the Theological virtues of faith, hope and love, and the Cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude.) The thing is, that when God does decide to arrive, we need to be fully prepared and fully ready for Him. 

The parousia is going to happen without warning. It’ll be no good running round like headless chickens because we’re ill-equipped  to meet Him, or pleading with tears to be given another chance. If we fail to make maximum use of the time and the opportunities available to us to praise God, to develop a real relationship with Christ and to do His Will in our lifetime, then eventually what little we have achieved will not only not guarantee the reward of Beatific vision, but will also render our entire struggle fruitless. At the final judgement there will be division between the saved and the lost, between insiders and outsiders. Little wonder, them, that the Psalmist prayed: teach us Lord to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom (Ps 90:12).

The First Reading tells us of the qualities that make practical wisdom worthy of being sought after. Practical wisdom  - phronesis rather than sophia - involves good judgement, good habits and good character. Wisdom is found by those who seek her (Wis 6:12) and meets them with all solicitude (Prov 1:33). Wisdom comes from the throne of God (Wis 9:4,6 & 9). To God belong wisdom and understanding (Job 12:13). Employing wisdom means always being spiritually prepared, always equipping yourself with spiritual goods that cannot be bought or borrowed, and always being ready to meet the Lord. He wants us to emulate the wise young women in always having enough oil (so important in the Old Testament for divine anointing) in which to dip our torches (lampas, not earthenware oil containers with a wick) repeatedly in order to keep them lit with the Holy Spirit (cf. the torches in Rev 4:5 and the tongues of fire at Pentecost).

In their wisdom, the wise young women realised that the time of the arrival of the Bridegroom (Christ) had not been flagged up in advance. They prepared themselves so that they were ready for His arrival, whenever that was going to be. Let us pray that we may be granted this wisdom too, so as never to risk going through such earthly life as remains to us by merely scraping by with the minimum of holiness and of virtue. Amen. God bless you.