Sunday, November 12 -- 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Matthew 25: 1-13

Today’s reading from Matthew’s gospel is another of the numerous parables of Jesus. This one is about the coming of the Son of Man—who is the bridegroom in the parable. Jesus is only a few days away from his arrest and execution, and he wants his followers to be ready for his eventual return.

Will we, like the five wise virgins, be ready? What does being ready mean for us now?

I would suggest that since we are all called to be disciples of Jesus and to do his work in our time and place, we need to be alert to what God is calling us to say or do—and we need to consider how we are responding to this call, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves, each day of our lives.

And the oil? Is it not the gifts God has given us to do what God is asking of us? Do we acknowledge that we have gifts—abilities and talents to do the work of Jesus? Or do we claim that there is little or nothing that we can do?

We are always hearing of thoughts and prayers going out to the victims of the latest natural disasters or mass killings.Thoughts and prayers are not unimportant, but what kinds of thoughts and prayers? How are they leading each of us and all of us to work toward the kind of world that God wants for us? We do need “oil” to light up our world. We cannot afford to leave it behind. Sheryl Zabel