Jesus makes known by words and deeds that we cannot love God without loving our neighbor.  We Christians seek to fire up ourselves with love.

The Church asks us today to keep watch. For we do not know the day or the hour when the Son of Man will come back. And to keep watch means to be like the wise bridesmaids. It is not enough for them to fire up their torches and go to meet the bridegroom. They also take oil in jars along with their torches. For without the jars of oil, their torches may run out of oil and go out if the bridegroom delays.

Yes, we who wait for our Savior Jesus Christ to come back should fire up our torches. And we are not to let them go out. And since there has been a long delay, we should have a good supply of oil. But we do not know what “oil” means in concrete. Still and all, we can reasonably take it to stand for the love with which we are to fire up ourselves. The oil that keeps our torches burning is our passionate love for God and neighbor, which Jesus embodies.

To fire up ourselves with love means to catch Jesus’ love.

His two great virtues are awe of his Father and charity toward humans (SV.EN VI:413). So, while going about to do good, he is always one with his Father (TWVDP 32). He takes the Father to be the author of all the good he does; he always seeks what the Father wants.

These two great virtues are to be ours, too. And we should heed the call to pray and to act, especially when it seems there are more troubles now than ever. And if we so love God and neighbor, then will our light shine before others. They will see the good we do, and they will praise our Father who is in heaven. This is how we should wait for our Savior, with our torches of good works burning.

And no one can give us this oil. That is to say, we ourselves have to love God and neighbor; no one can do it for us. And we know what will take place if we do not do our part. If we waste the talents given to us, if we do not do good. The door to the banquet will stay closed to us. We shall not share the Master’s joy, and the Son of Man will send us away.

Lord Jesus, fire up our whole selves with your love and fan the fire as we celebrate your Holy Banquet of love. We shall thus be wise and enter your kingdom to be with you always. And let us not fall into clericalism, which whips, scourges and enslaves the holy people that is true to God. Let there not be among us those who, since the Master delays, start to beat others under them, to eat and get drunk. Those who take charge of others for shameful gain and to lord it over them. 

12 November 2023
32nd Sunday in O.T. (A)
Wis 6, 12-16; 1 Thes 4, 13-18; Mt 25, 1-13