Ad Jesum per Mariam

Jesus’ Call to Vigilance: What Does "Stay Awake" Really Mean?

Jesus’ Call to Vigilance: What Does “Stay Awake” Really Mean? Today’s Gospel recounts the parable of ten virgins . . . . . . waiting for the bridegroom’s return, each with lamps in hand. Five brought extra oil, preparing for the unknown length of the wait, while the other five did not. All ten eventually fell asleep. One striking irony in this story is how it ends: Jesus tells His disciples to “stay awake,” right after describing how everyone in the parable succumbed to slumber. This contrast highlights the central theme of the passage—the tension between wakefulness and slumber. The parable begins with a certainty: the bridegroom will come, and the wedding feast will take place. The virgins are not mere attendees; they play an essential role in this event. Jesus is addressing His disciples, those He has chosen, those who share a significant part in His mission. However, even among these chosen ones, wisdom and folly coexist. The story gives us pause. Half of the virgins are wise, half are foolish. It’s a sobering reminder that among those called and included, not all are prepared. Folly, as Jesus warns, can take root even in the hearts of those closest to Him. The Gospel Story Mirrors the Early Days of Spiritual Life The bridegroom’s arrival is certain, but the timing is not. The waiting period is where the distinction between wisdom and folly emerges. At first, the virgins, full of excitement, gather with lamps burning brightly. This initial enthusiasm mirrors the early days of spiritual life, marked by joy, passion, and an eagerness to embrace faith or vocation. Yet, such fervor often fades. The long hours of waiting—representing the trials and monotony of life—set in. The initial joy is harder to sustain, and all, even the wise, fall asleep. The true test comes when the bridegroom finally arrives, and the call to readiness echoes through the night. What distinguishes the wise from the foolish is not whether they fell asleep but whether they prepared for the unexpected. Jesus’ admonition to “stay awake” is not merely about avoiding physical slumber but about maintaining a state of spiritual vigilance. It’s a call to prepare our hearts, deepen our faith, and persevere, even when the waiting feels endless. How? Listen more to this Meditation Media. Listen to: Jesus’ Call to Vigilance: What Does “Stay Awake” Really Mean? ------------------------------------- Image: The Parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins: English Poet and Painter: William Blake: 1822-1826

Duration:: 28m
Broadcast on:: 26 Nov 2024
Audio Format:: other

The Lord be with you, and with your spirit. Everything from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew. Glory to you, O Lord. Jesus taught his disciples this parable. The kingdom of heaven would be like ten virgins, who took their lumps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. The foolish ones, when taking their lumps, brought no oil with them. But the wise brought flasks of oil with their lumps. Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight there was a cry, "Behold, the bridegroom, come out to meet him." Then all those virgins caught up and trimmed their lumps. The foolish ones said to the wise, "Give us some of your oil, for our lumps are going out." But the wise ones replied, "No, for they may not be enough for us and for you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves." While they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked. Afterwards, the other virgins came and said, "Lord, Lord, open the door for us." But he said in reply, "A man I say to you, I do not know you. Therefore, stay awake. For you know neither the day, know the hour." Gospel of their lord. One of the marvelous ironies in the gospel reading that we've just heard is the way it concludes, where Jesus has just told us a story about everybody falling asleep, and then tells his disciples, "Stay awake." And it's important that we catch that contrast there because the issue of wakefulness and slumber runs through this account of the wise and the foolish virgins. Note the way it begins, however. The bridegroom will be coming. The wedding feast will take place, and they have apart a significant part to play in all of that. And so we have the context being set of those who are not just invited but chosen, those who are not just included but given a role to play. And so the lord very clearly, as he is speaking, is looking at his disciples. He's not speaking about the rest of the world right now. He is speaking about those who have gathered around him, who have a part with him and a role to play. And he says that among that number of those who have a significant part to play, of those who have been included, there's a combination of folly and wisdom. Some are wise, some are foolish. And in this case, it's half and half. And that should give us all pause. You know, as we look around the church and we just say, all right, half of them are wise, and half of them are foolish. You know, and my heart's sitting there thinking, yep, foolish side right here. But know what the lord is saying. It among those who are called, claimed, chosen and included, not everyone is wise. Folly can live in that heart, it has in a special home. And so it is then that those who are called are told to wait for the moment when the bridegroom comes. What is certain is that he will arrive. What is unknown is when and how long he will be. And so they have their oil lamps, which are burning because they have to be ready for the festivity. And they come in all of the excitement. They gather, and they wait. But imagine that moment as they all gather together. There's the excitement of the banquet. There's the thrill of the celebration. There's the fact that they have this dignity and this status. And we see here as well an image of what often happens at the beginnings of the spiritual life. That initial enthusiastic embrace of the faith. That initial enthusiastic embrace of service or of a vocation. Everything is magical. It's new. It's wonderful. I've never felt this way before. I don't know why it took me so long to make this move and embrace my faith. That experience people often have when they have a moment of conversion, a moment of insight. But the problem is those moments don't last. And so what happens? Then the grind of the waiting sets in. And in that waiting as those hours pass, that sharp initial joyfulness is no longer so accessible. The heart is not so excited and one falls asleep. The issue here, however, is that over that long wait, there's something about wisdom and foolishness that deals with what happens when the moment to wake up again arrives. But the interesting thing in this parable is that everybody falls asleep. Being wise or foolish doesn't prevent slumber from overtaking one. Being wise or foolish doesn't prevent the exhaustion or the tiredness from settling on to one. Isn't that interesting? We often reflexively think, well, the wise ones were the ones who stayed awake, but they weren't. The wise ones were the ones who woke up the right way. And as he speaks that way, the Lord is reminding his disciples that after the victory of his resurrection and the joy of that, after the experience of feeling the power of the Holy Spirit come down upon them on Pentecost, which will happen, there is going to be that long period where there must be something in the heart and in life that is deeper than that initial thrill, that initial joy. It's not that the initial joy is bad. But by itself, it doesn't sustain. They all begin with lamps that are burning. They all begin with a certain amount of oil. The issue is, do I have enough oil? And what a curious, curious way of describing the life of faith that one must have enough oil to get one through the sleeping time, the slumber, the moment of being overwhelmed, the moment of being immersed in difficulties, the moment of recognizing that there are things and realities in this world that are just bigger than me. Because that comes to everybody. And the church will experience that, the Lord is saying, the believer will experience that. And a vision of Christian life where everything is always joyful, exciting, and fulfilling is a deceit that the evil one loves to give us, because it leaves us unprepared for the world in which we must live our faith. And so we see, however, that as this is going on, for some reason, there's not enough oil for five of those lamps. And yet there is sufficient oil, in fact, more than sufficient oil for the other five. The question is, then, what is this mysterious oil that some have and some don't have? And it involves that long period. The bridegroom is gone. The bridegroom is returning. And in order to be ready, there must not simply be oil in the lamp. There must be enough oil to keep the lamp burning all the way through. So the other element of the parable, the lamps are burning all that time. That's why the oil has run low. The lamps are burning all that time. And that implies that for us, something must be happening that allows the lamp to continue burning, especially in the darker moments, especially in those moments where we're worn out and exhausted. And considering this and meditating on this, the fathers of the church have long recognized here that this relates directly to what we are doing as we are waiting for the Lord to come. Because again, the image that the story gives us is a passive one. They all show up, their lamps are burning, and they're waiting. And we have this image of waiting for the bridegroom and waiting for the Lord as if we're in the waiting room at a doctor's office. And we all know how unpleasant that can be. And we also know that the doctor is rarely if ever on time. And that idea of waiting is not what the Lord is getting at here. The Lord is going to say to us in this story that our lives are going to move through time. And the light of faith and the light of the gospel that we've been given must be kept burning through all of that time. How does one do that? One needs the oil of charity. One needs the oil of generosity. One needs the oil of prayerfulness. Note the implication. Something must be done to make sure that there is enough oil. In other words, the faith that we have been given, the new life that we have received, is a life and a faith that must be lived and exercised. There is no mysterious fountain of oil for the lamp of the heart that we can simply go to hand over a few coins and be filled up. Rather, one acquires that oil by the measure and the character of how he or she is actively living. And this is important because hidden in this parable is that tendency that lives in so many of our hearts, which is we are natural procrastinators. If you tell me the deadline is a month from now, I'm not worried until 29 days pass. We often do that. And we live in a world where we expect that if we don't make the deadline, we'll just make a phone call and ask nicely and we'll get a little more time. And all too often, the world around us does give us that little more time. But we've also experienced those moments where no, the deadline is the deadline. And you're out of luck. And the Lord is speaking to his church in this way. What happens, the ongoing temptation that the believer falls into is because the second coming doesn't look like it's going to be any time soon, I don't have to be worried. And because I'm not worried, the edge goes out of my living. And very easily, it's not just that I relax and I lighten up, but I relax a little more. I lighten up a little more. Be about fighting that vice sometime in the future. I don't need to go after it now. I'll get to confession at some point. Yeah, I feel that tug in my heart to be a bit more prayerful and one of these days, I'll have to do something about that. It's unnatural and an easy temptation to fall into, but when that becomes a pattern, what happens? The oil diminishes. The lamp is still burning, yes. The oil is running out and it is not being replaced. It is not being replenished. So the Lord is also advocating a certain type of activity. It is not that we are saved by our works, but without works none of us are saved because salvation has to produce an effect. Faith must come to visible and concrete expression in how we live, how we act, and what we do. And if there is no visible concrete manifestation, one has to ask if faith is there at all. Note the importance of this. A lamp sheds light. If there's no light, the lamp is no good. And so it is too with the lamp of faith. It must shine. It must shed light. There must be a visible effect. The interesting thing then, the images, as the oil is burning in the lamp of faith, the activity that is produced by that is what keeps the lamp full, what keeps the lamp ready. And if one is not about that on a regular basis now, in the ordinary of now, one will not be ready for that moment when the bridegroom comes. One of the most dangerous myths in the spiritual life is the myth, for example, of the deathbed conversion. Those are very, very rare. A life that has been indifferent to change across its entire length is exceedingly unlikely to suddenly change at the very end. A life that has wasted opportunities for grace and growth across its length is unlikely to be able to embrace an opportunity for change and growth at its end. Could a miracle of grace happen? Yes, but it's the height of presumption to assume that I'm going to get it. And so note what happens. The foolish ones are counting on that. Of course, I'll have enough. Of course, I've done enough. Of course, I'll be ready. And they rest in that presumption. The bridegroom likes me. There's no way he'll reject me. And note what that presumption does. It also produces disrespect for the bridegroom. It's not important that I be completely ready. It's not important that I be prepared. And so what do we see then? The bridegroom does arrive at an unexpected hour. And all of a sudden, the demand is still the demand. The lamp must be burning. Because there is no accompanying the bridegroom into the wedding banquet with a lamp that gives no light. So now there's this image of the Lord going into his glory, the Lord going into his wedding banquet with the light bearers around him so that the light surrounds the bridegroom as he enters. That light that has been waiting for him. That light that has been prepared for him. What a remarkable image that is, where the Lord is saying to his faithful, there are those of you who I want to accompany me into the banquet of heaven. And I want you to do it as lights that are blazing at my side. That the glory of how your faith in my grace has transformed you shine around me as we enter that banquet which has no end. What a remarkable vision of what it is the Lord desires from us. And this is why the issue of having enough oil for the lamp. It's not enough that the lamp is burning when the bridegroom arrives. There has to be enough oil to make that step, that walk with the bridegroom into the banquet hall. Because that is the splendor of the bridegroom. And so what happens then is the foolish virgins who have not enough oil don't just short-change themselves. They short-change the bridegroom. There is less light. The entrance is less glorious than it's supposed to be. And why? Because they didn't bother to bring enough oil. This is not simply a story about us and what happens to us. It's also a statement about the glory of the bridegroom and the respect that the heart must have for the bridegroom because we are made to be vessels of his glory and vessels of his goodness. As St. Aaronius so wonderfully said, the glory of God is the human person fully and truly alive. And this is what the Lord is saying. But there are those five who decided that something mediocre, something less, something easy was the way to go. And why? Oh, because the bridegroom loves me. The bridegroom likes me. The bridegroom wants me. And all of that may be true, but the bridegroom also has a standard. And so when that moment comes, note there is not enough time to go and get more oil. And the Lord very clearly says it. Never bank on the deathbed conversion. Never bank on that fact that once I know if I really hurry up and try really hard, everything's going to work out. Rather, the real trick is to be faithful right now, not tomorrow. And those moments of daily faithfulness are what keep the lamp filled with oil so that there is no fear. Even when sleep overcomes me, I will wake up the right way. Ready to glorify the Lord. The woman whose memory we celebrate today, Saint Cecilia, the church, has long celebrated as one of those wise virgins, who kept the lamp of her heart brightly burning throughout her life. From her childhood, she embraced the faith. And from her childhood, she was about living it and living it well. There's a curious joyfulness about this young woman and how she lived her faith. She's considered to be the patron of church music, and yet it's not clear that she ever performed musically for anybody. There is a tradition that she is even the inventor of the organ. But there's no evidence that she ever saw an organ. And it's a remarkable image. And so the question is, why does this woman have this remarkable association with music? And it's because she lived in such a way that there was always a song in her heart to the glory of God. The tale is told that as she was forced to enter into an arranged marriage, that even as the pipes were playing at the marriage ceremony, she in her heart was singing a hymn to the glory of God. And that there was a brightness and a joyfulness about her even there because she knew that in her marriage, she would still remain a virgin, and she would still remain faithful to the Lord because her husband had already agreed to that. And it's a remarkable moment, a remarkable moment, this woman who has such a joy in her heart that the beautiful legend around her is this, that an angel perceived the song in her heart and came mistaking earth for heaven. So heavenly was the music. That's where the angel thought he was. This was the angel that accompanied Cecilia throughout her life. The angel that she told to her future husband, you have to understand there is an angel with me all the time who watches over me and keeps me safe. And he is also the guardian of my chastity. And the husband said, I will do whatever you ask if I get to see the angel. I will become a believer if I can see the angel. And Cecilia's answer to him is, if you're not a believer, you will never see the angel. You want to see the glory of God truly? You must be baptized. It is not that God will show you his glory and then you get baptized. If you want your eyes open to see the glory of God, you must come to the waters. And so he did. And rising up from the font of baptism, he saw the angel. And was so moved, he explained all of this to his brother who likewise came and got baptized and saw the angel. But note her insistence. If you would truly see the angel, if you would truly know the goodness of God, if you would truly know the glory of God, you must come to the fountain. Baptism makes a real difference in a person. It makes a real spiritual difference. It makes a real difference in our ability to recognize good and recognize wrong. It makes a real difference in our ability to live the good and reject the bad. It makes a real difference in our ability to truly know joy. The sacrament produces a real and concrete effect. It is not merely symbolic. It is not merely a rite of passage. It is not merely the entrance requirement for being in the church. It radically transforms a person. The song in her heart was with her from the day of her baptism. That song in her heart was how she lived that new life that Christ gave her. That song in her heart was the music that accompanied her tremendous generosity. The tale is told that after her husband and his brother were executed for the conversion to Christianity, the emperor himself came seeking the wealth of that family. As you looked at him and said, "I'd really like to help you with that, "but we've already given it all away to the poor." And there was a musicality in her voice as she responded a joyfulness in her heart, knowing what the consequence of this was going to be for her. And she said it so simply as if it was the most natural and easy thing for anybody to do. Looking at the emperor and basically saying, "And who wouldn't do that? "Who wouldn't take their wealth "and just give it away to the poor? "Who wouldn't do that?" And those of us who are on the more foolish side of these things say, "Probably me." And in this remarkable generosity, this beautiful generosity, we see again the bright burning of that lamp of faith, a joyful light, a compelling light, a clear light and a pure light that the tortures of the jailers could not extinguish. And so it is that Cecilia who lived with a song in her heart gave her life joyfully with that song still in her heart. And what a beautiful image for what it is to have enough oil for the lamp. Cecilia never ran out of music in her heart. Cecilia never ran out of joy of being in the presence of God. Cecilia never ran out of that fundamental joy in the gospel which animated everything that she did. And so it was that when the bridegroom came to this virgin, it's not simply that the lamp was burning and that she was ready, but that burning glowing song from her heart was the light that accompanied the Lord as he led her into the great wedding banquet of heaven. What a beautiful image that is. What a marvelous image that is. And so it is that we're here today in this holy place. The following mass we will avail ourselves of St. Cecilia's intercession for the blessing of musical instruments, for the blessing of musicians. Whether I play an instrument or not, whether I consider myself to be musical or not, that example of living with a song in the heart is compelling and important. And what a wonderful gift it would be today as we come forward to receive the Lord and holy communion. However sleep our hearts might have been these last few weeks that we wake up and find that song as he enters us and we greet him with that. And note how wonderful it is because while his second coming hasn't arrived yet while the ultimate moment for each of us has not arrived yet. There is a moment where he does come right now and how beautiful it is that in this sacrament we have in no small measure a dress rehearsal for that moment. Where slumbering or not, the lamp is burning and the bridegroom comes and that reminder that when the bridegroom comes the lamp must be ready and must remain ready. Not just for me, but especially for him. Amen. [BLANK_AUDIO]