Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator
The readings for this Sunday present us with an interesting coincidence. The first reading comes from the Book of Wisdom (the Wisdom of Solomon), the latest book of the Old Testament. It was written within one hundred years of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. The second reading comes from St. Paul's Letter to the Thessalonians, the first book of the New Testament to be written. Both of these readings as well as the Gospel passage urge us to be ready and alert for the coming of the Lord.
The last three weeks of the liturgical year point us in the direction of the second coming of Christ. Advent, the season in which we recall the second coming as well as the first coming of Christ, was at one time a much longer season of preparation for the Solemnity of the Nativity. Like Lent, Advent was at one time a season of forty days. Consequently, the readings for these last three Sundays of the liturgical year bear a resemblance to the themes of the Advent readings; namely, readiness, being alert, watchful waiting.
The sacred writer of the Book of Wisdom accentuates the need to pursue Wisdom, to be alert to "her" presence in our midst. The Gospel picks up this theme and spins the parable of the wise and foolish maidens. St. Paul instructs us about the second coming of Christ.
The early Christian community was convinced that Jesus would return quickly. They believed that as he had risen from the dead, his followers were also given the gift of eternal life. So when members of the believing community began to die, they were distressed. Some thought that they would not receive the gift of eternal life when Jesus returned. Others began to doubt the sincerity of the faith of those who died, opining that they had died because of their lack of faith. St. Paul counters these thoughts by assuring the community that all who believe would be rewarded for their faith. He went so far as to say that those who had died ("fallen asleep") would precede those, St. Paul included) who were still alive when Christ returned.
All of the readings remind us that, as Shakespeare put it in his tragedy of Hamlet, "the readiness is all."