Last Sunday of the Church Year (Trinity 27) 2017

As the Church Year comes to its close we hear again this Parable of the Ten Virgins.  What is this Parable trying to tell us about the Last Day, about Our Lord coming to judge the living and the dead?  First, consider our Baptismal liturgy.  When someone is Baptized they are given a candle along with this encouragement: “Receive this burning light to show that you have received Christ who is the Light of the world.  Live always in the light of Christ, and be ever watchful for His coming, that you may meet Him with joy and enter with Him into the Marriage Feast of the Lamb in His kingdom, which shall have no end.”  Looking at the Parable through this statement from our liturgy, we see that the five wise virgins are those who kept their Baptism blameless.  That’s not something we can easily see, which is why in the Parable all ten virgins look the same—they are all waiting for the Bridegroom, all carrying lamps, and all fall asleep.  Yet, five are wise and five are foolish.

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