Mt 25:1-13
[Jesus said to his disciples,] 1“The kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3The foolish ones, when taking their lamps, brought no oil with them, 4but the wise brought flasks of oil with their lamps. 5Since the bridegroom was long delayed, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6At midnight, there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 8The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9But the wise ones replied, ‘No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.’ 10While 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. 11Afterwards the other virgins came and said, ‘Lord, Lord, open the door for us!’ 12But he said in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Marriage In Israel: In Israel in Jesus’ time, marriage consisted of two steps. The first was the ‘erusin or “betrothal” when previous parental arrangements were legally ratified. However, the girl continued to live at her family home. After a year, she would be formally taken to her husband’s family home with a celebration. This is the actual wedding (nesuin), described in the Gospel.
Marriage at that time was patrilocal; that is, the bride was moved to the groom’s home. The groom, accompanied by his relatives, would go to the bride’s home to fetch her. The “ten virgins” in the parable would be young teenagers, very likely the groom’s sisters and cousins, waiting for the groom and the wedding party to return. Their job was to greet them with lights and to participate in the celebration.
In the parable, the clever teenagers are prepared for their roles when the groom arrives. The dull-witted, however, fail to make adequate plans. The mistake of the dull-witted is not in sleeping while waiting; in fact, all become drowsy and fall asleep. They are simply not clever. They are not sensitive to the whims of the bridegroom and to the intricacies of the wedding celebration. Consequently, they find themselves losing their privileged position as bridesmaids.
In the liturgy, the parable is applied to our waiting for the glorious coming of Christ, the Bridegroom. We are told to be prepared! But being prepared does not mean to be awake all the time. Rather, it is to be clever in our role as people entrusted by the Lord with important responsibilities.