The Kingdom of Heaven

Matthew 25:1-13 

Jesus said, “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this.

Thus begins our Gospel today, and it is followed by one of Jesus’ familiar parables, that of the wise and foolish, we used to say virgins, but today’s reading says bridesmaids. Anyway, listening to the Gospel we get right into the story, but how many of us have paused to consider that very important opening sentence? The entire parable is a description of the Kingdom of Heaven – do we know what that is?

Undoubtedly, some of us have given it thought and have at least some idea of what Jesus means when He uses that term, but others of us sort of “take it for granted” we know what He means. “Heaven” – up there – right?  It’s where we go when we die, to be in happiness and joy in union with God. That is heaven – correct – but inseparably linked to it is the Kingdom of Heaven. A parable can seem on the surface to be a moral story, period, but this one comes alive when we realize The Kingdom of Heaven is now. The Kingdom of Heaven is here.

Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.

To be a bridesmaid was a great honour. What we see is a pleasant group of young women waiting for their chance to take their place in the wedding banquet. They all look presentable. They have probably spent, not just one day, but several days in preparation for this wedding. The custom was that all young, unmarried women would attend the new bride, and of course they would want to be decked out in their finest, their hair done, their bangles and bracelets in place. They all look lovely and ready to go – but the groom is delayed.

We, the baptized, the Church, are meant to see ourselves in these young women. We have all been invited to follow the Bridegroom, Jesus, who will come again at the end of time - and also meets us at the hour of our death – and in keeping with the images in this parable, until recent times, we would always deck ourselves out in our finery when we went to church. But there is a deeper “finery” we need to be wearing, something that is part of our hearts and souls.

All the young women are carrying lamps. These lamps represent our initial baptismal grace and profession of faith. The grace we receive through the Sacrament of Baptism and the vows we took, or our sponsors took for us and we later affirmed at our Confirmation, are our inner light – the Holy Spirit – but how, throughout our lives, we have nourished and are nourishing this light differs from individual to individual.

In today’s parable, it quickly becomes clear that some of the young women, some of us, are prepared for the arrival of the Bridegroom. Daily, they have grown in grace, and carry extra oil with them, so that their lamps will always burn brightly – but, alas – others have not been wise in this regard. No matter how beautiful and appropriate their external garb, when the Bridegroom approaches, they discover they have no oil for their lamps, they cannot keep the light burning.

In desperation, those without oil ask the others if they may have some of theirs. The answer, No! there will not be enough for you and for us, sounds harsh, even selfish. But spiritual grace and holiness are not something we can give to one another, as one might be able to give a bit of oil. We can encourage and support each other, but truly growing in the Spirit is a personal responsibility that each of us can only attain on our own.

We need to be very clear in our minds and hearts that faith cannot be borrowed. The wise bridesmaids cannot share their oil without risking their lamps going dark. In the spiritual life, we cannot coast on the prayers, merits, or faith of our parents, spouse, or friends. Our relationship with God is personal.

Part of the difficulty we face when it comes to our continuing spiritual grown is that we are far more concerned with being prepared for things of this world. We want to be sure we can pay our bills, feed ourselves and our families, and protect ourselves against illness and hostility. We also don’t see the “value” in setting aside time to learn and grow in our faith. We are so busy with things of this world, we are not, as we are called to be, building up our oil reserves, but building up those reserves is the most important thing we can do. Our relationship with Jesus depends on it.

We live in The Kingdom of Heaven. This “place” is certainly not a geographical location – we know that. It has been described as an “already and not yet reality”, that will be fulfilled at Jesus’ second coming. Like the young women waiting for the bridegroom, who is delayed, we too are waiting. The young bridesmaids are right at the point when the bridegroom will – and shortly does – appear, which is the culmination of the story, and though we have no idea exactly when Jesus will return, we too are called to live our lives as if our story is just about at its culmination. We are called to be in a state of readiness, our hearts and souls bedecked in spiritual finery, fully prepared for His coming.  So – how do we do that?

The Kingdom of Heaven, also known as the Kingdom of God, is both a reality and a deep mystery, established by Jesus. So right away we need to be very clear that the Kingdom is not an abstract religious idea. We are living in it. Breathing in it. Existing in it – but what we are called to do is be active in it – and this is something we can do without being mystics or some sort of extraordinary saints.

There are undoubtedly sacred tomes about how to live and work within God’s Kingdom, but there is a wonderful little book that explains how one can live every day in the Kingdom of Heaven, and also this world. It was written by a seventeenth century monk named Br. Lawrence, and it is called The Practice of the Presence of God. Now, why would we want to do that – practice God’s Presence? Because, it is a very simple, doable way to live in the Kingdom, spread the Love of Jesus, and keep our lamps full of oil and burning brightly.

It is done by maintaining a continuous, loving, conversation with God in everyday activities – which means everything from work, to vacuuming a rug, from shopping for groceries, to attending a business meeting – it means to in everything be aware of God’s Presence.

To help us do this we talk silently or aloud to God. Long formal prayers are not required, just the casual way of talking you would share with a friend. Silently opening our hearts to the one who loves us unconditionally is enough, though spoken conversation can help keep us from forgetting with Whom we are sharing our day, our chores, and our lives. A person thus constantly aware of Jesus’ Presence with them, will soon see everything in a different light, as they grow in grace, and begin to find it easier and easier to spread kindness, forgiveness, and love.

There are always challenges, because the world, and often people, present obstacles along our way. When asked how she coped with irritable, critical, ungrateful people, St. Mother Teresa offered this explanation. She said she saw Jesus in every person she met, and those who were not open to her, not loving, even hostile, in them she saw Jesus in a distressing disguise.

The Practice of the Presence of God is simple, but not easy, because of worldly temptations and our normal, lifelong daily habits. We are not used to living this way, yet it is the way to be prepared for the Bridegroom, to live in holiness. It’s also not something we can achieve on our own, but we have already been given the tools to succeed. We can accomplish this work, live in Jesus’ Presence, because we are Baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit, which grafts us into the Life of the Holy Trinity and into the Body of Christ – the Church. Think about that. We are living in and part of the great mystery that is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Today’s Gospel parable is all about living in patient waiting, yet being fully ready when the Bridegroom appears. And Jesus includes a terrifying caution at the end of the story.

He tells us that when the foolish young women finally return from buying more oil, they find the doors to the banquet locked. They call out, Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ They are left outside where they have chosen to not live faithfully in the Kingdom of Heaven, where they have chosen not to spread the joy and love of that Kingdom. They chose to not constantly build up their oil reserves, and thus they are now forever excluded from the great feast we call Heaven.

We are the Church, and our work on earth is to live Godly lives in our daily work and interactions. We are the Kingdom of Heaven, imperfect, broken, struggling, as we are, but strengthened and upheld by the Holy Spirit within, by the Eucharist – by Jesus, our Savior and our God

Let us pray:

Dear Jesus, silence within our minds all voices but Your own. Help us to seek and be able to follow Your will. Grant us patience in this busy and noisy world, that we may be always listening for You, looking for You, conversing with You, waiting for you. Grant that we may be ready for You as You appear to us both in our daily lives, in others, and as You will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead. All this we ask for Your love and mercy’s sake, Amen.