Prepare

The Spiritual Waiting Room

                                                                     Prepare

Second Coming

Be Faithful Pray

Have Your Lamps Trimmed

Ready

(photo and poem by Kathy McNamara)

Scripture: Matthew 25: 1 to 6

The kingdom of heaven is like ten virgins who came with their lamps to greet the bridegroom.

Five of them were unprepared and five had prepared well.

The ones who did not prepare well failed to bring oil for their lamps but the wise ones did.

It took the bridegroom a long time to come and so they fell asleep.

At midnight the cry came, "The bridegroom is close. Come to meet him."

Reflection

As we all realize, it is so important to prepare. We see this many times in all areas of life. In the story from Matthew, Jesus points out what can happen when we either do or do not prepare well.

The five virgins who did not prepare with extra oil will be excluded from the feast. They will miss out simply because they did not plan well.

How can we prepare for the encounter with Jesus, our bridegroom? Is it possible for us to spend some more time in prayer, to read the scriptures more, to reach out to those in need?

Each one of us has an opportunity to take some time to reflect on what we can do to get ready to meet Jesus on a deeper level. 

We know that the bridegroom wants to come to be with us. We also know that it is easy to get distracted and to miss our chance to see Jesus. We can be blinded by our selfishness and lack of effort.

The oil that we need for our lamps to be trimmed is all around us. As we open our eyes, we can see Jesus in the needs of our sisters and brothers who need food, shelter, and clothing. The more we give to them, the more oil we will have for our lamps. 

Let us go now and meet Jesus with our lamps overflowing with oil!

1. How important have you found it to be prepared in your life?

2.  What are some of the ways that you have found to assist you in encountering Jesus?

3. Can you think of a time in your life when you were distracted and failed to see Jesus?

4. Where do you get the oil that you need for your lamp?

5. What do you see as you reflect on Kathy's photo?

(Scripture adaptation, reflection, and questions by John J. McNamara)