Since the bridegroom was long delayed,
they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
We like to think that we would be different, that we would stay awake. But none of the ten virgins was able to do so, nor the disciples in Gethsemane with Jesus. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (see Matthew 26:41). We begin with our initial excitement about meeting the bridegroom when he comes. But his timing is not our timing and to us he seems "long delayed". Eventually our excitement fades. Sometimes, since we are creatures of flesh and blood and not pure spirit the drowsiness wins and we fall asleep.
On a certain level we must sleep eventually. When we are asleep, gathering strength necessary for life in the world, we are not conscious of the bridegroom's return. What we experience as reality during these times is rather than transient and ephemeral world of dreams.
At midnight, there was a cry,
‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
Jesus tells us that he will come at a time when we do not expect. And yet he calls us to watch and stay awake. He knows that the day will catch us by surprise but he still asks us to long for it and to hasten it (see Second Peter 3:12). When this is our fundamental attitude our experience of his being delayed will not turn into despair or despondency.
Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise,
‘Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.’
The foolish virgins started with lit lamps, but they did not prepare for the long haul. Their initial excitement did not convert to a posture of watching and expectation. They were only able to light their lamps with initial fervor. They couldn't find bring themselves to prepare for longterm watchfulness.
We are called to be like the wise virgins who prepare in advance for times of delay and difficulty, who keep the coming of the Lord at the end of our own lives, and at the end of time in mind. When we do remember and desire the return of the bridegroom we prepare for it. We keep enough oil on hand even for a long delay of the bridegroom. Rather than relying on the fleeting emotions of initial fervor, we are sustained by our holy desire for God, a desire which no one else can produce for us if we neglect it.
'No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Our desire doesn't save us from all human weakness. We do sometimes fall asleep. But when we awaken we have the light to point us in the right direction. We quickly reorient to the cry announcing the bridegroom.
Wisdom calls us onward and upward. She tells us that the things of this world, that the delays and emotions we experience can distract us, but that we have a higher connection that can keep us on track. But our relationship to wisdom is like our relationship to that of the bridegroom. She is a gift, one who is coming, one whom we must seek. We do not receive her immediately all at once. By desiring her we open ourselves to receiving her.
Whoever watches for her at dawn shall not be disappointed,
for he shall find her sitting by his gate.
Watching for the return of Christ and watching for wisdom are analagous because Christ himself is "the power of God and the wisdom of God" (see First Corinthians 1:24).
The good news here is that Jesus isn't telling us that it all comes down to our own efforts in the end. He is telling us instead that we can have what we need when we need it, because he himself will provide it. He himself is our wisdom. His Spirit is the oil in our lamps. We only need to desire him enough to continue to seek him when he seems delayed, to prepare for him even when the reward is not immediate. This posture of desire reinterprets the challenges and even the sufferings we experience in this world.
so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
For if we believe that Jesus died and rose,
so too will God, through Jesus,
bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
Jesus wants to stir in our hearts a desire for the fullness of his presence, when, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, Jesus himself will return. Wisdom is keeping this end in sight. That will be enough to keep us ready to meet him, even if we sometimes fall asleep.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Therefore, console one another with these words.
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