Trimming the Wicks

~~~ 1 Corinthians 1:17-25 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ Matthew 25:1-13 ~~~

The Kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins

who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 

Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 

The components of this story each play an important roll.

The ten virgins...the oil lamp...the oil...and the wick...

Removing one of these would make this 

a completely different story.

The virgins show up. 

They are eager to greet the bridegroom.

However, he is delayed which means they must wait.

This delay forces them to make 

a necessary decision...

do they put out the lamp or keep

 it burning, risking to run out of fuel.

For some this is a huge dilemma.

The ten virgins all carry their lamp with them.

They all appear to be prepared.

We do not see the inside of the lamps.

We soon learn that half of the women 

brought flasks of additional oil.

They came more prepared than the other five.

In our own lives we can be fooled into believing

 that as long as we show up...

as long as we bring our lamp 

it will be sufficient.

Further reading of this story 

proves that is not quite enough.

When the bridegroom arrives

 only the five wise virgins

 have sufficient oil to keep

 their flame burning brightly.

All ten virgins trimmed their wicks.

‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 

Then all those virgins got up and trimmed their lamps. 

Trimming the wick in an oil lamp is important.

The wick is designed to draw up the oil from the lamp

in a steady fashion in order for the flame to burn.

The burning takes place just above the wick.

This liquid layer prevents the wick from being burned up.

Oxygen is prevented from reaching the wick itself.

As long as the wick remains saturated in the oil

 it is not consumed by the flame.

The virgins got up and trimmed their wicks...

trimmed wicks burn more brightly.

They were eager to have the brightest

 lamp to light the way for the bridegroom.

I invite you to consider what it means

 to be prepared for the arrival of the bridegroom.

I invite you to consider the lamp.

The lamp holds the precious oil; without 

the oil there is no light.

I also invite you to consider the wick...

the trimming of the wick.

We are like the wick because we must

 be saturated with the oil of God...the grace of God.

If we want to burn brightly we must 

have the oil of God's love and mercy.

Five virgins ran out of oil.

When they ran out of oil their wick dried up.

Without oil and a dry wick you 

loose the potential for light.

They lost their way without their lamp.

...those who were ready went into 

the wedding feast with him. 

Those who were ready...

showed up...brought their lamp...

carried extra fuel...trimmed their wick.

They came prepared. 

The doors were opened and the wise virgins 

were welcomed to wedding feast.

Be prepared.

Trimming your wick insures it will burn brightly.

Blessings of the oil.

~~~Peace~~~

Protected from Insects

~~~ 1 John 2: 22-28 ~~~ Psalm 98 ~~~ John 1: 19-28 ~~~

 

As for you,
the anointing that you received from him remains in you,
so that you do not need anyone to teach you.
But his anointing teaches you about everything and is true and not false;
just as it taught you, remain in him.

We have been anointed by God.

Do we really appreciate what that means?

In Biblical times people were anointed with oil

to signify God's call or blessing.

Anointed meant you were chosen by God.

 

The use of oil today is symbolic of what God is doing.

The shepherds used oil on the heads of their sheep for a real purpose.

Insects would get into the wool of the sheep.

If these insects reached the head they would

burrow into the ears often causing the death of the animal.

The oil would make the wool too slippery and the insects would fall off.

 

Anointing with oil is symbolic of blessing,

protection, and empowerment.

It is mentioned at least twenty times in the Bible.

Mary anoints the feet of Jesus before the crucifixion not his head.

Blessing his feet as they would make the long journey to the cross.

 

Jesus left us the Holy Spirit.

He called us his chosen thus anointing us for himself.

 

'...But you have the anointing that comes from the holy one,

and you all have knowledge...'

(1 John 2:20)

 

Our anointing gives us the strength we need

in times of trials and tribulations.

The Lord truly has done wondrous things for us.

 

 

The good shepherd has anointed his sheep

protecting them from death by even a tiny insect.

 

We are the ones he has chosen to anoint with his holy oil.

Assuring us of his protecting presence

all the days of our life.

Let us be glad and rejoice!

The Widow's Gift

~~~ Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time ~~~

~~~ 1 Kings 17:10-16 ~~~ Psalm 146 ~~~ Hebrews 9: 24-28 ~~~ Mark12:38-44 ~~~

 

The first reading and the Gospel from Mark use the example of a widow.

In Biblical times a widow within the Jewish community had no status. Without her husband she had literally no one to take care of her. She was left to fend for herself which often ended in poverty.

 

In the first reading we have the desperate widow who barely has enough food to feed both herself and her young son.

 

"...there is only a handful of flour in my jar
and a little oil in my jug."

 

She is resigned herself to the fact that she and her son are in fact doomed.

They are facing imminent death from starvation.

She is scraping together what little she has left to provide for her son.

 

You can imagine how torn she must have been when the prophet, Elijah, asks her to share her last bit of food with him.

Giving water to Elijah was was enough...just go to the source scoop up a cupful and bring it to him. But he asks for more; he wanted some bread as well.

 

Certainly it would not have been unreasonable for her to have ignored his request.

Somehow Elijah's words dispel her fears and she decides to honor his request for some bread. In reality what did she have to lose? She was going to die soon from lack of food. Elijah goes on promising her that neither the flour jar or the oil jar would go empty.

Here she takes a huge leap of faith and puts her trust in his words.

As we know she has the grace to make the right decision and God blessed her with abundance. For the next year the flour and the oil remained constant.

 

God had indeed kept his promise foretold to Elijah.

Some may have accused the widow of acting in a foolish manner,

especially when she also had her son to care for.

 

Sometime trusting in God does make us appear to be foolish

in the eyes of others.

What we give to God is returned to us a hundredfold.

Our giving is never in vain.

 

 

Our second widow has come to the temple to worship. She files into the temple with the crowds and drops in her last two coins for her offering.

Some would say that she too acted foolishly; giving her last couple coins.

The scribes and Pharisees all but despised widows. They often took advantage of their poor financial state insisting that they pay their part.

 

So there she was giving her all along side of those

who were giving from their abundance and wealth.

She was giving from her poverty.

Which is the greater gift?

If we only give from our abundance...is it truly giving?

 

Give yourself fully to God.

He will use you to accomplish great things

on the condition that you believe

much more in His love than in your own weakness.
Mother Teresa

 

These wise words from Mother Teresa

give us much to contemplate in this season of thanks and giving.

 

Jesus gave all that he was for our salvation...

every last drop of blood.

We have never been expected to give at that deep level.

 

May our giving bring us greated cause to trust in God's providential care.

He will take what litle we may have and turn it into so much more.

God will provide!

The jar will never be empty if we trust in him.