Death, taxes, and Parousia

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise. 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. 6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ 7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ 9 “‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ 10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. 11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ 12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ 13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. – Matthew 25: 1-13

If you were to die this time next week, what would you do?

“Matthew is addressed to people who believed they had been rescued from sin and welcomed by God (1:21; 26:28), but these recipients of divine mercy were not blessedly assured of their position.” – Nathan Eubank

parousia – Jesus coming back.

Watchfulness is being prepared for parousia (Jesus’ return) at any time. Preparedness is knowing that just because the parousia doesn’t come during your lifetime, doesn’t mean you are not prepared.

Thus they were foolish, because they were not prepared for the future but only for the present” – Epiphanius the Latin

In a sense, taking flasks of oil with their lamps is also a token of their trust, i.e. come-what-may, the groom will indeed come as he has intended to—  which is the essence of the wedding in the first instance. – Joseph Ola

We begin to live like we think of death as more inevitable than the return of Jesus.

“…the foolish virgins failed to do as they presumed that since they started well, it was guaranteed they would finish well.” – Henry Alford

What would you do if you knew Jesus was returning in a week? What would it look like to live a life that is prepared for the coming of Jesus?

We can neither deceive God nor impose something on him. We can only slowly forget God, and that would be terrible since then we would slowly be forgetting ourselves as well.- Dorothee Soelle and Fulbert Steffensky

Drift along in a self-centered culture and all is peace and ease. Turn toward God and you will experience immediate turbulence. – Jon Tyson

Our Physician brought from heaven remedies for every single moral fault. The medical art cures fevers with cold compresses, and chills by applying heat. Similarly Jesus prescribed qualities contrary to our sins: self-restraint to the undisciplined, generosity to the stingy, gentleness to the irritable, and humility to the proud. – Gergory the Great

“Solitude is not a private therapeutic place…solitude is the furnace of transformation. Without solitude we remain victims of our society and continue to be entangled in the illusions of the false self.” – Henri Nouwen

“Solitude is a discipline that gets behind those feelings to who we are when we feel invisible and unrecognized. Who are we when productivity and recognition fall away and God is the only one watching us” – Adele Calhoun