Remembrance Sunday
“Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.”
Summary
This Sunday is Remembrance Sunday when we gather at the war memorial to honour the lives of those whose lives have been given and taken away in wars and conflicts past and present. It is a day of deep reflection, a time for sorrow and penitence. Our first reading, Amos 5:18-24, lambasts those who would glorify judgment and punishment, recalling that we are all under judgment and calling us to live lives of justice and righteousness in which every life is treasured and valued. In our gospel, Matthew 25:1-13, Jesus tells the parable of the wise and foolish virgins awaiting the arrival of bridegroom: a symbol of the arrival of God’s reign of peace and justice. His concern is with how we respond to its delay. This is a real concern for us as we experience seemingly endless conflict: do we resign ourselves to the inevitability of conflict or do we remain faithful to the vision of peace and reconciliation? And if so, how is this faithfulness lived out in our lives together?
FIRST READING
Amos 5:18-24
Alas for you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light;
as if someone fled from a lion,
and was met by a bear;
or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall,
and was bitten by a snake.
Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
GOSPEL
Matthew 25.1-13
‘‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
