Proper 27 (32) – Year A
November 8, 2026
Gospel Lectionary Text
Matthew 25:1-13
25:1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
25:2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
25:3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them;
25:4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
25:5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept.
25:6 But at midnight there was a shout, 'Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.'
25:7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.
25:8 The foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'
25:9 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.'
25:10 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.
25:11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, 'Lord, lord, open to us.'
25:12 But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I do not know you.'
25:13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Context
Welcome to the 24th Sunday after Pentecost. At first glance, this week’s parable sounds like a warning about being prepared. Five bridesmaids remembered to bring extra oil. Five did not. Be ready, Jesus says, because you do not know the day or the hour.
But all ten bridesmaids know a wedding is coming. All ten have lamps. The difference is not that some believe and others do not. The difference is that some have cultivated the wisdom needed to see the light of celebration dawning in darkness, whereas others only see the darkness.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus is preparing his disciples for a world in which old certainties are collapsing. The Temple will fall. Religious authority will be exposed. The familiar signs of God’s presence will no longer be so obvious. The challenge is learning to recognize God when God arrives and having the courage to celebrate what we see God doing.
The oil in the parable is not a stockpile of religious certainty. It is the slow-growing wisdom that trains our eyes to recognize Christ at midnight, in the midst of chaos and confusion. And it’s at midnight that Jesus enters the Garden of Gethsemane (which means “oil press”). Even there, as the weight of human violence closes in, the oil of God's wisdom is pressed out and poured forth.
And nowhere is this more true than at the cross, when darkness covers the land. What looks like failure, defeat, and abandonment turns out to be the very place where God’s celebration is breaking forth ("For the joy set before him he endured the cross…").
Question
What keeps us asleep to the mercy and celebration of God, especially in moments of fear, chaos, or uncertainty?
Reflections
Vigilance and Understanding
By Esau Oreso |
This parable draws parallels with the future kingdom of heaven, where the ten bridesmaids prepare to meet the groom. Ultimately, only half of them partake in the banquet, while the rest are denied access. This caution resonates with the preceding chapter, urging disciples to remain watchful and alert at all times (24:48, 42).
Mad at the Maidens
By Joel Aguilar |
This week’s text, The Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids, has often been used as a precautionary tale about who gets into heaven and who is left behind. It’s clear that Jesus tells the story in order to stir something up within his audience, his disciples. A couple thousand years later, I have to admit that…
Awake and Celebrate
By Kris Rocke |
Awake and celebrate! Is there a more elemental invitation of the Gospel of Jesus? In this week’s text Jesus tells the story of ten bridesmaids and a wedding party. Five of the bridesmaids remain awake and join the celebration.
Praying Eucharistically - Weekly Homily by James Alison:
Understanding the Bible anew through the Mimetic Theory of René Girard.
Poetry
Excerpts on Attention
by Simone Weil
“Most often attention is confused with a kind of muscular effort. If one says to one’s pupils: ‘Now you must pay attention,’ one sees them contracting their brows, holding their breath, stiffening their muscles. If after two minutes they are asked what they have been paying attention to, they cannot reply. They have not been paying attention. They have been contracting their muscles.”
Rather, Simone insists, true attention is a “waiting.”
“Attention consists of suspending our thought, leaving it detached: empty and ready to be penetrated by the object.… Our thought should be empty, waiting, not seeking anything, but ready to receive in its naked truth the object which is to penetrate it.”
“Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.”
“Attention is prayer.”
Prayer
Coming soon.