What Does it Mean to be Ready?

“The bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.” (Mt 25:10)

While in the earlier parable about a marriage feast it is the wedding garment that is emphasized and required for entry (Mt 22:1-14), here it is a “burning and shining lamp” (Jn 5:35) that is called for as a sign of readiness.  And, just as with John the Baptist, the wise virgin does not only carry a lamp, she is a lamp.  Like the candle received on the day of baptism, and again during the Easter Vigil every year, a lamp stands for a person’s whole life, given over to burning and shining with the light of Christ.  Thomas Merton expressed this in lines from a poem which plays on the symbolism of the paschal candle, traditionally made from beeswax:
“Our lives, like candles, spell this simple symbol;
Weep like our bodily life, sweet work of bees,
Sweeten the world with your slow sacrifice.”

Other images in this section of Matthew’s Gospel may enrich our appreciation of this point.  The alabaster jar of ointment, poured over the head of Jesus by a woman at Bethany, also stands for the whole person, offered to God in worship, in tender devotion and love – “She has done a good thing for me.” (Mt 26:10).

Vineyards and fig trees occur frequently in parables, with a focus on the expected yield of fruit.  Vines must be tended and pruned (Jn 15:1-3) so that the plant’s energy is not used up in useless canopy growth, but is channeled into the production of grapes.  A fig tree, likewise, is of no use if it produces only leaves and no fruit (Mt 21:18-22).  The vine or the fig tree in the Scriptures stands for the virgin Israel, the faithful people of God.  Each one of us is called to produce fruit: a delight to the eyes, sweet to the taste and good for food.

Each of these images – the lamp or candle, the jar of ointment or perfume, and the vine or fig tree – has in common the aim of giving delight.  A lamp enlightens the eyes, but not of one person only – “it gives light to all in the house” (Mt 5:15).  Ointment perfumes the one anointed, but also anyone else in the vicinity: “The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume” (Jn 12:3).  The vine yields fruit that is sweet to the taste, and “wine to gladden the human heart” (Ps 104:15).  A wise virgin gives delight to all, not just to herself, by the gift of her life.

We should notice that the givenness these images express comes at a cost – in each case, something is consumed.  A lamp consumes oil, a fact central to today’s parable.  Likewise a candle is itself consumed by the flame, exhausting itself with weeping, as Merton puts it.  The jar of ointment is broken open and poured out in wasteful extravagance (Mk 14:3-4).  A vine or fig tree expends all its resources in order to produce fruit, which is why it is a scandal for no fruit to be found on a plant that exhausts the soil (Lk 13:7).  To be given is to be consumed, used up for the benefit of all.  This is why remembering to bring oil is so crucial.

What does it mean to be ready?

The wise virgin is one who holds her life in her hands, given and consumed for the delight of all in the house.