Keeping our eyes open for we do not know

   "To be prepared for the inevitable in one's life" means that one has to adopt an attitude of watchfulness. The story of the 5 foolish/5 wise virgins in Matthew's story of the wedding feast has its roots in the cultural norm of his time. It was the duty of bridesmaids to light the way through the dark and narrow streets to the home where the dowry was arranged. Sometimes negotiations could go on all night - hence the reason why the bridesmaids had to be vigilant and prepared. In Matthew's account, some of the bridesmaids had come unprepared and were not ready to greet the bridegroom when he arrived. Those who had come prepared, were able to light the way, easily entering the wedding feast. Those who had no light were turned away because the door-keeper did not recognize them.
   How many times have we felt foolish because of our lack of preparation? Keeping our eyes open and our lamps burning brightly is a great lesson. A tourist who was visiting a holy man at his hermitage, noticed that he had only one room and no furniture except a chair. "Where's your furniture?" she asked. To which, he replied: "Where's yours?" The puzzled tourist answered: "But I'm only a visitor here, just passing through!" The holy man responded: "So am I!"
   To live wisely, to live in faith means to be prepared; to remind ourselves we are "tourists on God's earth." We are here for a short while. We are only passing through. We are given a gift, which the foolish virgins did not have, the gift of time. This gift can help turn our foolishness into joy. The actress Helen Hayes once described the most painful time of her life after her 19 year old daughter died of polio. She said that gathering up the fragments of her life and going forward was incredibly difficult. However, she persevered in her acting career and did wonderful work in the fight against polio. Many years later before her retirement, she gathered all her worldly possessions, selling them off at a public auction and giving the money to charity. When asked why - she said: "I bid farewell to things so that I'll be unencumbered as I move into the future."
   We may not be like Helen Hayes but each of us can use our gift of time "unencumbered." May our lamps of witness be filled with the oil of hope!  

Few of us can run to the beach, to relax this Advent-Christmas season. But we can all take deep breaths!  R+