{"id":932,"date":"2011-11-08T10:53:00","date_gmt":"2011-11-08T15:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?p=932"},"modified":"2012-11-22T23:47:26","modified_gmt":"2012-11-23T04:47:26","slug":"the-damnation-of-the-foolish-virgins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2011\/11\/the-damnation-of-the-foolish-virgins.html","title":{"rendered":"The Damnation of the Foolish Virgins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m always disappointed when a Mass reading has a perplexing or\u00a0counterintuitive\u00a0section, and the priest chooses to focus his sermon on the more obvious moral. \u00a0Luckily, I\u2019ve got you commenters to turn to for exegesis, so maybe you\u2019d like to take a crack at Matthew 25:1-13.<\/p>\n

For the Gospel selection at Sunday\u2019s Mass, the priest read Jesus\u2019s parable of the wise and foolish\u00a0virgins<\/a>. \u00a0In the story, ten virgins go out waiting for the bridegroom but only five were wise enough to bring enough oil to last through the night. \u00a0All the women fell asleep, and when the bridegroom finally approached, only the five who had prepared has enough oil left to light their lamps. \u00a0I\u2019ll let the text take it from there:<\/p>\n

The foolish ones said to the wise,\u00a0\u2018Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.\u2019
\nBut the wise ones replied,\u00a0\u2018No, for there may not be enough for us and you. Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.\u2019
\nWhile they went off to buy it, the bridegroom came and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him. Then the door was locked.
\nAfterwards the other virgins came and said,\u00a0\u2018Lord, Lord, open the door for us!\u2019
\nBut he said in reply,\u00a0\u2018Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jesus introduces this as a metaphor for the Kingdom of Heaven, but, I\u2019ve gotta say, the response of the wise virgins seems a trifle unchristian to me. \u00a0This parable feels like the polar opposite of the Parable of the Onion<\/a> from The Brothers Karamazov<\/a><\/em> (I am aware that\u00a0Dostoevsky isn\u2019t technically scripture, though Tristyn of Eschatological Psychosis<\/a> may disagree).<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not put off just because this scripture reads anti-universalist (though I\u2019ve been persuaded by Richard Beck<\/a> and others that universalism is at least logically compatible with Christianity and possibly logically necessitated by it). \u00a0It\u2019s the coldness of the five women turning their backs on the others, jealously guarding their oil and light and then being welcomed by the Christ-figure while the others are cast out.<\/p>\n

Anyone have an explanation or exegesis? \u00a0For bonus points, can anyone tell me if this parable is ever connected with the story of the miracle of Hannukah, where a tiny quantity of oil burned for eight days and nights? \u00a0It\u2019s strange to contrast that story of Old Testament G-d\u2019s mercy and abundance with New Testament Jesus\u2019s rigidity. \u00a0(Especially when I usually think of those attributes going the other way round).<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m always disappointed when a Mass reading has a perplexing or\u00a0counterintuitive\u00a0section, and the priest chooses to focus his sermon on the more obvious moral. \u00a0Luckily, I\u2019ve got you commenters to turn to for exegesis, so maybe you\u2019d like to take a crack at Matthew 25:1-13. For the Gospel selection at Sunday\u2019s Mass, the priest read […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[44,36,25],"class_list":["post-932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parsing-catholicism","tag-bible-study","tag-from-the-pews","tag-soteriology"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Damnation of the Foolish Virgins<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm always disappointed when a Mass reading has a perplexing or\u00a0counterintuitive\u00a0section, and the priest chooses to focus his sermon on the more obvious\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2011\/11\/the-damnation-of-the-foolish-virgins.html\" \/>\n<meta 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