We've got a whole lot of wise virgins here.

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time November 8th, 2020 Matthew 25, 1-13 I have a scripture sharing meeting every Tuesday night with members of the parish. This isn’t meant to be an announcement but why not. Join us on Tuesdays at 7:30 PM https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82179661482 Password 7215. It isn’t a scripture class but it is a faith sharing. We share how we understand the scripture passage and what it means to us on a personal level. So it isn’t about learning but about sharing. Anyway this past week everyone seemed to get hung up on the 5 foolish virgins. Why couldn’t the wise virgins share their oil? Why didn’t the bridegroom who was late let them in after they went to store? It didn’t seem fair to those of us who shared the reading. I tried to explain that that wasn’t the point of the story. But you know what… that is the kind of people that they are, that is the kind of people that you are. You don’t want to just go into the wedding banquet and close the door. You want to keep the door open and keep inviting more folks into the fiesta. As I thought about it, I thought that is why they are getting into the banquet, that is why you all are getting into the banquet. Your hearts are open, you want to include not exclude. When you open your hearts you are collecting oil, you are filling up your flasks. In fact I have seen a whole lot of wise virgins here at St. Mary’s who keep collection oil. When you teach catechism… you are collecting oil. When you serve at mass… you are collecting oil. When you donate to the food bank… you are collecting oil. When you volunteer at the food bank… you are collecting oil. When you donate candy so the kids can have a halloween in the midst of the pandemic… you are collecting oil. When you stand out here for two hours in the parking lot giving kids candy … you are collecting oil. When you call your neighbor who is elderly and can’t go shopping… you are collecting oil. When you visit the sick… you are collecting oil. When you pray for the wife of a friend of a cousin of a co-worker… you are collecting oil. The oil around here is just overflowing. I see a whole lot of oil spilling out over our flasks and creating pools of love all over. The second reading for today says, We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep. We are a community of hope. Our hope is in Christ and it is communal. Our hopes is in Christ because it isn’t just about individaul survival after death, but of being with Christ in his transformed resurrected body. We know this happens not because of our own goodness, but because we believe in Christ who has shown us the way, who has gone before us. It is communal, because it isn’t just about me but it is for the restoration of Christ in our world. So brothers and sisters lets keep collecting oil. The best way to convert the foolish virgins is by allowing them to see our joy. They will see us and say, “hey! I want to be a part of that.”