The Lamp, The Oil, And The Wick

“While the bridegroom delayed, they all fell asleep. At midnight a cry rang out: ‘Behold, the bridegroom comes! Go out to meet him!’ Then all the virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps have gone out.’ But the wise answered, ‘No, there will not be enough for us and you’” (Matthew 25:5-9)

St. Symeon the New Theologian explains the symbolism of this parable for us. He writes that the lamps that the ten virgins have in their possession as they are waiting to greet the bridegroom each held oil for fuel and wicks for illumination. But the lamps are small and not capable of holding much fuel. The lamp is the human soul; the oil is our virtues, and the wick represents the mind. As we are asleep, we are unaware of the spiritual dangers that have crept into our resting place. When a rat slips into the bedroom, it knocks over the lamp, extinguishes the wick and then laps up the oil. What is meant by the imaginary rat is actually the demons of darkness that assail us when we least expect it: Jealousy, anger, bitterness, or any other passionate thought or desire pours out the oil, extinguishing the light and leaving you to sit in darkness. {Hymn 30}

This explains and frightens us, or it ought to. If our minds are enlightened with bright feelings and positive attitudes, we are eager to welcome the coming of Christ into our lives. But if we are ashamed of who we are and what we have allowed ourselves to become, then we will hide from Him just as Adam and Eve in the bushes. Everything about God is “yes.” He wants to come to us and abide in us, and that attitude never changes. If the Lord seems to stay away from us, it is only because He realizes better than we do how unpleasant it will be should He impose Himself on us. At the moment He may not be welcome for a variety of reasons: We are having a spiritual “hangover” and we don’t pray anymore. God knows it, but we would like to maintain the fiction that He doesn’t. Or else we may be upset either with ourselves or those whom we say we love. They have hurt us and we need time to lick our wounds. Please, Lord, come back some other time. Our lamps are out, the door to our heart is locked, and we have shut the blinds. Just let’s pretend that we’re not here.

The parable is about the wedding tradition of Biblical days. The bridegroom is recreating a ritual of invading the home of the bride to steal her away; only he comes and is greeted by ten virgins who light his way to her chamber. Prostitutes won’t do, not even those with sexual experience. Only virgins need apply. Does that disqualify many of us? From the physical point of view, most definitely—-but from the spiritual, the Lord can wash away our sins and make us white as new fallen snow. Baptized, anointed with the Holy Spirit, and purified by the sacrament of Holy Confession, we qualify—-but only if we are awake, alert, having our lamps full of oil regardless of how long He takes to appear, and having our wicks aflame. Virtues are the ingredients that supply spiritual fuel for illumination. When you light up your soul with the virtues of love, joy, peace, gentleness, purity, patience, kindness, empathy and the like, light will shine from your heart and show on your face. All will see it and praise the Lord who blesses you with the grace to express His life in your own, and Christ will come to take you as His own, introducing you to His heavenly Father when the time comes for you to leave this world for His.