“Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.” Matthew 25:12
In today’s Gospel, we encounter this rejection from the bridegroom of the “foolish virgin.” He claims not to “know them.” How could he not know them? This would be our question, especially when Jesus is making a comparison to the Kingdom of Heaven. For this matter, our question would then be, “Lord how could you not know them?” Doesn’t the Lord know all his children? Absolutely … but the true question is, “do they know him?” It could be said that if the “foolish virgins” claim to have known the bridegroom, then, they should have known that he would be delayed. They should have known that he wanted them to be ready. They should have known of his demands or requests. You see … in the Hebrew, “to know“ means far more than a simple mental fact or intellectual awareness; “it signifies a deep, personal, experiential relationship and intimate communion—much like the deep bond between spouses.” In this case, the wise virgins experienced this “deep” knowledge which the foolish ones did not.
Our question today is, “are we the wise or the foolish?” It’s to say … “do we know the Lord?” “Do we this intimate communion with the Lord?” Some believe that by simply being baptized, we automatically have this “intimate communion” with the Lord. In a sense, we do because He’s freely invited to into this communion, but baptism is simply the start of the journey not the end or the only part of the journey. Baptism opens to us the door to this “intimate communion” with the Lord. It’s a grace freely given to us; however, the questions that we should really be asking is, “what then we do with this grace?” “What are we doing to maintain this intimacy with the Lord?” “Do we just idly stand by like the foolish virgins or do we embrace the grace, prepare, and put it into action like the wise virgins?” “Do we understand and live the demands or requests of the Lord like the wise virgins?” “Do we freely love the Lord, share with the Lord, partake of the sacraments, go to Mass, and serve others with the grace that He’s freely given to us?” “Do we live the grace?” If the answer is no, then how could he recognize us; after all, by not living the grace of our baptism, what we’re doing is intentionally separating ourselves from this “intimate communion,” from his love, and choosing a different path. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1264): “Indeed an athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.” Faith is a lifelong response and a cooperation with God’s grace; it’s an everyday “yes” to the Lord and what He asks of us. This then is the difference between the wise and the foolish.
In Christ
Fr Robert Marquez
Pastor of Saint Charles Borromeo Catholic Community