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Greetings, SBT Readers:
Looking out onto the Mediterranean from my hotel balcony, it is difficult to remember that war is raging barely 1,000 nautical miles away, or that death and destruction are daily realities for the Palestinian people. Surrounded by beautiful scenery and architecture, I cannot imagine what it is like to see one's homeland reduced to an uninhabitable wasteland, or to be lacking the means for survival -- food, water, shelter, medical care...
In the sunlight, the buildings here are honey-colored, while the cobalt waters lull one into a sense of complacency. The same Mediterranean that summons me each year to visit family and friends is also graveyard to the countless migrants who attempt the crossing from North Africa to Europe in search of a better life. Some make it; many don't. Those who do survive often encounter further hardships wherever they land -- exploitation, racism, grueling labor...
But there is only so much that one can absorb of the world's sufferings. The mind's "default" is to switch off at some point to spare us painful reality. We skim over headlines about Ukraine, Sudan, and the Israeli-Hamas conflict. We try to forget that the glorious 80oF November days (yes, summer still reigns in Malta!) are the gift of climate change -- and a curse to all the species that cannot adapt to soaring temperatures. Instead of brooding over the world's problems, we focus on our own needs and wants, the complexities of our own circumstances; we allow ourselves to be distracted because that is preferable to being immobilized by the horror of all that is going on in our world.
The temptation is to assume we are powerless and to become indifferent; the antidote is to find blessing in our tears, to be grateful for what we have and to pray the world into healing.
Many Blessings!
Elizabeth
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
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Jesus told his disciples this parable:
"The kingdom of heaven can be compared to ten bridesmaids
who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
The foolish ones took their lamps but brought no oil,
but the wise ones brought flasks of oil with their lamps. Since the bridegroom was delayed for a long time, they all became drowsy and fell asleep. At midnight, there was a cry,
'Behold, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him!'
Then all the bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil,
for our lamps are going out.' But the wise ones replied,
'No, for there may not be enough for us and you.
Go instead to the merchants and buy some for yourselves.'
While they went off to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived
and those who were ready went into the wedding feast with him.
Then the door was locked. After some time, the other bridesmaids returned, saying,
'Lord, Lord, open the door for us!'
But he said in reply,
'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.'
Therefore, stay awake,
for you know neither the day nor the hour."
Mt 22:34-40
Ten bridesmaids, all drowsy, all sleeping... To be drowsy, sleepy and tired of waiting are all part of the human condition. Having to wait, in fact, is one of the things most of us dislike intensely, whether this be waiting for a doctor's appointment, waiting for transportation of any kind, waiting in line for "our turn" to purchase tickets, waiting for anything in fact. Even waiting for something positive like the birth of a child or a family reunion can leave us fraught with anxiety as we try not to dwell on all that might go wrong; we dare not hope too much in case we are disappointed when things fail to go according to plan.
For some, dozing off is the answer; for others, the wait feels so interminable that they begin to wonder whether it will ever end. Will "their turn" ever come? Will what or whom they are awaiting ever show up? Samuel Beckett's play, Waiting for Godot captures this frustration beautifully -- or should I say, monotonously? The tramps, Vladimir and Estragon, are waiting for "Godot" -- maybe God, maybe divine intervention, maybe an end to their sufferings, maybe Death, maybe something entirely different. Godot, however, never shows up and in their endless waiting, the two men endure the tedium of repeated actions and meaningless reminiscing. Far from being redemptive, their waiting has no purpose and fails to bring about any change in the tramps' condition. The bottom line is that
Godot neither comes nor is going to come.
But back to the ten bridesmaids. Unlike Godot, the Bridegroom is going to arrive -- there is no question about this-- and the bridesmaids' task is to be ready. There is meaning to their waiting for their purpose is to light his way and welcome him to the bride's home so the marriage feast can begin. Falling asleep is not the issue; it is being unprepared that is unacceptable. In the parable, five bridesmaids have enough oil to fulfill their important role, while five have underestimated how much oil might be needed. At the crucial moment of the Bridegroom's arrival, they are nowhere to be seen as they have gone off to the merchants to replenish their supply.
Understandably, the Bridegroom is not sympathetic. The five bridesmaids who go MIA were assigned one task only: to welcome him and to provide ceremonial light for the wedding feast. Clearly, they have not taken their role seriously enough or they would be prepared, despite the long wait. What were they thinking of while their wise counterparts calculated how much oil they might need? What distracted them from the one task that was really important?
Spiritually speaking, the meaning of this parable is clear. Life does have meaning and each of us is called to light the Bridegroom's way -- that is, to bring light into the world, to be light for the world, to point to the One who is the Light of the World, and to welcome that Light into our own hearts. At times we may be drowsy -- even fall asleep; at times, the wait may seem unbearable and we may experience moments of doubt or discouragement; and at times we may wonder why we are investing so much time and energy in waiting for the Bridegroom while others happily go their own way, without a care in the world for anyone but themselves, not only forgetting the "extra oil" but letting their lamps go out altogether as they pursue their own whims. Despite all this, provided we have "enough oil" to keep our lamps burning, we will be ready when we hear that cry, "Behold, the bridegroom is here! Come out to meet him!" And then, at that glorious moment, the venue doors will open and we ourselves will dance behind the Bridegroom, over the threshold, into a love feast of endless festivity...
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