Click this link to hear an audio version of the below text narrated by SOTH member Jerry Rhinehart:
Matthew 25:1-13 (ESV)
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
25 “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps[a] and went to meet the bridegroom.[b] 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ 7 Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. 11 Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ 12 But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ 13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.
Last Sunday’s reading from Luke 12:35 taught that we should always be alert and ready for Jesus to come. This means being ready for God to do things in our lives and our world at any time. Jesus told another story with this same message, the famous parable of the 10 bridesmaids. It may seem disturbing that the bridesmaids who have oil in their lamps would not share with the others, but this shows that the oil represents our faith in Christ — something we can’t share. We each need to have our own faith, and be ready for Jesus. No one else can do that for us.